Business intelligence company Domo Inc. receives daily queries from its customers’ analysts and executives. This ad hoc environment can be challenging for its engineers, since its does not allow a predictable dashboard for performance planning.

In order to answer analyst questions and provide cloud-scale analytical abilities in near real time, Domo uses Vertica’s open architecture to collect metadata to manage and optimize its databases, according to Ben White (pictured), senior database engineer at Domo.

“It allows us to build individual database clusters that can perform best for the workload that might be assigned to them,” White said. “The open, the expandable, the ability to grow as your base grows, those are all important factors when you’re choosing early on.”

White spoke with Dave Vellante, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the virtual Vertica Big Data Conference. They discussed Domo’s use of Vertica’s platform, its approach to meet companies needs, and the road to autonomous database management. (* Disclosure below.)

To expand and reduce databases

One great feature of the open architecture is the elasticity to meet the demand of the moment, according to White. “We could expand databases quickly, and, more importantly, now you can reduce it,” he said. “Where you can go up and down, you can save some money or maybe you can improve performance or maybe you can meet demand.”

Domo uses Vertica’s Eon Mode, which allows users to scale big-data processes without adding dreaded complexities. Available on Amazon Web Services and on-premises via Pure Storage FlashBlade technology, Eon Mode simplifies database operations and addresses variable workloads by separating compute from storage and combining Amazon S3 object storage with variable compute capacity based on workload demands.

“To be able to decouple it quickly, replace nodes, bring in nodes, that certainly fits what we were trying to do in building this kind of ecosystem that could respond to unknown of a customer query or of a customer demand,” White explained.

The future of database administration and management is the automation, but there is still a way to go, according to White, who is also a member of the Vertica Customer Advisory Board.

“Right now our system is kind of a rule, where we’ve said: ‘These are the things we should be looking for, these are the things that we think are a problem,’” he pointed out. “Mature to the point where the database is recognizing anomalies and taking on pattern … is kind of the next step.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the virtual Vertica Big Data Conference. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Vertica Big Data Conference. Neither Vertica, the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE