ChatGPT, Midjourney, Dall-E, Copilot, and a vast amount of Artificial Intelligence technology tools have completely changed how most businesses work. Around 63% of companies plan to increase their spending on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Natural Language Processing (NLP). In Software Development, it might be obvious how Generative AI is improving data management and other processes. I bet we've all watched OpenAI's GPT-4 introduction, where they created a Discord bot in minutes!
Database Management is another key field that takes advantage of AI-enabled technologies. It may not be the most exciting part of the Product Development Lifecycle, but Database Performance is crucial for building robust and large applications and making informed decisions. In this post, you'll learn how AI has become a game-changer for advanced database management.
What is Database Management?
Data is one of the cornerstones of any business as it facilitates gaining a valuable approach to building large and scalable applications. Companies store their data in databases to get the most out of it. Therefore, we strongly believe that designing and managing databases is one of the most important aspects of running a company.
Database Management includes structuring and organizing data so users can handle and access it. As you can imagine, there are quite a few ways to approach effective Data Management and tools that make the job easier for you. We're talking about relational and non-relational Database Management Systems (DBMS). You must've heard about MongoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Redis, and Oracle.
Database Management Systems DBMS Features
1. DBMS Data Modeling
Think of data modeling as organizing and representing data, commonly business data. It involves designing the structure and relationships of the data stored in the database. A Database Manager must define entities, attributes, and their interconnections. A DBMS normally has features like indexing, data integration, schema definition, views, and to improve data quality. Moreover, it supports data types and query languages (like SQL), which makes data-based processes a bit less complex for developers.
2. DBMS Data Storage
The main aspect of Data Management processes is data storage. Databases make it easy to store, organize, and handle data. They also allow for indexing, compression, and caching to optimize access and retrieval. Relational databases organize data using related tables, columns, and rows. Non-relational databases store various types of data using documents.
3. DBMS Data Querying and Manipulation
DBMSs provide a query language developers use for insertion, deletion, and modification. DBMS like MySQL and PostgreSQL use SQL, while MongoDB uses its own query language (MQL). With queries, developers can efficiently retrieve, filter, and sort complex data.
4. DBMS Data Performance
DBMS involves tools with intuitive UIs that allow users to visualize, analyze, and handle complex data. They optimize query execution and system performance with improved response times. This way, they streamline developers' work to a large degree.
5. DBMS Security and Scalability
DBMS uses sophisticated mechanisms for securing the company's data, such as Zero-Trust Architectures or Data Governance policies. With so many businesses adopting cloud solutions, robust data security is necessary. Most companies must also watch over users' data for potential security threats. DBMS also provides solutions for scaling massive amounts of data.
How Can Artificial Intelligence Improve Database Management?
Let's get back to business-specific automated data solutions. Using AI to optimize database management isn't just convenient because the amounts of data businesses work with are getting far too large for us. You can no longer expect individuals to be able to guarantee data compliance, security, efficiency, and governance. It isn't feasible to manually manage so much data.
That's where AI optimizes almost every aspect of DBMS, helping engineers focus on logic and architecture. Machine Learning algorithms and Generative AI can easily help get actionable insights like automating SQL query optimization. Security is another aspect of paramount importance AI can improve in database management tasks and automation processes. It can help detect and prevent anomalies and fraudulent queries that could result in catastrophic leaks. AI allows for more advanced database management systems with self-healing capabilities and constant monitoring.
AI with MongoDB
MongoDB Atlas has already embraced generative AI's power for data processing and AI-powered tools. It uses AI algorithms to analyze user behavior and preferences, empowering apps to deliver personalized content for users. Moreover, they recently added vector search to MongoDB Atlas to implement AI functionalities. MongoDB Atlas AI capabilities allow users to deploy and scale MongoDB clusters easily. As expected, Atlas also provides automated monitoring, security, and backups.
AI with PostgreSQL
Another less modern but very popular DBMS is PostgreSQL. It may not have MongoDB's fancy AI tools out of the box. Yet, it's still possible to use ChatGPT to improve how you use PostgreSQL and get the most out of it. As mentioned, some common practical cases include querying and indexing. You can also use it to generate basic schemas and reports.
AI with MySQL
MySQL has been around for nearly three decades. It gained immense popularity, which explains why almost 80% of all websites still use it as their primary DBMS. So, as you can expect, plenty of tools and out-of-the-box AI solutions are available. One of the most notable tools that link the power of AI with MySQL is HeatWave. When it came out in 2020, it empowered MySQL to work better with Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) and Online Analytics Processing (OLAP). Yet, its latest analytical capabilities include Machine Learning and AI-driven Automation. MySQL HeatWave can automate provisioning, data loading, query execution, and failure handling. Other tools that integrate MySQL with AI include Google Cloud BigQuery and Amazon Redshift.
AI with Oracle
Oracle is so popular and large that it's almost synonymous with databases. Unsurprisingly, it has developed a wide range of AI solutions. Oracle AI services and solutions include embedded AI apps like Cloud ERP, CX, SCM, and HCM. Oracle also stands out in terms of Generative AI capabilities. It aims to streamline business performance processes and automate tasks by embracing the power of AI. It also has pre-built Machine Learning models. This way, developers can easily implement AI into their projects.
AI-powered Database Management System Example
Now, let's explore some exciting innovations of AI-powered DBMSs you may not have heard of.
● MindsDB. MindsDB is an AI-powered database that provides developers with an SQL-like experience. It's an open-source platform that easily integrates Machine Learning into any app. What's cool about this top-level resource is that it introduced a new database concept: AI tables. Using them, developers can embed predictive analysis models into their databases. MindsDB is useful for bringing AI and Machine Learning into relational databases. You can use common SQL statements to interact with it. On top of that, it also supports direct DB integrations. So, it doesn't seem to force you to stick to relational databases.
● CockroachDB. More good news continues to come. CockroachDB is another modern SQL database that brings advanced capabilities. Yes, it has a weird name. But when you see how powerful it is, it will blow your mind. For starters, they built it from the ground up using GO. A practical use case for CockroachDB is image recognition with Google ML. It is highly scalable and has multi-cloud services and geo-partitioning you harness for your development process. Moreover, it ensures strong consistency, resilience, and availability.
● TiDB. Like CockroachDB, TiDB is a SQL-distributed open-source database for modern apps. It uses Machine Learning to optimize queries and improve performance based on patterns. Also, it supports automatic sharding to enhance efficiency. It integrates with Kubernetes, Terraform, Zapier, and other automation tools. Besides, it combines the best tools from relational and non-relational databases.
● RedisAI. That's right. Redis isn't only about caching, streaming, and messaging. It also supports AI models with RedisAI. It brings tensors and models to Redis so that apps can make real-time inferences. Its most popular feature is data locality, meaning all data stays in memory. This way, RedisAI can ensure top-notch performance. That's why experts recommend it for apps that require low latency.
Conclusion
Most popular and modern databases have embraced AI-powered predictive analytics tools for enhancing data application performance due to their potential benefits. That can only translate to better software products that improve users' overall experience. In addition, there are more and more options to bring the power of Machine Learning models and Generative AI to data management. As a result, it's getting easier to develop more advanced technologies that meet users' demands.
