It’s that time of year — the “wrap up/planning” blogs are among us as we look to a new year.
With that, Volt Active Data has decided to put together a few tips and recommendations to consider when evaluating database technologies in 2018. Whether you’re in the market for some new technologies now or simply just reading this at your own leisure, we hope the below insights can help provide some additional perspectives to think about when making your next purchase.
1. Know the Market
Do your own testing. What works in one place won’t work in another. Do not believe vendors; what’s true for them may not be true for you. Establish your own facts.
2. Don’t Be Afraid to Change Your Mind
When it comes to new database technology you often have to try to implement the wrong thing before you establish what the real requirements for your situation are.
3. Pay Attention to Roadmaps and Evolution
Be wary of vague roadmaps with big promises or drastic architectural changes, such as new storage engines and new products that claim to do everything a legacy RDBMS does.
4. Support May Be a Fundamental Non-Negotiable
Support quality is one of the few things you can get a reasonable understanding of without spending man hours using the product. Don’t wait until you’ve picked a database before looking for it.
5. Understand That Speed is the ‘Absence of Doing Something’
When something is faster than a traditional database, it’s because work is not being done, not because the developers are smarter.
6. Think in Terms of the Feature Gaps Instead of Fixating on Feature Lists
Do not assume that ‘obvious’ functionality will be present in the product, now or in the future
7. Be Wary of Promises
Features like ACID and XDCR don’t appear overnight. A botched implementation is worse than no implementation.
8. Understand What Is a Product’s Purpose
The good products are written with a clear purpose in mind, and decided what they would and wouldn’t do up front.
Learn More
For more detail into the list above, watch our recent webinar,”The Changing Landscape of the Database Industry — What Evaluators Need to Consider When Choosing a Database in 2018″.
