NuoDB, Inc., a Cambridge, MA-based startup offering what the company describes as an elastically scalable cloud data management system (CDMS) will make its solution generally available on January 15. NuoDB was launched in 2010 by Jim Starkey and Barry Morris.
Since the spring of 2011, the company has gone through a number of alpha releases followed by nine beta releases, and two release candidates, Morris, NuoDB’s CEO, tells 5 Minute Briefing. The company has had well over 3,000 users and is headed for 3,500. “The beta program for us was a key part of this. It is a database system, it is designed for people to run their businesses, and it is very strategic software, so you don’t just take this and throw it out into the market; you make sure that it really works and does what you say it does, and that you have got happy customers before you go live. The goal was to get it into the hands of people and find out what they wanted to use it for and how well the product works,” explains Morris.
According to Morris, the vast majority of beta users were people building next-generation internet applications who were seeking to build the next Facebook, the next LinkedIn, or the next Twitter, but it was surprising that a significant portion, perhaps 20% or more, were established companies with existing relational database applications that they need to scale or move to the cloud.
“The problem for databases has always been that for a full-fledged database to go faster you need a bigger machine, and there is not a way to run it on lots of smaller machines or a way to dynamically add machines. That is the problem that we have uniquely solved. This is the main idea of elastic scalability - that the system can scale up to provide more capacity on demand,” says Morris.
Earlier this year, NuoDB also announced NuoConnect, a developer partner program. “We are going to build hundreds of partners, ISVs, consulting partners, and services partners to take it to market. There are handful of partners that have signed up and a lot in the pipeline,” says Morris.
The company will host a live-streamed webcast on January 15, at 11 am ET, and an in-person invitation-only launch event will be held at the Seaport Hotel in Boston. More information is available here.