OptimaData PostgreSQL database management and  consultancy

OptimaData is market leader in the Netherlands in open source database services, including PostgreSQL and provides consultancy, database management, maintenance and training. Support by Postgres experts in managing your Postgres database by e.g. managed services, managed database consultancy, database QuickScan and database HealthCheck, proactive (remote) monitoring and database maintenance on PostgreSQL database platforms in the Netherlands and abroad.

PostgreSQL is a free, open-source, relational database server (RDBMS). It provides an alternative to both open-source database management systems like MySQL and Firebird and proprietary systems like Oracle, Sybase, DB2, and Microsoft SQL Server. PostgreSQL is not being managed or controlled by one single company, but relies as an open-source platform on a worldwide community of developers and companies. In its latest version, NoSQL data can be processed by PostgreSQL, as well.

PostgreSQL’s official pronunciation is ‘post-gress-Q-L’, but many users abbreviate this and use ‘postgres’.

Within PostgreSQL, a user can define data types. PostgreSQL used to be one of the first database servers with MVCC (multi-version concurrency control), which is a system in which access to data is not locked, but where data receives a time stamp.

History

PostgreSQL began as Postgres in 1986 at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Postgres project was started by relational database pioneer Michael Stonebraker, then a professor at the school, as a more advanced alternative to Ingres, a proprietary RDBMS that he also played a lead role in developing. The software became open source in 1995, when a SQL language interpreter was also added, and it was officially renamed PostgreSQL in 1996.

Decades later, PostgreSQL and Postgres are still used interchangeably by developers, vendors and users to refer to the database.

The huge increase in data from mobile devices and applications, social media, and machines has already caused database professionals to start looking for new, innovative solutions. Nowadays, a typical data center consists of a wide range of different data management technologies. From enterprise relational databases and stand-alone niche NoSQL-only solutions to specialised extensions: a data manager’s tool set is becoming more and more diverse.

One of the biggest challenges a data manager faces is the integration of data from different new data sources with existing data from solutions that have been used for a long time. This is extremely important in order for the data to be analysed and used properly. In other words, how do you create a proper integration from Hadoop clusters or MongoDB implementations with existing relational tables, so a useful snapshot can be created?

According to OptimaData, relational databases will continue to play an important role. Especially open-source alternatives such as PostgreSQL will remain important. Using the smart function Foreign Data Wrapper (FDW), PostgreSQL has turned out to be the optimal data management solution to every integrational challenge. Using these FDWs, data from different sources, such as MongoDB, Hadoop, and MySQL, can be easily integrated and used. The FDWs connect external data sources to Postgres databases, so users can get access and are able to manipulate these external data as native Postgres tables.

PostgreSQL 4x database van het jaar: 2017, 2018, 2020 en 2023!

The use of FDWs allows PostgreSQL to function as a central hub in an enterprise database. Especially the use of the JSON datatype, which supports NoSQL, is very important. Rightly so, JSON has been one of the most important new components of PostgreSQL’s latest release.

This means that users can use unstructured data types and other programming methods, without the database losing important ACID-compliancy. This is possible because PostgreSQL is extensible. PostgreSQL was developed bearing the possibility of extension in mind, which makes it unique to the world of databases. This makes adding new datatypes, indexations, languages, and other matters easier, without damaging existing functions.

Because of the Internet of Things (IoT), organisations will have to implement big changes to gain holistic and real-time insight into the interests and needs of their business partners and clients. In this new day and age, PostgreSQL is able to deliver a data platform that allows IT departments to transform their database management systems and still have budget left to support new IoT-applications.

PostgreSQL’s FDWs provide IT organisations with the possibility to enrich existing data from relational DBMSs with NoSQL functionalities within a single platform. By joining these two data sources, IT departments can create a holistic image of their clients and partners. Using this image, intelligent recommendations can be created, and specific actions can be undertaken to improve customer engagement. The future of the IoT will definitely need those kinds of improvements. Whether a client receives a push notification on their smartphone or their washing machine tells them which detergent is most suitable to wash sportswear, solid and effective data management is a necessity.

Postgres knowledge is key. And sharing this knowledge is the basis of open source. And from our leading position on Postgres in the Netherlands with database experts in Postgres management, consultancy and training, we have a responsibility to the community to promote and contribute to Postgres.

Thus, we are not only the service provider in PostgreSQL database management and consultancy but also a lively, visible and active part of the Postgres community. We are organizer of the PostgreSQL Usergroup NL meetups in the Netherlands. Also in the OptimaData DBA-Café we regularly discuss the developments around PostgreSQL. In addition, we are a sponsor of the PostgreSQL Conference Europe, 2023 in Prague for the 5th year in a row.

Read our sponsor interview here. Our DBAs, consultants and Data Engineers can also be found at Postgres events such as PGday UK, PGday Amsterdam and more international events where we share our knowledge of the PostgreSQL platform.

The Blue Elephant Pack is a subgroup within the PostgreSQL Usergroup NL aimed at strengthening and accelerating PostgreSQL knowledge and experience in the Netherlands through a series of hands-on training sessions, mentor coaching, on-the-job training, and targeted knowledge sharing among peers. Additionally, the program offers concrete opportunities for attractive and substantive PostgreSQL assignments for interim professionals and freelancers.

Finally, we partner with both EDB and Splendid Data (which allows us to offer 2 different Postgres Enterprise solutions and support) which makes the reach of our knowledge and access to resources almost unlimited.

What provisions are best taken to keep the system available? And not just during unfortunate events, but also during upgrades, software releases and other changes to the database environment? The available options are changing at a rapid pace and OptimaData’s consultants can provide advice appropriate to your situation and requirements regarding database management.

A QuickScan for a good picture of your environment with a set of recommendations for optimal performance of your current and future-proof database environment. Application of best practices and performance tuning to get the most out of your configuration.

Regular HealthChecks to keep a finger on the pulse in relation to contamination, database growth or renewed data modeling. With database management through Managed Consultancy or Managed Services, you are assured of business continuity, database maintenance and 24/7 support in case of disruptions or incidents.