Database technologies are constantly changing and adding new options for enterprises. To take advantage of the new world of database technologies, enterprise and database managers need to be open to new possibilities.
At Data Summit Connect, a free 3-day series of data-focused webinars, a session titled "The New World of Database Technologies," looked at two key NoSQL databases, MongoDB, a cross-platform document oriented database, and AnzoGraph DB, an MPP (massively parallel processing) graph database designed to accelerate data integration and scalable analytics.
Padmesh Kankipati, lead information architect, Florida Blue, kicked off the session with a presentation, titled, "MongoDB: A Practical Approach to Building a High-Performance Data Platform." In a session that focused primarily on MongoDB performance considerations, Kankipati considered the relative strengths of NoSQL databases versus relational databases, as well as the various types of NoSQL databases including Key-Value, Columnar, Document, and Graph, and what they each best suited for. NoSQL databases are well-suited for big, unstructured data and can handle new types of data, situations where horizontal scaling and sharding are required, where costs of proprietary licenses may be prohibitive, and where agility and rapid development are advantageous. Kankipati outlined MongoDB's benefits spanning flexibility, horizontal scaling, performance, cost-effectiveness, and more. In particular, he noted, the 4.2 release offers additional enhancements in the areas of distributed transactions, client-side field level encryption, on-demand materialized views, use of the Kubernetes container orchestration platform, and wild-card indexes.
To watch a video of Padmesh Kankipati's presentation at Data Summit Connect 2020, go here.
Thomas Cook, director of sales, Cambridge Semantics, then offered a primer on graph database technology and the reason for the rapid growth of knowledge graphs, in a presentation titled, "AnzoGraph DB: Driving AI and Machine Insights with Knowledge Graphs in a Connected World."
To watch a video of Thomas Cook's presentation at Data Summit Connect 2020, go here.
Knowledge graphs are undergoing rapid adoption because they have the advantages of linking and analyzing vast amounts of interconnected data. The promise of graph technology has been there for a decade. However, the scale, performance, and analytics capabilities of AnzoGraph DB, a graph database, is a key catalyst for knowledge graph adoption, Cook said.
Setting the stage for why knowledge graphs are coming to the fore, Cook cited current trends, including increasing data volumes, demand for AI and machine learning, and the increasingly complex data ecosystem.
There is a need to build on existing analytics capabilities with faster, automated data prep, explainable AI and machine learning, improved algorithms and analytics, and more cost-efficient operations, which graph databases support. Like all databases, graph databases store facts, but they also keep track of how those facts are connected. Graph databases can combine structured and unstructured data, offer a flexible data model that can evolve as data changes, and provide rich insights on relationships. "Relationships are a first-class citizen in a graph database," said Cook.
AnzoGraph DB is uniquely positioned to create knowledge graph applications, he noted. "Knowledge graphs are a connected graph of data and associated metadata applied to integrate and access an organization's information assets. The knowledge graph represents real-world entitles, concepts, and events as well as relationships between them, yielding a more accurate representation of a business' data."
Use cases for AnzoGraph DB span data harmonization, enterprise knowledge, scientific data discovery, Customer 360 initiatives, supply chain, IoT, fraud detection, financial research, network optimization, and anti-money laundering processes.
"Remember," said Cook, "It doesn't matter how big the data is. If it is in silos, it can't be easily analyzed or used." Repeated efforts in data discovery and rediscovery and ensuing data duplication can lead to data swamps, he concluded. "AnzoGraph DB provides a cost-effective way of combining your connected data in a single place and making it easier for consumers to find and use what they need along with real-time insights."
Data Summit Connect, a free 3-day webinar series, runs through Thursday, June 11.
To access the program and register, go to www.dbta.com/DataSummit/2020/Registration.aspx.