“Why does database performance matter?” “What is the business value of database speed?” “Why should I care about the performance of a database?”
Why database performance matters in a nutshell
Make Faster Decisions
Database speed is the key to compute more data faster and make data-based decisions quickly. Faster decision-making drives business value.
Save Resources & Costs
Database speed translates into resource efficiency. Saving resources (like battery, CPU, memory) saves money and reduces waste.
Better UX & Response Rates
Database speed affects end user response rates significantly – smooth and fast user experiences keep people happy and more productive.
As a developer, it seems clear that database performance matters. At the very least, a fast database that gives you out-of-the-box speed saves time and nerves during development. Any piece of the tech stack that works super-fast makes a developer’s job easier. But there is more to it. Learn, why and how database performance impacts business value and get ideas on how to quantify this for your business case.
Data should be available when need where needed
We all dream of a future transformed by data. Cars that drive themselves to be repaired before a failure occurs. Fridges that are restocked while we are at work. Reducing resource waste to an absolute minimum. Building sustainable cities and communities.[1] It is truly amazing what is possible today…
Then reality hits: Before you can implement amazing solutions to make the world a better place for everyone, someone needs to solve the technical challenges, including hidden requirements. For example: you need the necessary data, and you need it available when needed where needed. This often isn’t that simple. Data persistence, database speed, and data synchronization are typical non-functional or “hidden” requirements. These are prerequisite technologies to allow the application to access, process and possibly depict the data required to answer a request (from another application or from a user), and thus enable the functionalities / features. All in all, this is a pretty fundamental requirement. And it pays off to build your app on top of a solid foundation. Because, if you built your application on a solid foundation, every feature you dream up, no matter when, and any next feature will be easier and faster to implement.
Functional and non-functional requirements – the hidden challenges of your IoT project
While you need data in any application, most often no one will write down where and how to handle it as a user story or requirement. As opposed to features, e.g. “being able to search for names in the address book”, data persistence, database speed, and often even data synchronization are “hidden requirements”. Data is just expected to be available where needed when needed. Whether the data you need really will be available when you need it, depends strongly on the database the application is using and and where this database runs. On top, the mechanisms you employ to exchange data between different devices (end devices, servers, ….) matter.
Hidden requirements are one of the major reasons why the Industry 4.0 dream is still in many respects a dream and not a reality – in Europe at least. Despite it being a topic for more than 10 years. [2]
Database performance
What is a database?
A database is a piece of software that allows the storage and systematic use of digital information. A database typically allows developers to store, access, search, update, query, and otherwise manipulate data in the database via a developer language or API. These types of operations are done within an application, in the background, typically hidden from end users. Most applications need a database as part of their technology stack.
What is database performance?
We like and therefore use the following definition from Craig Mullins (2002): “Database performance can be defined as the optimization of resource use to increase throughput and minimize contention, enabling the largest possible workload to be processed.” [3]
Why does it matter if the database runs on the edge or in the cloud?
An edge database holds data on the (end) devices, where the data is used – and typically additionally sends some parts of the data to a central place like an on-premise server or the cloud. As opposed to this, a server / cloud-based database holds all data on the server / in the cloud. Where the data sits, determines from where, when and how it can be accessed. If all data is on a central server or the cloud, the prerequisite to accessing this data is a working network connection.
Online
Offline
It follows that edge applications are based upon a distributed computing paradigm, allowing edge devices to be autonomous. On the other hand, cloud-based applications are based on the centralized computing paradigm, where one central instance is in charge, with all other devices being dependent upon this central instance. This significantly affects the response time of the application, the availability of the application, and last not least the bandwidth needed for the application, which also translates into cloud costs.
Location matters: while a fast database gives you fast response times, if the database sits in the cloud and needs to be called from edge devices, you need to factor in the duration it takes to request the data and get a response. And with any networking you cannot guarantee response times or ensure it is always available. While this is not the database performance itself, it highly affects application performance.
The impact of database performance on your business
Database performance matters. Whether your solution needs the speed, because of the necessity to re-act in (near) realtime, or to keep your users (customers, employees, …) happy, productive, buying, or just to save costs for stronger edge hardware and the cloud. “Considering that even a single moment of latency or downtime can cost companies thousands of dollars, the speed advantages of edge computing cannot be overlooked.” [4]
The necessity of database speed for mission-critical, security relevant, (near) real-time functionalities
If you need near real time functionalities, every piece in the tech stack matters, but the database has a particularly strong impact on the response rates of your application. Consider autonomous driving, healthcare and security applications, or IIoT solutions for production lines: Any application supporting such a scenario needs to respond reliably with speed. “This is not the same as a lag in loading your favorite cat pictures. A lag in a moving vehicle scenario is a matter of life and death.” [5]
Accordingly, if end devices like cars, smartphones, health trackers, machines on the factory floor are involved, a purely cloud-based application is not an option. Data needs to be stored and used on the devices directly. Thus, an edge database is necessary. Ideally, an extremely fast one.
