【the book forge orange ma】Amazon's Move Against MongoDB Doesn't Worry Me
On Jan. 10,the book forge orange ma the day after
Amazon.com
(NASDAQ: AMZN)
unveiled DocumentDB, a cloud-accessible
MongoDB
(NASDAQ: MDB)
database-service clone built for Amazon Web Services (AWS), the upstart database provider's stock
fell by more than 13%
. Three weeks later, you'd hardly know there was a slide. MongoDB stock is trading for a slight premium to where it stood before the Amazon-induced haircut.
Color me unsurprised.
Amazon is effectively pitching customers on using AWS to get the best of MongoDB when there's already a more functional version of the database available on not only AWS but also on Google Cloud and
Microsoft
's
(NASDAQ: MSFT)
Azure. It's called Atlas, and last quarter this cloud version of MongoDB accounted for 22% of MongoDB’s revenue. Total cloud revenue from Atlas soared 300% year over year in the third quarter.
The following chart shows what Amazon is after with DocumentDB -- replacing or enhancing the majority of Mongo deployments hosted on-site or co-located in a data center.
A diagram showing how to migrate from an on-premises instance of MongoDB to DocumentDB in the cloud
Image source: Amazon.com.
Why would Amazon want to do this? MongoDB makes the world’s leading NoSQL database, meaning it’s capable of handling unstructured data such as images as easily as it handles numbers and other common data types. Mongo differs from, say,
Oracle
(NYSE: ORCL)
in that it stores information in "documents" instead of the columns and rows of a traditional relational database. That inherent flexibility means there’s no "structured query language" for retrieving data from the system -- hence the term "NoSQL."
There's just one problem with this scenario: Amazon's version of DocumentDB uses the old 3.6 version of the MongoDB server that operates under a more wide-ranging open-source license. A newer version is licensed under the Server Side Public License, which means that those who use, modify, and redeploy the free version of Mongo, known as Community Server, as a Web-hosted service
must also make their work freely available to others as open-source software.
Let's say Amazon made significant changes to the newest Community Server, beefing it up to handle all sorts of heavy-duty online processes to make it more valuable to businesses. Awesome, right? Absolutely, especially for business users getting a free database from Amazon. MongoDB, too, would benefit. Engineers there would download the newly enhanced DocumentDB for incorporating everything useful into a new version of Community Server, also without paying Amazon a dime.
This is why MongoDB chief executive Dev Ittycheria responded to the news flippantly. "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so it's not surprising that Amazon would try to capitalize on the popularity and momentum of MongoDB," he said in a statement supplied to CNBC. "However, developers are savvy enough to distinguish between the real thing and a poor imitation."
Story continues
With MongoDB, you can't drop ACID
As a shareholder, I'd rather have seen Ittycheria respond with more grace and less snark. But he's also right: Amazon is using old technology that's freely available in Community Server, which has already been downloaded over 40 million times. And since DocumentDB is native to AWS, it makes little sense to use it unless you're already working with a vast amount of data in Amazon's cloud.
Even then, DocumentDB isn't as functional as the commercial-grade version of MongoDB that more than 8,300 customers worldwide use. We know because it's only the commercial version of Mongo -- not the free Community Server on which DocumentDB is based -- that supports "ACID" transactions across multiple documents.
ACID -- short for "atomicity, consistency, isolation, durability" -- is a set of properties that modern, enterprise-scale databases adhere to for ensuring the validity of transactions. So, for example, a bank wouldn't use anything less than an ACID-tested database for arranging and tracking cash disbursements from an ATM network. A retailer would want an ACID-tested database for following the movement of inventory. And a subscription business would want an ACID-tested database for tracking the comings and goings of its subscriber base to avoid billing errors. DocumentDB offers none of these assurances today, and it may never.
Low expectations = lots of room to grow
You'd think that would make Mongo an attractive choice in the enterprise IT community, the type of audience that reads
Gartner
's highly regarded industry research. If only. Gartner isn't exactly high on MongoDB right now, as the latest "Magic Quadrant" for operational database systems puts it well into the "challengers" category rather than the "leaders" one.
However, it turns out MongoDB didn't actually participate in this year's Gartner report and Gartner had to rely on "credible public sources."
Also, the company had only just announced ACID support for the 4.0 version of MongoDB at the time of Gartner's assessment. It's reasonable to expect future reports will more closely reflect Mongo's popularity among database users. (DB-Engines ranks MongoDB as the world's fifth most popular database and the most popular NoSQL database for handling unstructured documents and data.)
All of which brings us back to what Ittycheria said in his comments to CNBC. DocumentDB copies MongoDB for a good reason: It's worth copying. But for business users, the imitation appears to be nothing like the original.
