How to choose the right database for your organization

Pros, cons and specifics of different database deployment options

The popular term “cloud” is understood by many people differently and in this article we will consider it with regard to infrastructure as the ability to automatically provide available computing resources / network resources / resources to meet specific business needs using virtualization (IaaS).

If we talk about applications, the clouds implement access to applications using a browser (SaaS), and, more importantly, use the utility model (as for utilities) to pay for the use of services, which is radically different from the traditional use of IT.

Clouds led to a paradigm shift in client / server technology. Also, as mainframes were replaced by desktop computers, which led to the emergence of a client-server model, the omnipresence of clouds led to cloud computing, for example, based on Amazon Web Services (AWS), becoming the next stage in the evolution of IT. At this stage, applications, data and services are moved to the border of the corporate data center.
A CIO who wants to reduce IT costs and eliminate risks can choose from the following options:

• Move the budget and functionality directly to the business unit (“shadow IT”) and apply various public cloud options
• Switch to the use of fully controlled private cloud services (this option is well suited for those who do not want to risk)
• Create a private cloud to which you can temporarily connect public cloud resources (i.e. use a hybrid cloud)
• Move everything to a public cloud and drastically reduce your IT department

Each of the four options has its pros and cons and it’s difficult to choose the one that will be the best solution for your enterprise.
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The main problems of the database used in the company are performance, security and compliance with the requirements of the law (compliance). Let's see what database management strategies are used in each option to solve these problems.
We will briefly analyze five database deployment scenarios: in a corporate data center / private cloud; hybrid cloud; public cloud; using a dedicated appliance device and in a virtualized environment.

Corporate data center / private cloud

One of the main advantages of this database deployment scenario is the company's full control over its IT infrastructure, which can be adapted to specific business objectives and use cases. The IT department of the company is fully owned and operated by IT, which ensures high security.

The distance between the client and the related data can affect inherited applications, for example, if the user is on another continent and accesses their data through mobile devices, then there can be a significant delay that will make it difficult for the user.

Another serious disadvantage is IT investment. Usually, purchasing your own hardware, software, and additional components pays off in two to three years, but some enterprises need to pay back their IT investments more quickly. Also with this option, the cost of data storage is high.

The company's IT department is primarily responsible for the operation of the database and for some companies this will be a plus, and for others - a minus. Sometimes the ability of a company to quickly enter the market depends on this.

Before deploying a database in a corporate data center / private cloud, it is important to predict the return on investment. If the ROI is more than two or three years, then for some companies this is acceptable, but for others it is too long.

Safety and compliance should also be considered. In some industries, companies must provide enhanced security, for example, in the financial sector and healthcare. In our country, as well as in Canada and Germany, there are strict bans on the storage of personal information of citizens abroad, so companies operating there can not store data about users in other countries.

Also, the solution should include safety and disaster recovery functions.

Hybrid cloud

The hybrid cloud is very flexible and easy to customize to meet specific requirements, so IT managers can add new elements to their public or private clouds as their business requirements change. The main advantage of the hybrid cloud is the “cloud bursting” function. If an application that runs in a corporate data center drastically increases data volumes several times a month or a year, then using a hybrid cloud can temporarily get additional capacity instead of purchasing a storage system that will stand idle most of the time.

With a hybrid cloud, a company can manage its own IT environment, but its business does not depend entirely on the IT department, and as business demands grow, new applications can be flexibly deployed.

More importantly, disaster recovery is built into the hybrid cloud and this solves one of the three main database problems. Using hybrid cloud, you can also remove some data storage and security restrictions by moving some data to the cloud, while others are still stored within the company.

The disadvantages of the hybrid cloud include the complexity of integrating the infrastructure of a corporate data center and a public cloud, which can lead to security problems. Also, hybrid clouds tend to uncontrolled growth of computer resources involved, because of which the company is forced to pay for idle power.

The hybrid cloud provides the flexibility of using a corporate data center along with the best SaaS solutions, but it is important to keep its growth under control, and also to develop a strategy for migrating data to a hybrid cloud. This will reduce complexity and improve security.

Public cloud

The main advantage of public clouds is almost unlimited scalability. Also an important advantage is the payment of services upon use (pay-as-you-go). The public cloud allows the company to quickly enter the market and deploy new applications, but using legacy applications can cause serious problems.

