Network World
- Newsletters
- Videos
- Events
- Resources
- Communities
- The Challenges of OS Migration
- Citrix's Mobile Enterprise 360
- Cloud Powered Work
- The Essential Guide to Managing Power
- Get an Integrated Approach to Data Management
- Oracle Cloud KnowledgeVault
- Virtualization Boosts SMBs
- Your IT Journey — Your Way
- Research
- Aruba Networks Bring Your Own Device
- BlackBerry: Build up your BlackBerry® 10 knowledge
- CA Technologies Transform Your IT Strategy
- HP + Microsoft Data Management Appliances & Architectures
- Network World The Next Generation Firewall Challenge
- Network World Data Center Challenge 2012
- Riverbed Accelerate Business Performance Solution Center
- Riverbed Cascade® Solution Center
- View all Solution Centers
- Insider
- More
- Linked In
10gen Aims To Make MongoDB King of the NoSQLs
They hate the NoSQL tag, but MongoDB could be king of the big data DBs
By Alan Shimel on Fri, 06/03/11 - 9:06am.
Over the last few months I have spoken to many of the leaders in the so-called NoSQL movement. The latest member I have spoken to is Max Schireson, President of 10gen, developers of the MongoDB open source database. Like just about everyone in the NoSQL club, Max doesn’t really like the name or the tag.
Max says that calling non-relational databases NoSQL make it seem like they are anti-SQL or instead of SQL databases. According to Max, “you don’t define something but what it is not”. They are not meant to replace SQL databases, just another alternative. I don’t know, maybe we should just call this class of databases “big data DBs”
Whatever you call it, you can’t argue with the success of MongoDB and 10gen. MongoDB was the brainchild of Dwight Merriman and Eliot Horowitz. Merriman was a co-founder and CTO of DoubleClick, as well as the chief architect of Panther Express. He is the CEO of 10gen. Horowitz was an engineer at DoubleClick and then went on to found ShopWiki. He is the CTO of 10gen. Between them they have contributed a lot of the actual code to MongoDB which they started in 2007.
Merriman’s vision was to build a DB that would scale on commodity hardware and in the cloud. Their customers include names like Intuit, Shutterfly and foursquare. Like other NoSQL DBs, they really excel when the data needs and read/write loads are big. For this reason, they are perfectly suited to much of the social networking and big web based apps and networks that we all use today.
MongoDB’s popularity can also be judged by the attendance at their developer conferences both in San Francisco and New York. At their most recent they had over 800 attendees. 10gen is a key member of the vibrant NYC tech world too. They count among their investors Fred Wilson’s Union Square Ventures.
One thing that sets 10gen and MongoDB apart is their business model. They do not have a commercial version versus a community version. You can get a commercial license rather than the open source license MongoDB comes with from 10gen. However, that just denotes that you have purchased a support contract.
From a functionality standpoint there is not difference between the open source version and the commercial licensed version. I think that is great! On the other hand though it means 10gen will have to generate almost all of their revenue from service and support of the open source code. There are some who say that this model does not scale to build a truly successful company.
Whether 10gen has to eventually change the commercial license options versus the open source version or finds some other way to keep revenues growing, MongoDB is a great project in the club no one seems to want to be in, the NoSQL databases.
Recent Blog Posts
- About Open Source Fact and Fiction
As co-founder and Managing Partner at The CISO Group, Alan Shimel is responsible for driving the vision and mission of the company. The CISO Group offers security consulting and PCI compliance management for the payment card industry. Prior to The CISO Group, Alan was the Chief Strategy Officer at StillSecure. Shimel was the public persona of StillSecure as it grew from start up to helping defend some of the largest and most sensitive networks in the world.
Shimel is an often-cited personality in the technology community and is a sought-after speaker at industry and government conferences and events. His commentary about the state of security, open source and life is followed closely by many industry insiders via his blog and podcast, "Ashimmy, After All These Years" (www.ashimmy.com). Alan is now also a regular contributor to The CISO Group’s security.exe blog and podcast.
Alan has helped build several successful technology companies by combining a strong business background with a deep knowledge of technology. His legal background, long experience in the field, and New York street smarts combine to form a unique personality.
Disclosure: The CISO Group sells a software-as-a-service PCI compliance application called SAQPro. The company is independent and does not represent any other vendor's products as a reseller.
Policy on comments: Respectful discussion is welcomed! However comments that use inappropriate language, consist of name calling or personal attacks, or include accusations of wrongdoing are not appropriate. Those comments will be deleted or edited.
-
-
Most Discussed Posts
- Blog Roll
-
Network World, Inc
The Connected Enterprise