More From The Motley Fool
10 Best Stocks to Buy Today
3 Stocks That Are Absurdly Cheap Right Now
5 Warren Buffett Principles to Remember in a Volatile Stock Market
The $16,728 Social Security Bonus You Cannot Afford to Miss
The Must-Read Trump Quote on Social Security
10 Reasons Why I'm Selling All of My Apple Stock
John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors.
Tim Beyers
owns shares of MongoDB. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon and MongoDB. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft. The Motley Fool recommends Gartner. The Motley Fool has a
disclosure policy
.
View comments
-
Cargotec completes the ownership change of joint venture in ChinaThis Custom Lancia Aurelia Outlaw Is the Most Unlikely RestomodMOVES-JPMorgan brings back China healthcare investment banker to boost coverageWhy Did Helmerich & Payne’s Fiscal 2Q16 Earnings Miss Estimates?Do companies sometimes 'ghost' job applicants? Ask HRChina to execute driver who killed passenger of ride-hailing firm DidiThis Custom Lancia Aurelia Outlaw Is the Most Unlikely RestomodAUD/USD Price Forecast – Australian dollar breaks through supportA2Z Technologies Lists on Frankfurt Stock ExchangeDespite Its High P/E Ratio, Is McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) Still Undervalued?
下一篇:Genco Shipping & Trading (GNK) Lags Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
- ·National CineMedia (NCMI) Jumps: Stock Rises 10.6%
- ·Pompeo, Brazil foreign minister discuss democracy support for Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua
- ·Want Want China Holdings Limited (HKG:151) Earns A Nice Return On Capital Employed
- ·Is Genesis Energy Limited’s (NZSE:GNE) CEO Pay Justified?
- ·Stifel Financial Appoints Kathleen Brown Lead Independent Director
- ·Pressure on small brokers grows a year after new EU rules
- ·Columbia University Economics Professor Quits Twitter After Huawei Article Backlash
- ·BRIEF-Hylink Digital Solution In Framework Agreement With Data Service Firm TalkingData
- ·Antibodies, Protein-based Vaccines, Anti-virals, and Cell-based Therapies to Lead the Development of COVID-19 Treatment Pipeline- Exclusive Report by Meticulous Research®
- ·Stock Market News For Jan 2, 2019
- ·Oil Prices Fall; Saudi Arabia May Cut Prices of Heavy Crude Sold to Asia
- ·Wyoming Estate Tax
- ·U.S. Dollar Index (DX) Futures Technical Analysis – Overtaking 97.470 Could Trigger Surge into 97.920
- ·FOREX-Yen soars as growth concerns dampen appetite
- ·Qatar GDP growth accelerates to 2.2 pct y/y in Q3
- ·JC Penney closes more stores after a weak holiday season
- ·SHAREHOLDER ALERT: TUFN EHTH R: The Law Offices of Vincent Wong Reminds Investors of Important Class Action Deadlines
- ·With new subway line open, NY transit agency chief to retire
- ·Trump: Falling gas prices are 'tax cut' for US consumers
- ·‘Wonder Woman 1984’ Mid-Credits Scene Explained: Who is Asteria?
- ·Founder Alexander Reilley Just Bought 10.0% More Shares In Loungers plc (LON:LGRS)
- ·Resolutions 2019: Budget Your Way to Financial Goals
- ·Who Has Been Selling Virtusa Corporation (NASDAQ:VRTU) Shares?
- ·Should You Be Worried About Janco Holdings Limited’s (HKG:8035) 2.0% Return On Equity?
- ·HAGENS BERMAN, NATIONAL TRIAL ATTORNEYS, Encourages Crown Castle (CCI) Investors Who Have Suffered Losses to Contact its Attorneys: Securities Fraud Case Filed
- ·1st Capital Bank Announces Appointment of Phil Morreale as SVP, Managing Director in San Luis Obispo
- ·Mike Bloomberg thinks a gun-control pitch works … in Texas
- ·Rutgers Law School Names Mutcherson Camden Co-Dean
- ·Top 5 Things to Know in the Market on Wednesday
- ·IT meltdown at Britain's TSB burdens Spanish parent Sabadell
- ·Role of Wireless ICT in Healthcare Markets, 2020 Report - Focus on WICT and M2M Communications, Self-powered Wireless Sensors, Underlying Technologies, & WBAN/WMBAN Features and Standardization
- ·PHOTOS: Inside Nastia Liukin's 'Cozy and Warm' Boston Bedroom
- ·Diddy gets pulled over for blasting own song while driving golf cart in Miami, says he's relatable
- ·Trade deficit shrank more than expected
- ·CDK Global: Q1 Earnings Insights
- ·PRESS DIGEST - Canada - Jan 2