While ASE still lags behind market leaders in terms of overall features, its little brother, SQL Anywhere, does not. And at Techwave, Sybase released Version 10 of SQL Anywhere, which the company said boasts 200 new features. SQL Anywhere can run on servers or be embedded in applications or even handheld devices.

"We chose SQL Anywhere back in 1999 because Oracle was clunky and not full-featured and Microsoft and IBM didn't have a product," said Andrew Braunstein, chief technology officer at Healthwyse LLC, a Wilmington, Mass.-based technology services provider for home health care providers. He said the company plans to upgrade when Version 10.1 is released.