Recapping Data Community Conference 2024: sustainability, AI, security and Sovereign DBaaS

We recently attended and spoke at the 2024 Data Community Conference in Bern. Leading voices in IT and database management came together for one day to discuss wide-ranging topics, covering everything from improving sustainability within the sector and employee mental well-being to the practical use of AI and ensuring a proactive cybersecurity posture.

Our CEO, Vinay Joosery, presented Sovereign DBaaS: A Practical Vision for Self-Implementation of DBaaS, which aimed to chart the evolution of DBaaS through to now and offered a practical reconceptualization of it as an implementation concept as opposed to a commercial one.

Before we jump into the others, let’s go ahead and dive into his highlights.

Sovereign DBaaS: A Vision for Database Autonomy

Vinay introduced Sovereign DBaaS as a solution for organizations seeking greater autonomy in managing their database operations. He started by charting DBaaS’s evolution across three phases:

1. Hyperscalers: Early providers like AWS offered convenience but limited flexibility.

2. Database Independent vendors: They reduced lock-in by packaging open-source databases as legitimate services, but still posed environmental and provider lock-in.

3. Sovereign DBaaS: A new concept that provides workload access and portability by decoupling the entire stack, resulting in efficient and reliable automation at scale without forcing organizations to sacrifice operational control of their data stacks.

His talk highlighted some of the benefits organizations could experience by rethinking DBaaS:

• Operational efficiency: Maintain control over their data and still benefit from automation.
• Workload portability: Deploy and move workloads to on-premises, cloud, or hybrid environments to suit evolving operational needs.
• Security and compliance: Address data residency, governance, and security with enhanced workload access and platform capabilities.
• Cost efficiency and control: Leverage open-source databases to avoid expensive licenses and be able to port their workloads to where they make the most sense.

These are just a few highlights from his session; he also provides a case study with a larger FINBIN customer. So make sure you check out the full presentation here. Let’s move on!

Other Key Themes from the Conference

Here is the rundown of other featured talks on the critical factors shaping IT strategies today:

1. Green IT strategies

Ivan Mariblanca Flinch discussed the growing issue of digital pollution, which accounts for up to 40% of a service company’s carbon footprint. He emphasized the need for sustainable IT certifications, like the global Sustainable IT label, to align digital operations with environmental goals.

2. Mental health in the workplace

André Delafontaine explored systematic approaches to mental health, providing tools to assess and enhance workplace well-being. His presentation highlighted the importance of addressing productivity and motivation through structured interventions.

3. AI in database administration

Gianni Ceresa explored the role of AI tools like large language models (LLMs) in solving SQL and database challenges. While AI is a powerful tool, he stressed that it cannot replace human expertise and works best in collaboration with skilled professionals.

4. Cybersecurity in IT

Christian Das Neves highlighted the sophisticated tactics used by malicious actors and underscored the importance of proactive defense and continuous education to counter evolving threats.

Learn more about Sovereign DBaaS

Interestingly, implementing a Sovereign DBaaS concept can be used to address most of the key topics above due to its focus on helping organizations enhance operational control over their data through improving workload access and portability by decoupling the data stack.

Explore the possibilities of Sovereign DBaaS, see it in action through real-world applications, and discover how you can achieve true, “database ops your way” by visiting our Sovereign DBaaS page and joining the movement by becoming a member of our Slack community.