Six Reasons Businesses Need to Pay Attention to Unstructured Data
Developers have flocked to NoSQL databases because they enable their applications to scale more easily. Instead of having to share relational databases in a way that would allow their application to scale, a NoSQL database makes use of an key/value database architecture.
Now Orchestrate wants to make invoking a NoSQL database even simpler. The Orchestrate NoSQL database-as-a-service launched today makes it possible for developers to invoke multiple data formats via a single RESTful API.
Orchestrate CEO Antony Falco says that rather than forcing developers to invoke multiple types of NoSQL databases, the Orchestrate service, via a single API, gives developers in addition to key/value queries, support for full text search, graph, activity feed and time-ordered event queries.
However, unlike other NoSQL databases, the Orchestrate service has been specifically designed to provide database administrators (DBAs) with the tools they need to ensure the data stored in the Orchestrate service actually complies with the organization’s data governance policies.
For years now, developers have been doing an end run around DBAs by building applications on top of NoSQL databases that don’t require nearly as much in the way of administration. But in so doing, Falco notes that developers are often also skirting compliance regulations. That activity could wind up costing organizations millions of dollars in fines.
The Orchestrate approach provides the facilities that DBAs need to manage where and how data is stored, while at the same time giving developers all the benefits of a NoSQL database platform. The end result, says Falco, is a platform where DBAs won’t feel they are being snubbed by developers who often have little or no regard for corporate data policies.
Client libraries for Java, Node.js and Go are available, with future support for Ruby, Python, Microsoft.Net and other programming languages planned.
As part of an effort to attract developers to the platform, Orchestrate has made the service available for free for any application that generates less than one million queries per month. After that, developers have the option for contracting to use the service for $39 per 10 million IOPs per month or can sign up for a subscription that costs $750 per month for any application that generates more than 100 million IOPs per month.
NoSQL databases today cover a broad spectrum of data types. In fact, up until now, rolling them all up under a NoSQL umbrella doesn’t do justice to the variety and complexity of all the data types involved. But as more sophisticated APIs emerge for addressing all those data types, chances are that NoSQL will finally start to mean more than just being something other than a SQL database.
