As an open source NoSQL database based on a document metaphor, MongoDB has been gaining traction in the enterprise because it provides more structure for building certain classes of applications than a basic file system without introducing the complexity and cost associated with a SQL database.
The challenge, of course, is that MongoDB introduces yet another platform that many IT organizations are not overly excited about having to manage. As the leading distributor of the open source MongoDB database, 10gen has been working to make MongoDB a more palatable option in the enterprise by improving manageability and integration with the leading platforms in the enterprise.
As part of that effort, 10gen this week announced tighter integration with Red Hat in the form of support for the identity management features that are embedded with Red Hat Enterprise Linux. That announcement comes on the heels of the announcement of a partnership with Rackspace through which MongoDB can be deployed at scale. And prior to that, 10gen announced a partnership with IBM under which IBM agreed to collaborate on mobile computing applications by standardizing on the application programming interfaces (APIs) with WebSphere and DB2 involving the use of BSON, a binary implementation of JavaScript Object Notation (JSON); the MongoDB wire protocol; and the MongoDB query language.
According to Kelly Stirman, director of product marketing for 10gen, those partnerships extend the number of relationships that 10gen has across the enterprise, adding to partnerships with Informatica and QliqView. In addition, Stirman notes that a lot of departments within organizations have already taken upon themselves to either deploy MongoDB on premise or on Rackspace, Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure cloud platforms.
MongoDB is designed to handle a range of business applications that are more difficult to build using a SQL database. For that reason, many developers have been championing the adoption of MongoDB within their organizations. Internal IT organizations, however, are often not excited about having to manage another platform. To mollify that objection, Stirman says 10gen is making a concerted effort to better integrate MongDB within the constructs of existing IT management platforms.
Obviously, there’s still a lot of work to be done in that regard. But the one thing that is for certain is that 10gen is making progress in the enterprise at a rate internal IT organizations will soon no longer be able to ignore.
