MariaDB helps on-prem orgs leverage cloud database as a path to the future

In today’s real-time world, companies must deal with data in a different way than they did 10 years ago. Enterprise technology and the amount of data being collected have evolved and increased. Modern companies need something that can support their core business practices and deliverables, as well as propel their IT into the future.

MariaDB Corp. already has a massive on-prem customer base, but with SkySQL, those organizations can transform their IT by leveraging the best elements of the enterprise platform and the cloud and combine them with the AWS cloud. SkyeSQL provides the benefits of both worlds for customers by providing database as a service, according to Kevin Farley (pictured), director of strategic alliances at MariaDB.

“What the market is really looking for is something that can take what they know and love, can bring it to the cloud, and can drive the performance and scale that completely changes the landscape [of] what modern data needs to look like,” Farley said.

Farley spoke with theCUBE industry analyst John Walls at the AWS re:Invent 2022 Global Startup Program, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how database as a service can propel businesses into the future. (* Disclosure below.)

Recent use cases

When or why should an on-prem business consider leveraging a cloud database? There are multiple use cases, according to Farley, who shared some recent examples.

“We’ve just had two case studies recently with AWS, with HIT Labs and Certified Power, both on Expand, both proof in the pudding,” he said. “They did the POCs. They’re like, ‘Oh my, God. This works.’”

Another example was that of Samsung doing 80,000 requests per second. AWS is able to handle that kind of workload with MariaDB Expand driving it, Farley explained. The company was already in the cloud, but now it’s able to move to a completely different level with a fully managed database solution.

Even with successful use-case examples, many companies are hesitant to make the change from on-prem to the cloud. Fortunately, change doesn’t have to happen in an all-or-nothing scenario, Farley pointed out. A hybrid approach may be more effective, depending on each company’s needs. 

“Guess what? We make the best database in the world,” he said. “But there’s those that then say, ‘These elements of our business are going to be far more effective moving to the cloud.’ So we give you SkySQL.”

Some industries and some verticals will always have elements of their business that will be on-prem, and that’s OK, according to Farley. 

“You don’t have to dive in. You can go in ankle-deep, knee-deep, whatever you want to do,” he said.

The best technology blazing a trail to the future

As a database-as-a-service solution powered by MariaDB Enterprise Server, SkySQL combines open-source innovation, enterprise features, and support with ease of use on AWS, Farley explained. Representing a truly integrated partnership, SkySQL combines technology and availability across all of an organization’s environments, providing a fully managed database solution. The goal is to help businesses become future-focused and future-ready, Farley added. 

“Having everything you need without the compromise, built on the cloud allows you to scale out and allows you to think about, ‘I can actually do exponential layers of data: data modeling, data querying, complete rewrite, driving that forward,’” he said. “And I think it gives us a whole other dynamic that we can deliver on in a way that hasn’t been done before.”

MariaDB has spent a great deal of time making sure its products are optimized for the AWS environment, with the goal of creating the most value possible for its users. 

“We have 75% of the Fortune 100. We’ve got over a billion downloads,” Farley stated. “The reason this partnership is so valuable [with AWS] is if we can deliver incredible value to that customer base, these big workloads will end up in AWS, they’ll use other AWS services, and as we scale and grow, we have that platform that’s already built for it.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the AWS re:Invent 2022 Global Startup Program:

(* Disclosure: MariaDB Corp sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither MariaDB nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SilicoANGLE