MariaDB Corp. and cloud data integration firm Qlik Inc. are teaming up to make it simpler for companies to migrate from older database management systems to MariaDB’s Enterprise Server, Xpand distributed SQL database or SkySQL cloud database service.

MariaDB, which sells a commercial version of the open-source MariaDB DBMS, said its engine can do the work of many proprietary engines at a fraction of the cost. The pairing, announced Thursday, is aimed at providing continuous integration and replication of synced data across on-premises, hybrid and cloud environments.

The two companies are primarily targeting older relational engines such as Oracle Corp.’s Oracle, Microsoft Corp.’s SQL Server and the open-source MySQL. However, “you can integrate with just about any kind of data source out there,” said Andrew McIntyre, senior strategic alliances manager at MariaDB. “For customers looking to shift to a newer solution or a distributed topology, working with Qlik we can help them modernize their stack on MariaDB.”

Qlik’s technology is based on change data capture, a technique that tracks changes in a source dataset and replicates them to a target dataset in near-real-time. The company also specializes in analytics data pipeline development and data lineage/cataloging for delivering analytical data quickly for use by analysts and data scientists.

CDC works by quickly replicating changes from one database to another. It is commonly used in migration or disaster recovery scenarios. “We capture inserts, updates and deletes in a highly efficient manner and replay the transactions in a completely different DB,” said Itamar Ankorion, senior vice president of technology alliances at Qlik. “We replicate data and schemas so if a customer wants to move from Oracle, we can automatically generate a schema and data types on the target database and start feeding the in a continuous process.”

Qlik supports and optimizes both cloud and on-premises storage as well as events and cloud data warehouses, Ankorion said. “If someone adds a column or a field we can automatically capture and deliver that to keep the target system refreshed with all the original data,” he said. “Replication ensures that you always have the most current data.” Qlik minimizes overhead to replicate data in near-real-time.

The combination of Qlik data integration and MariaDB makes it possible for developers to create purpose-built applications and for businesses to analyze the performance of their applications in real-time, MariaDB said. The companies said the partnership will expand processing options for customers that want to take advantage of data analytics, save money through the elimination of legacy database licenses and provide the ability to leverage replications of data for compliance reasons or during migration to other platforms for high-availability purposes.

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