All ContentCouchbase adds SQL to NoSQL with Couchbase Server 4.0
Couchbase adds SQL to NoSQL with Couchbase Server 4.0
451 RESEARCH REPRINT
A D D I T I O N A L C A PA B I L I T I E S
While the introduction of an SQL-like query language, global secondary indexing, multi-dimensional scaling and
a new storage engine would justifiably be enough for a new release, Couchbase didn’t stop there. Couchbase
Server 4.0 also includes security improvements – LDAP integration for authentication and auditing – and improved cross-datacenter replication thanks to the addition of filtering to enable subsets of data to be geographically replicated as required. Also new is support for geospatial queries thanks to multi-dimensional indexes,
bloom filters for latency improvements, memory defrag to improve the efficiency of memory utilization, and a
‘breakpad’ for new readable crash and diagnostic logs.
Couchbase now counts more than 500 customers for Couchbase Server – including the likes of General Electric,
Gannett, Marriott International, Cox Automotive, DIRECTV and Nielsen – up from the ‘more than 450’ cited in
March. The company has also grown its headcount to 300, compared with ‘more than 250’ in March. Couchbase
has raised $115m in five rounds of funding, with the most recent $60m series E round announced in June 2014.
COMPETITION
The most direct competition for Couchbase comes from other NoSQL database vendors, including MongoDB,
DataStax, Basho, Aerospike, Redis Labs, MarkLogic, and IBM’s Cloudant and Compose, as well as Amazon Web
Services’ DynamoDB, Microsoft’s Azure DocumentDB and Google’s Cloud Bigtable. Couchbase sees its closest
competitors as MongoDB (for JSON document model use cases) and DataStax (for cross-datacenter scalability),
and maintains that it offers advantages over MongoDB in terms of SQL support and DataStax in terms of JSON
support.
Wider competition comes from the incumbent relational database vendors, including Oracle, IBM, Microsoft and
SAP, which continue to dominate the market for operational databases. IBM and Oracle have already added the
ability to store JSON documents to their relational databases, and Microsoft is in the process of doing so. All three
are likely to argue that the combination will be ‘good enough’ for most mainstream users, although Couchbase
and other NoSQL specialists can point to scalability, performance and agility advantages, and argue that simply
storing JSON in a relational database is nowhere near good enough for the next-generation applications being
developed to take advantage of distributed elastic architecture.
SWOT A NA LYS I S
ST R E N GT H S
Couchbase Server 4.0 is a substantial release with a number of key improvements
that are likely to appeal to later adopters as
they begin to look at potential NoSQL use
cases.
WEAKNESSES
The company remains behind some rivals
– notably MongoDB – in terms of developer
traction and mindshare, although less so in
terms of adoption by paying customers.
O P P O RT U N I T I E S
As more companies begin to consider the
potential architecture for their next-generation data platforms, SQL support, secondary
indexing and multi-dimensional scalability
could be key features.
T H R E ATS
The incumbent relational database giants –
notably Oracle and IBM, and soon Microsoft
– have added support for storing JSON documents. Expect them to argue that JSON
support in the relational database is ‘good
enough’ for mainstream users.
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