Operational database


Operational database management systems, are used to update data in real-time. These types of databases allow users to do more than simply view archived data. Operational databases allow you to modify that data, doing it in real-time. OLTP databases provide transactions as main abstraction to guarantee data consistency that guarantee the so-called ACID properties. Basically, the consistency of the data is guaranteed in the case of failures and/or concurrent access to the data.
Since the early 90s, the operational database software market has been largely taken over by SQL engines. Today, the operational DBMS market is evolving dramatically, with new, innovative entrants and incumbents supporting the growing use of unstructured data and NoSQL DBMS engines, as well as XML databases and NewSQL databases. NoSQL databases typically have focused on scalability and have renounced to data consistency by not providing transactions as OLTP system do. Operational databases are increasingly supporting distributed database architecture that can leverage distribution to provide high availability and fault tolerance through replication and scale out ability.
The growing role of operational databases in the IT industry is moving fast from legacy databases to real-time operational databases capable to handle distributed web and mobile demand and to address Big data challenges. Recognizing this, Gartner started to publish the Magic Quadrant for Operational Database Management Systems in October 2013.

List of operational databases

Notable operational databases include:
Database platformDatabase modelSQL SupportNoSQL SupportManaged objectsACID-transactions
AerospikeKey–Value StoreNoYeskey-value pairs-
AltibaseRelational databaseYesNotabular dataReal-time ACID transactions
Apache CassandraKey-value storeNoYeskey-value pairs-
CloudantDocument-Oriented DatabaseNoYesJSON-
ClusterpointDocument-Oriented DatabaseYes YesXML, JSON, text dataDistributed ACID-transactions
ClustrixRelational DatabaseYes Notabular dataACID-transactions
CouchbaseDocument-Oriented DatabaseYes YesJSON, key-value pairsDistributed Multi-Document ACID transactions
CouchDBDocument-Oriented DatabaseNoYesJSON-
Db2Relational Database, Data WarehouseYesYesJSON, key-value pairs, tabular data, XMLACID-transactions
EnterpriseDBRelational DatabaseYesNotabular dataACID-transactions
FoundationDBKey-value storeYesNokey-value pairsACID-transactions
IngresRelational DatabaseYesNotabular dataACID-transactions
MarkLogicDocument-Oriented DatabaseYesYes XML and JSONACID-transactions
Microsoft SQL ServerRelational DatabaseYesNotabular dataACID-transactions
MongoDBDocument-Oriented DatabaseNoYesBSON-
NuoDBRelational DatabaseYes Notabular dataACID-compliant
OracleRelational DatabaseYesYesmulti-modelACID-transactions
OrientDBDocument-oriented DatabaseYesYeskey-value pairsACID-transactions
RiakKey-value storeNoYeskey-value pairs-
SAP HANARelational DatabaseYesNotabular dataACID-transactions
VoltDBRelational DatabaseYes Notabular dataACID-transactions

Use in business

Operational databases are used to store, manage and track real-time business information. For example, a company might have an operational database used to track warehouse/stock quantities. As customers order products from an online web store, an operational database can be used to keep track of how many items have been sold and when the company will need to reorder stock. An operational database stores information about the activities of an organization, for example customer relationship management transactions or financial operations, in a computer database.
Operational databases allow a business to enter, gather, and retrieve large quantities of specific information, such as company legal data, financial data, call data records, personal employee information, sales data, customer data, data on assets and many other information. An important feature of storing information in an operational database is the ability to share information across the company and over the Internet. Operational databases can be used to manage mission-critical business data, to monitor activities, to audit suspicious transactions, or to review the history of dealings with a particular customer. They can also be part of the actual process of making and fulfilling a purchase, for example in e-commerce.

Data warehouse terminology

In data warehousing, the term is even more specific: the operational database is the one which is accessed by an operational system to carry out regular operations of an organization. Operational databases usually use an online transaction processing database which is optimized for faster transaction processing. An operational database is the source for a data warehouse.