The past few years have brought radical changes to the world of IT. After more than 40 years as the undisputed leader in enterprise data management, for the first time, the relational database is facing some worthy challengers.

The proliferation of new data types has led to new ways of thinking about data, and newer data storage and management technologies such as Hadoop and NoSQL are disruptive forces that may be pointing the way to what has been described as a post-structured world.

However, despite the opportunities these technologies represent, the reality, according to a recent Unisphere Research survey sponsored by Dell Software, is that for now the relational database is still responsible for the great majority of enterprise data management.

While Hadoop and NoSQL are exciting new technologies, their use currently is confined primarily to large companies, according to the survey report, titled The Real World of the Database Administrator.

By far, the most important reason companies use more than one database platform is to support different applications, with the need to support multiple user groups the second most common reason, the survey finds.  Supporting increased data volume was only the fifth most important reason for adding a new DBMS platform. Under the right circumstances, organizations are open to adding new DBMS platforms. The most common reason given for adding a new brand is the emergence of a new analytical use case.

HERE ARE THE WINNERS OF THE 2015 DBTA READERS' CHOICE AWARDS FOR BEST RELATIONAL DATABASE 

Winner:

PostgreSQL

Finalists:

Oracle Database

Microsoft SQL Server