Over the past 12 years, there has been a "third revolution" in database systems. The one-size-fits-all RDBMS has given way to an explosion of diverse data management technologies. In this third wave, multiple and diverse database technologies cooperate to accomplish the disparate business challenges provided by the migration to cloud computing, web-scale applications with social and mobile contexts, the promise of big data analytics, and the emerging challenge presented by the Internet of Things.
In a session titled “Next-Generation Databases” at Data Summit Connect 2021, Guy Harrison looked at the history of data management from the mainframe through Hadoop to blockchain and considered the utility of new database technologies for leveraging data assets, and speculated on how these will evolve to meet tomorrow's data needs. Harrison is CTO at Southbank Software, a partner at Toba Capital. author of "Next Generation Databases,” and a longtime DBTA columnist.
Key takeaways from Harrison’s talk include the following:
- The new breed of distributed SQL databases—such as CockroachDB, TiDB, and Yugabyte DB—work very well with Kubernetes and containers.
- The future of application infrastructure at the moment appears to be Kubernetes, and, as a result, the new generation of databases has a huge advantage over the older generation of relational databases.
- Cloud databases are the fastest growing database type and al the traditional databases are going into the cloud aggressively,
- MongoDB is the most popular document database and has a huge amount of developer activity.
- All major SQL databases now support JSON and all major NoSQL databases now support SQL, suggesting they are meeting in the middle.
- Blockchain offers something centralized databases cannot: immutability.
In addition, Rob Hedgpeth, developer evangelist at MariaDB, shared how databases-as-a-service are simpler and more robust than ever and explained how MariaDB SkySQL’s ability to support a large variety of database workloads empowers developers.
Hedgpeth considered MariaDB's use of pluggable, purpose-built storage engines to support workloads that previously required a variety of specialized databases and how this enables enterprises to use a single complete database for all their needs, whether on commodity hardware or cloud platforms.
MariaDB also has just announced major new updates to MariaDB SkySQL cloud database, including expanded support for Amazon Web Services (AWS). With this release, SkySQL gains new strength with transparent high availability that immunizes applications against database failures and Xpand, MariaDB’s distributed SQL database that delivers massive scalability. According to MariaDB, Xpand is now GA in SkySQL and is at least a third less expensive than other distributed SQL options in AWS or Google Cloud Platform (GCP).
More information about Data Summit Connect 2021 is available here.
Replays of this and all Data Summit Connect 2021 sessions will be available to registered attendees for a limited time and many presenters are making their slide decks available.