A couple of weeks ago we attended the ‘MongoDB World 2015’ conference in New York. Our goal was to learn more about the latest version of MongoDB and see how it is being used by other companies, as a NoSQL alternative to relational database systems.
The conference opened with a keynote from MongoDB’s CMO Meagen Eisenberg, CEO Dev Ittycheria and CTO and Co-Founder Eliot Horowitz, who drove home the transformational significance of this next-generation database:
- With $230 million in funding and a $1.6 billion valuation, MongoDB’s software and services are in use by industry leaders such as MetLife, Forbes, Expedia and ADP
- The company has recorded over 10 million downloads of the platform to date
- MongoDB’s 400 employees serve over 2,000 paying customers
Eliot Horowitz addresses the audience at MongoDB World 2015
The conference itself explored a wide range of topics for developers and operational executives, including data management, big data analytics, digital commerce and the Internet of Things (IoT), plus a range of industry use cases.
There were common themes seen across the many industry presentations, leveraging MongoDB to enable application features, such as omni-channel retailing, single customer view, personalized offers, big data analytics and machine learning.
The current boom in big data collection and processing is sure to continue as IoT-connected devices lead to an explosion in the volume of useful data available to be captured and actionable insights to be gained.
The MongoDB team is clear on its role; not to make you think more about the database, but to let you focus on your application. “If you are focusing on the database all the time,” said Eliot Horowitz, “we have failed.”
Technology providers like MongoDB and Datalex have a common vision of streamlining disparate processes to improve business efficiencies and enable quicker and more effective decision-making. MongoDB enables customers to create new applications while improving customer experience and accelerating time-to-market through just one database. Similarly, Datalex helps travel retailers to consolidate processes, products and services to enable their merchandising strategies through just one platform. The theme is global - regardless of the industry, whether it’s retail, travel, finance, health, logistics, technology, or others, all are facing the same challenges of the data and technology boom.
It is therefore more urgent now than ever for businesses to get their data strategy in order, before it becomes an inhibitor that detracts from the day-to-day business focus. As Eliot Horowitz pointed out, if you think of how much data has emerged in the last few decades, it is only going to grow faster over the next ten years. “We have to keep up with you”, he said. “The developer landscape and the operations landscape are changing incredibly rapidly, and it’s our job to make sure we keep pace with you, so we don’t fall behind.”
These landscapes are indeed changing, at a pace and in a way that many have not yet even contemplated. Take for example, Jomati Consultants’ predictions regarding the dominance of AI in the legal profession by 2030. Eliot Horowitz’s advice to his own organisation is universally applicable: when it comes to new applications, IoT or big data – make sure you don’t fall behind.
Alan Dunne
Chief Innovation Officer, Datalex