Is it a fact...

I have often wondered why we have the love for this database.  Come on, it is just a way to keep track of data that we pump out in reports for a user or government.  I have worked with other databases throughout my career.  Why is this one so special?

Is it the fact our queries are more English like than SQL like?  Or is it the fact that before there was a NoSQL there was UniQuery or Retrieve natural language?  Or is it the fact our database engine does not just store and retrieve data but allows us to interact with it?  Or is it a fact that when we write a few lines of UniBasic language takes 5 to 100 times more lines in code in Java?  Or is it the fact that we can put a whole system together in weeks versus months for other databases.  Or is it the fact that we do not have a database administrator on staff at most of our Universe or Unidata sites?  Or is it a fact that we can make program changes in minutes while other systems take days or weeks?  Or is it the fact that we can interface with any system and we try to figure out which way is best rather than which way can we?  Or is it the fact that we be using it so long we don't know there might be a better alternative.

Although fact sometimes get in the way of good decisions, remember all the companies that have tried and failed to replicate what Universe and Unidata database do best:  Make the business run efficiently from a cost stand point and from a users perspective.