Uncontrolled growth of used resources is the same problem for a public cloud as it is for a hybrid one. If a company does not have a public cloud management and control strategy, then costs will grow rapidly and, as a result, will bring to nothing savings and improved efficiency. You also need to remember that using a public cloud increases security risks.

Another major drawback of the public cloud is control of the data. After you transfer your data to the cloud, you do not know where they are physically stored, which creates serious problems for multinational companies. Many CEOs and their IT departments find public clouds unsafe and therefore prefer to use a hybrid cloud that unites the best of both worlds.

Public clouds often have a homogeneous architecture and therefore a public cloud is difficult to tailor to the needs of one company (as opposed to the option of using a corporate data center, which is designed to serve only its owner’s applications).

Although the public cloud has low operating costs, after the first three years they can be a significant amount. When deployed in a public cloud, TCO should be taken into account, including costs throughout the life cycle and overall savings, as well as controlling the full cost of the applications deployed in it.

Depending on the architecture of the company's connection to the public cloud and the placement of applications or infrastructure in it, there may be a delay, which greatly affects the work of users. To improve performance, it is better to distribute applications and their data closer to users, rather than trying to place them in the same zone.

Protection against accidents is part of the public cloud, so companies do not need to create this solution themselves. Security has always been a weak point of the public cloud, but it can be improved through measures such as encryption of stored data and efficient tools / properly designed access control procedures.

Specialized device (prefix) appliance

Usually, the appliance is installed in the data center of the company and serviced by the vendor or the IT department of the company. This solution is offered by many vendors, and the use of a complete solution from a single vendor is beneficial in terms of performance and support.

However, these solutions “tie” the company to one vendor, and specialized database devices themselves are usually a niche product designed for a specific application scenario. It is extremely important to choose the right vendor, because with him you will need to cooperate not only today, but also in the future.

Because of their specialization, database devices are expensive, but if they are implemented correctly, you will get significant savings in the long term.

Virtualized database

One of the benefits of virtualization is the ability to consolidate multiple applications on a single hardware platform to save costs and more efficient use of resources.

The virtualized environment is easily scalable and administered, and there are a number of utilities specifically designed to manage virtualized servers.
However, installing patches in a virtualized environment turns into a complicated procedure, since each copy of the OS runs on top of the hypervisor and therefore you need to install patches for each virtual machine running on a physical server.

When forecasting costs, it is better to include increased Capex, taking into account the cost of installing the database. You can save money by using free Open Source products, but additional expenses will be required to set them up.

The disadvantage of this option is that the IT infrastructure of an enterprise turns into a single point of failure: if the hardware goes down, then all virtual machines will fall. It is necessary to provide for disaster recovery and carefully design it.

There may also be problems with network traffic if many applications try to use the same network card. To maintain a virtualized environment, you should allocate a separate server specially selected configuration.

For virtualization, you can use legacy servers that are ready for decommissioning. By consolidating several applications on such a server, you can extend its life cycle. Also in a virtualized environment, you can apply clustering and by joining many virtual machines into a cluster, you can provide better resiliency.

This option has a higher Capex and significant licensing costs for virtualization software, but it does reduce Opex through consolidation (many processes are consolidated), so the savings in maintenance costs speeds up payback and reduces total cost of ownership.

An enterprise can improve the efficiency of using the resources of its data center by reducing the size of the equipment, which reduces server maintenance costs and allows you to run multiple databases on one virtual machine, while ensuring complete isolation at the operating system level.

Choosing the best database

So, we explained that it is not so easy to choose the optimal implementation option and you cannot focus only on cost.

Also, as IT evolved from mainframes to the clouds, enterprises can succeed if they find a way from legacy databases running in their data centers to a private cloud with an open API for public clouds that connects the mobile computing architecture. , IoT and AI, as well as prepare the foundation for building a hybrid cloud using the best public cloud services for storage, applications, etc.

Each company has its own tasks, goals and needs, therefore there can not be a universal recommendation for choosing a database. Carefully analyze your infrastructure, as well as the ROI forecast, business objectives in the long term, data protection requirements, IT capabilities and dedicated resources, and based on this, you can choose a database for your enterprise that you will use for many years.