Data is often repeated as the lifeblood of modern business. Companies use data to drive decisions and strategies, as well as run applications based off those decisions (which in turn generates new data for decisions and strategies, which new applications are based off, and so on). Many data stacks can be generalized into having multiple layers. These are responsible for running applications and pulling insights from these applications. Multiple layers means potentially having multiple technologies share the workload (for example, use technology A to actually run the applications, but ship the data off to technology B to run batch analysis). This, of course, means having to create links between layers, and maintaining a patchwork system.
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Definition
The obvious question here is “why not just integrate all the processing into one layer?” That is where what Forrester calls “translytics” comes in. Translytics is a portmanteau of “transaction” and “analysis.” According to Forrester analyst Mike Gualtieri, a translytical database is a “single unified database that supports transaction and analytics in real time without sacrificing transactional integrity, performance, and scale.” Back in 2015, our webinar “The State of Streaming Analytics: The Need for Speed and Scale”, Mike Gualtieri defines what exactly is a translytical database.
Thinking Big: The Possibilities of Data
The general idea of a translytical database, as implied by the definition, is to have a single technology layer provide the basis for both application transactions and analytics. There are great benefits of migrating to a single layer. Instead of having to wrangle multiple technologies together to work in concert, you have a single technology for the transactions and analytics. Not only does this simplify your system, you eliminate any potential bottleneck technologies, which could hold back your entire application. You can now run real real-time (or streaming) analytics on data, while actioning on it.
The possibilities of streaming analytics are endless. By using data as it comes in, you can create powerful new applications, such as monitoring health indicators, serving advertisements and offers based on exact location and time, or even stopping fraud in-transaction. With a translytical database, you can use data as it was meant to be used — in real time.
Learn More
The Forrester report named Volt Active Data as a top vendor in translytical databases and they discuss their ranking in this pre-recorded webinar. We agree: Volt Active Data is the definition of a translytical database. Volt Active Data enables real-time analytics and ACID transactions. Customers are using Volt Active Data to make decisions on data as it comes in. Learn more about how our database is being used for fraud protection or try Volt Active Data for free.
