The database market is on fire! (Or, according to Gartner, at least)
Gartner, the leading research and advisory company for information technology, has released its 2014 report on the database market, and it’s showing huge growth in the industry. According to their data, the global database market was worth US$17 billion in 2013, up from US$13 billion in 2012, and they expect that number to keep growing to US$31 billion by 2018. They even have some pretty neat graphs to back up their predictions (see below). What’s driving all this new investment into databases?
What are databases?
A database stores and organizes data for easy retrieval. By the very nature of its name, a relational database must store data in a way that makes it easy to find how different pieces of information are related. It does this by storing the data as tables with rows and columns – think spreadsheet with rows and columns – that relate to each other through common values in the intersection of their fields. The most common type of relational databases are called SQL databases because they store their data using SQL language. Other types exist as well – NoSQL databases store data differently than SQL databases and often use non-traditional programming languages like JavaScript or Python.
What is a NoSQL database?
A NoSQL database is an alternative to a traditional relational database. They are often open-source and use different data models that make them well-suited for big data problems. However, they also have their drawbacks: they can be difficult to scale and don’t support joins or complex queries. Just like most databases, they’re built with SQL and come in many flavors of vendor lock-in. But they’re still useful in some cases where you need a simpler structure or want more control over the storage engine.
And yet the fact that these databases can’t handle complex queries has turned out not to matter so much these days because when it comes to analyzing all of your data, SQL isn’t really necessary anymore anyway. Most tools now allow you query just about any type of dataset using natural language like show me the top 5 posts by clicks. And even if you need something more complicated than that– say a table join– there’s usually an easy workaround involving your favorite programming language which will generate SQL from code automatically.
What kinds of use cases are best suited for NoSQL technologies?
NoSQL databases are best suited for use cases where speed and scalability are a priority. Because NoSQL databases don’t adhere to the ACID properties, they’re able to achieve high levels of availability in systems that have high volume data flow. Additionally, they’re able to scale up or down as required while preserving transactional integrity.
How big is the database market right now?
With the prevalence of cloud computing and the rise of big data, it’s no surprise that database demand has gone up significantly in recent years. A new report from analyst firm Gartner suggests that the global database market will grow by 30% over the next three years, from $22 billion in 2018 to $30 billion by 2021.
This growth will be fueled by increased adoption of cloud databases as well as more complex databases for specific industries such as healthcare and financial services.
What will be driving this industry forward over the next few years?
There’s no question that the database market is seeing an uptick. According to a recent report by Gartner, the global database software and services industry grew by 11% in 2017. The company attributes this increase to cloud adoption. But it’s not just traditional DBMS vendors that are benefiting from the rise in cloud computing; there’s a broader range of providers meeting the needs of companies across all industries.
