Ordinary databases and grid may be too slow, but ScaleOut Software stores data in memory on server farms or uses distributed caching on compute grids, to eliminate bottlenecks and reduce latency.

FORBES: Big Data Analyzed Fast In Memory -- For Finance, Online Dating, Home Shopping Network

Features include name-and-password log-in support, file and directory caching for quick access, firewall and proxy-server support, and UNIX file attribute support.

CNN: Downloads to improve your Web experience

The fourth tier is an Edge Server that brings in contextual data, tracks and analyzes interactions through APIs, provides caching, and supports real time analytics to operationalize all available signals.

FORBES: Implications for CIOs and CTOs