If data is the lifeblood of business, then databases are the beating heart. Data must be efficiently cataloged, stored and made available for queries to be of any use; databases perform this function. As the tech world has seen a rise in uses for data, so too has the database world discovered new technologies and fresh ways to deliver faster, cleaner data.

To help understand this rise in the power of databases, Dave Vellante (@dvellante), cohost of theCUBE, from the SiliconANGLE Media team, visited the IBM Edge 2016 conference in Las Vegas. There, he spoke to Marc Linster, SVP of Product Development at EnterpriseDB, and Lenley Hensarling, SVP of Product Management and Strategy at EnterpriseDB.

PostgreSQL and the open-source example

The conversation started with a look into how EnterpriseDB runs its business. Hensarling compared its operation to the open-source model used by Red Hat, Inc., except with Postgres (PostgreSQL) databases. He explained that they take the distribution, add testing and then add some other functionality. Instead of leaving things to the customer, EnterpriseDB tests everything together and gives the customer a package with complete documentation.

Linster then added that there’s something they call a “data federation.” Some data should live in specialized databases, but with a data wrapper, they can run queries across these databases without moving the data. He stated that it’s exciting how they can run a fit-for-purpose architecture within an integrated system.

“The philosophy is, leave the data where it is,” Linster said.

Why now for databases?

The discussion then turned toward why databases are suddenly so important. Hensarling pointed out that the application model has changed. Companies have fit-for-purpose database solutions and may have four or five of those. This means more databases. He explained that Postgres is able to fit well in that environment because it doesn’t try to do everything. Instead, it uses data wrappers to project relational database schemes on information in those mixed systems.

Hensarling believed that databases are moving to the Cloud, both public and private. This has changed EnterpriseDB’s perspective. Now, the company leaves things in the hands of the customer, allowing them to choose which, and whose, cloud data goes to. He mentioned customers have shown a preference for this bring-your-own-license approach.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of IBM Edge 2016.

Photo by SiliconANGLE