What infrastructure approach to take now?
There are two decisions to take around databases today—what you choose to run, and how you choose to run it. The latter choice covers a range of different deployment options, from implementing your own instance of a technology on your own hardware and storage, through to picking a database as a service where all the infrastructure is abstracted away and you only see an API. In between, you can look at hosting your own instances in the cloud, where you manage the software while the cloud service provider runs the infrastructure, or adopt a managed service where you still decide on the design but everything else is done for you.
In these circumstances, look at your team and how much time and resources you have available to manage infrastructure, and estimate how much you value your control over that infrastructure as well. On one side, you have the speed of delivery that managed services can provide. On the other, with more control, you can optimize your database to your application’s needs, achieving better performance.
One of the hidden challenges of using cloud services is how much you can be locked into that provider’s way of doing things. You are also beholden to their costs and pricing. If you are not able to migrate your systems away, then you may have to absorb higher costs when your provider raises prices. This can then affect your development strategies, where you have to change your plans based on matters outside your control.
