Actian unveils Zen 16.0 to boost edge computing solutions

Actian, the data and analytics division of HCLSoftware, has announced the launch of Actian Zen 16.0, the newest iteration of its embedded database. The release aims to facilitate the development of intelligent applications capable of real-time decision-making from the edge to the cloud, providing businesses with a much-needed competitive edge.

IDC has projected that spending on edge computing will reach USD $232 billion this year. To meet this growing demand, Zen 16.0 has been designed to address the needs of resource-constrained environments such as industrial IoT, connected healthcare, and smart cities. It introduces significant performance enhancements and new features targeted at improving efficiency and functionality both for existing users and potential new customers.

Emma McGrattan, Senior Vice President of Engineering and Product at Actian, commented, "Actian Zen 16.0 is designed to meet the needs of modern embedded systems and edge computing. Its secure and scalable design allows for easy data synchronisation with Zero-ETL, making it perfect for developers creating intelligent applications that can deliver real-time decisioning from edge to cloud to give a business competitive advantage."

Zen 16.0 is built to offer high performance and minimal administrative burden, which is essential for environments that require frequent data updates. This is particularly relevant in use cases like sensor data collection for patient well-being monitoring or asset management tracking using RFID scanners. The new version supports seamless data synchronisation from edge to cloud and accommodates both SQL and NoSQL data access. It also leverages popular programming languages to enable developers to build low-latency, embedded applications.

Trent Maynard, Director of Product and Engineering at Global Shop Solutions, praised the new release: "Actian Zen provides a high-performance, lightweight, and self-managed embedded database for our business. Zen continues to deliver exactly what we need, and we're enthusiastic about the new capabilities of Zen 16.0 to empower our business operations even further."

The latest version includes several new and enhanced features. Among these are improved L2 cache sizing, page preload for large data files, support for Kafka data streams, and EasySync, a new data synchronisation utility. Additionally, it offers enhanced JSON support, a Btrieve2 Python package, and support for Docker and Kubernetes containers. The index key length has also been extended to enhance data handling capabilities.

These advancements in Zen 16.0 aim to simplify and optimise edge computing solutions, making it a suitable choice for various applications across multiple industries. Actian continues to focus on enabling efficient, real-time data processing to meet the evolving demands of its diverse user base.