Examples of use cases with a need for database speed
Anything running on a car really needs to be highly ressource efficient and fast. Ressources on the car are highly limited and database speed translates into ressource-efficency. Autonomous driving capabilities are a special case requiring significant compute power to run the algorithms in real-time within the control unit of the car. As can be easily deducted from first-hand driving experience, during this kind of constant information processing and instantaneous decision making, every fraction of a millisecond counts. Information processing speed and reliability (guaranteed QoS parameters) is of the essence for driver assistance and autonomous driving.
Moving to a purely monetary example, let’s consider roadside tolling. In roadside tolling, the edge devices on the side of the road need to process the information from a moving vehicle in order to identify the car, bill according to usage, and detect violators. Ideally, it even informs the car owner of the result. As the car is constantly moving and can be going fast, all of this needs to happen in a very short amount of time. A super fast database lookup on the edge is key to avoid money loss and deliver good customer service.
For a final example, let us look at an Industrial IoT (IIoT) application: Additive manufacturing. 3D printers use layering techniques with a variety of materials to quickly create custom designed parts. During the layering process, the controller needs to quickly and efficiently incorporate small changes in the environment (e.g. an increase in temperature) to ensure quality and accuracy of the part. Faster and more precise manufacturing is currently limited by the I/O throughput. With a fast database, the I/O throughput is higher, allowing for more complex and finite production.
In short: A superfast database is not a nice to-have, it is a must-have. The database speed a database brings out-of-the-box is critical for such an application.
The impact of database speed on Sales, Conversions, Retention (or at least, nerves)
There is a reason Google forces companies to optimize their websites and mobile applications for performance: There is a wealth of research and evidence that suggests response rates of websites and mobile applications impact user behavior significantly.[6] Even more, there are several studies providing evidence that response rates impact actual buying behavior. [7] While there is less research on other digital applications like e.g. a desktop app or workplace software, some studies have shown that needing to work with slow applications decreases employee satisfaction and productivity. [8]
The impact of database speed on battery, CPU, hardware and related resources
Another hidden requirement typically is resource-efficiency with regards to CPU, RAM, Disc space and battery / electricity. For any application running in the cloud, these requirements are balanced in the backend as the cloud scales vertically. It “only” adds to cloud costs (and is a waste of energy – not to mention all the infrastructure / hardware enabling that waste).
On the edge, you typically work with restricted devices, meaning you can only use the devices’ resources, which can be pretty limited. Therefore, inefficient applications can push a device to its limits, leading to e.g. slow response rates, crashes, and battery drain. Security is a very necessary cross-the-stack functionality that often impacts performance. While data that stays on the edge is challenging to hack, edge data needs to be protected just like data in the cloud.
How database performance impacts the business value of your IoT application
All applications on one device share the available hardware capabilities; resource allocation is managed by the operating system. Accordingly, the more resources an application or the database uses, the less resources are available for other uses. The faster a database executes its operations, the less CPU it uses, the less battery / electricity, and typically also memory. In practice that means there are more resources available on the device to run e.g. Edge AI or Edge ML applications.
From a business value perspective that means:
- You can save on hardware costs (CPU, RAM, Disc, Memory, …): either do more on existing / chosen hardware, upgrade hardware later or choose smaller and thus less expensive hardware.
- You can save on energy and cloud costs: The more efficient, the less electricity, the less cloud costs. This can add up tremendously as projects scale.
- You can add more features, deliver more functionalities, make your application more secure within a given environment.
- You can deliver a smooth, fast user experience, enabling applications that deliver in near-realtime. In sum, it clearly impacts the cost structure and value you can deliver.
Database performance impacts business value, directly and indirectly
As projects scale in size and scope, hidden requirements like database performance often become clear. At scale, small issues like delayed data, or data volumes, become big headaches. Ideally, these sorts of requirements would be at the heart of the design stage of any project – and budgeted for at the beginning. The choice of database clearly has a huge impact on the business success of IoT applications.
[1] See https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/effect-technology-sustainability-sdgs-internet-things-iot/ for IoT impact on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
[2] https://restart-project.eu/much-know-industry-4-0/
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=13&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiGidSA6trnAhVQY8AKHTpSDUIQFjAMegQICBAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdpi.com%2F2076-3387%2F9%2F3%2F71%2Fpdf&usg=AOvVaw3cx44OOMfNzJ_BJlCG8Gfj
[3] Database Administration: The Complete Guide to Practices and Procedures By Craig Mullins 2002
[4] https://www.vxchnge.com/blog/the-5-best-benefits-of-edge-computing
[5] https://www.zdnet.com/article/why-autonomous-vehicles-will-rely-on-edge-computing-and-not-the-cloud/
[6] https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/performance/why-performance-matters https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-154/insights-inspiration/research-data/need-mobile-speed-how-mobile-latency-impacts-publisher-revenue/
https://www.machmetrics.com/speed-blog/how-does-page-load-time-affect-your-site-revenue
https://datadome.co/bot-management-protection/website-performance-how-to-increase-your-business-by-blocking-bots/
[7] https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/performance/why-performance-matters
https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/intl/en-154/insights-inspiration/research-data/need-mobile-speed-how-mobile-latency-impacts-publisher-revenue/
https://www.machmetrics.com/speed-blog/how-does-page-load-time-affect-your-site-revenue
https://datadome.co/bot-management-protection/website-performance-how-to-increase-your-business-by-blocking-bots/
[8] https://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/1233
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01449290500196963