The world of data and database technology is moving fast. Data is big, and that drives a continuous demand for up-to-date knowledge and experience with data and databases.
Meanwhile, the technology itself is developing at lightning speed. Traditional relational databases are still excellent for transactional environments and decision-support applications. But the move to the cloud, hybrid infrastructures, cloud-native platforms, automated deployment, new business requirements, dynamic workloads and the drive for cost efficiency mean companies have to maintain and improve their database environment continuously. A sound assessment in the design phase prevents many problems around availability, scalability and downtime.
The figures underline that growth: the global DBMS market grew by 13.4% in 2024 to 119.7 billion dollars, and Gartner expects further growth of 18.4% in 2026 to 161 billion dollars, driven by rising data volumes, analytical workloads, AI adoption and cloud-native expansion.
Over the past few years, many companies have rethought their database strategy and embraced new technologies. What was once a prediction is now reality: open source database management systems such as PostgreSQL, MySQL and MariaDB have become mainstream, and a large share of newly developed in-house applications runs on them by default. PostgreSQL has grown into one of the most popular databases in the world.
The Dutch market is moving along with this trend too. Major players are long past the research phase in their move from existing technology to open source, and many are following.
When choosing a database service provider, it’s important to pick a partner that not only masters the open source platform technically as a DBA, but also takes part in the community around it. To safeguard our expertise on platforms such as PostgreSQL, MariaDB, MySQL and MongoDB, we are active in these communities and (local) user groups, we are a partner of MariaDB and MongoDB, and we contribute to the PostgreSQL community through reviews, organizing meetups, the masterclass The Blue Elephant Pack, talks, breakout sessions and sponsoring international events such as PGConf.EU. The PostgreSQL community has included us in its list of selected Professional Services, where we are named as one of the three Dutch PostgreSQL support providers.
“We zijn daarom op zoek gegaan naar een goede partner die ons kan helpen met onze database-omgeving. De kennis en expertise van OptimaData leek precies te passen bij wat wij nodig hadden en daarin zijn we nog geen moment teleurgesteld.”
The hesitation about data in the cloud has largely disappeared. What was once a cautious step is now the norm: in 2024, the majority of DBMS spending went to the cloud, with 64% cloud against 36% on-premise. Online platforms and SaaS providers are moving their databases to a cloud solution, and smaller companies are taking that step too as scalability and availability start to weigh more heavily.
The next move is already underway: from the cloud to cloud-native. Databases increasingly run in containers and on Kubernetes. CNCF research shows that databases are now the most common data-intensive workload on Kubernetes (around 70% of organizations run them there), while 98% of surveyed companies run data-intensive workloads in cloud-native environments. That raises new questions, because a container platform manages the container, not the database heart within it. It’s no coincidence that organizations name persistent storage, resilience and security as the biggest challenges in this step. It’s exactly there, in the stateful Day 2 operation, that the work requiring a well-considered approach lies.
Many manual management and maintenance tasks have already been automated. We see a strong trend in automated deployment, where complete database infrastructures are rolled out in an instant, on-premise or in the cloud. Even best practices and HealthChecks are carried out automatically during deployment.
The latest development takes the importance of the data layer to another level. AI applications such as RAG, vector search and agentic workloads are only as good as the data beneath them. Data quality, structure, retrieval performance and governance determine whether an AI initiative delivers value or becomes an expensive disappointment. The rise of vector databases is the clearest signal of this: Gartner expects it to become the fastest-growing database category, with annual growth of over 75%, driven by generative AI and RAG.
Here lies a striking paradox. The market has declared the database a commodity, a checkbox in a provisioning screen, at the very moment AI makes it a critical factor again. It’s not the question of which database that matters, that has largely become a commodity, but how well your data layer is designed, measured and managed. That’s where the difference lies between a platform that scales and one that grinds to a halt. And that’s exactly the knowledge with which we make the difference.
With the arrival of NIS2, security and continuity weigh more heavily than ever, especially once you connect your databases to AI or external applications. Least privilege, well-considered access rights, immutable backups and recoverability are no longer a side issue, but a requirement. The fact that security is the biggest concern in cloud-native environments confirms the picture: companies consistently name it as their leading challenge. We bring those requirements together with performance, so that compliance doesn’t come at the expense of speed.
These developments have a major impact on database management and on the role of the DBA. The traditional full-time DBA is disappearing, and the database specialist is growing into a broader role: the Database Platform Engineer. Routine manual management tasks are giving way to infrastructure advice, scripting, security, automation and contributing to continuous delivery and integration. A coordinating spider in the web, who, with knowledge of multiple platforms, advises on, designs, rolls out and manages the best solution for the specific environment. Based on need, no longer as a fixed full-time position in the IT department.
This is the market in which OptimaData actively supports its clients. With expertise and craftsmanship, we make an impact, so our clients can be the best in their segment.
OptimaData is ISO/IEC 27001:2023 + A1:2024 certified and has been recognized as an FD Gazelle for five years running (2020 to 2024).
Sources
Gartner, Market Share: Database Management Systems, Worldwide, 2024 (DBMS market size 119.7 billion dollars, 13.4% growth, split 64% cloud / 36% on-premise).
Gartner, Forecast: Database Management Systems, Worldwide, 2023-2029, 2025 Update (projected growth to 161 billion dollars in 2026; vector databases over 75% CAGR).
CNCF / Portworx by Pure Storage, Voice of Kubernetes Experts 2025 Report (databases 69% and AI/ML 60% as data-intensive workloads on Kubernetes; 98% run data-heavy workloads cloud-native; challenges security 72%, observability 51%, resilience 35%, persistent storage 31%).
