Crate.io Inc. is bringing its specialized database for information generated by machines and “internet of things” devices to the network edge.

The company said its new CrateDB Edge offering, launching today for early adopters, makes it possible for customers to capture data and analyze it at its source, no matter where that might be, and even when internet connectivity is unavailable or limited.

Crate.io launched its original CrateDB database back in 2016. CrateDB is a Structured Query Language database that runs as a cluster of containers, similar to modern containerized applications that are made up of many individual components.

The CrateDB database, unique among SQL databases, has the ability to redistribute data as it changes the size of the clusters it sits upon. This, the company says, makes it ideal for capturing and analyzing data that’s generated by machines and devices that run on container management platforms such as Kubernetes.

The company sells a fully managed version of CrateDB, called CrateDB Cloud, that can be hosted on cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure.

CrateDB Edge is designed to bring the fully managed capabilities of CrateDB Cloud to edge locations, the company said. The biggest advantage of this is that data can be analyzed as soon as it’s generated, which means much better response times compared with information that has to be sent back to the cloud and analyzed there.

As well as enabling true real-time analytics, CrateDB Edge can also synchronize itself with other edge regions through the cloud. That way, it can provide deeper analysis of data that can be used to power artificial intelligence learning models, for example.

The company further stressed that CrateDB Edge is ideal for companies with strict data security parameters. Customers can choose to deploy a CrateDB Edge cluster on-premises in their own region and then operate it entirely on their own infrastructure, be it their on-premises servers, or on Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure. The CrateDB Edge clusters are hosted on Kubernetes, and these can be accessed only via the CrateDB Cloud web interface, ensuring that users retain “full ownership” of their data, the company said.

Crate.io Chief Executive Eva Schönleitner said CrateDB Edge is targeted at global industrial companies that generate massive volumes of data at each plant they operate. “[They] can deploy a local cluster in each location… and they get the freedom to utilize our CrateDB database on the edge and in the cloud, fully-managed, backed up and synchronized, even at locations with inconsistent or intermittent internet connections,” Schönleitner said.

Crate.io is inviting both existing and new customers to participate in the CrateDB Edge early-adopter program.

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