The Asilomar report on database research

TLDR

The database research community has achieved notable success in basic research and technology transfer. The field must broaden its research agenda to encompass capturing, storing, analyzing, and presenting the vast array of online data, redefining database management to include all Web content and rethinking fundamental assumptions. We propose accelerating this transition by changing how research is evaluated and presented, encouraging speculative long‑range work, shifting conferences to poster format, and publishing all literature on the Web.

Abstract

The database research community is rightly proud of success in basic research, and its remarkable record of technology transfer. Now the field needs to radically broaden its research focus to attack the issues of capturing, storing, analyzing, and presenting the vast array of online data. The database research community should embrace a broader research agenda — broadening the definition of database management to embrace all the content of the Web and other online data stores, and rethinking our fundamental assumptions in light of technology shifts. To accelerate this transition, we recommend changing the way research results are evaluated and presented. In particular, we advocate encouraging more speculative and long-range work, moving conferences to a poster format, and publishing all research literature on the Web.