MySQL Open Source Database

The MySQL® database has become the world's most popular open source database because of its consistent fast performance, high reliability and ease of use. It's used on every continent -- Yes, even Antarctica! -- by individual Web developers as well as many of the world's largest and fastest-growing organizations to save time and money powering their high-volume Web sites, business-critical systems and packaged software -- including industry leaders such as Yahoo!, Alcatel-Lucent, Google, Nokia, YouTube, and Zappos.com.

Not only is MySQL the world's most popular open source database, it's also become the database of choice for a new generation of applications built on the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP / Perl / Python.) MySQL runs on more than 20 platforms including Linux, Windows, OS/X, HP-UX, AIX, Netware, giving you the kind of flexibility that puts you in control. 

Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft SQL Server is an application used to create computer databases for the Microsoft Windows family of server operating systems. It provides an environment used to generate databases that can be accessed from workstations, the web, or other media such as a personal digital assistant (PDA). 

SQL Server delivers on Microsoft’s Data Platform vision by helping organizations manage any data, any place, any time. Store data from structured, semi-structured, and unstructured documents, such as images and rich media, directly within the database. SQL Server delivers a rich set of integrated services that enable you to do more with your data such as query, search, synchronize, report, and analyze.

SQL Server  provides the highest levels of security, reliability, and scalability for your business-critical applications. To take advantage of new opportunities in today's fast-moving business world, companies need the ability to create and deploy data-driven solutions quickly. SQL Server reduces time and cost of management and development of applications.

Access data from across your enterprise and provide control over your data no matter where it’s stored, from the largest servers within the data center to desktops to mobile devices. SQL Server  provides a comprehensive platform that delivers intelligence where your users want it. Information workers can access data directly using the tools they use every day, such as the 2007 Microsoft Office system.

SQL Server enables data to be consumed from custom applications developed using Microsoft .NET and Visual Studio and from within service-oriented architectures (SOA) and business processes through Microsoft BizTalk Server.

Microsoft Access

Microsoft Office Access, previously known as Microsoft Access, is a relational database management system from Microsoft that combines the relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface and software development tools. It is a member of the Microsoft Office suite of applications and is included in the Professional and higher versions for Windows and also sold separately.

Access stores data in its own format based on the Access Jet Database Engine. It can also import or link directly to data stored in other Access databases, Excel, SharePoint lists, text, XML, Outlook, HTML, dBase, Paradox, Lotus 1-2-3, or any ODBC-compliant data container including Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL and PostgreSQL. Software developers and data architects can use it to develop application software and non-programmer "power users" can use it to build simple applications. Like other Office applications Access is supported by Visual Basic for Applications, an object-oriented programming language that can reference a wide variety of objects, including DAO (Data Access Objects) and ActiveX Data Objects, and many other ActiveX components provided by Microsoft or by third parties. Visual objects used in forms and reports expose their methods and properties gracefully in the VBA programming environment, and a huge selection of Windows operating system functions can be declared and called from VBA code modules, making Access a rich programming environment.