How DataSwitch And MongoDB Atlas Can Help Modernize Your Legacy Workloads

Data modernization is here to stay, and DataSwitch and MongoDB are leading the way forward. Research strongly indicates that the future of the Database Management System (DBMS) market is in the cloud, and the ideal way to shift from an outdated, legacy DBMS to a modern, cloud-friendly data warehouse is through data modernization.

There are a few key factors driving this shift. Increasingly, companies need to store and manage unstructured data in a cloud-enabled system, as opposed to a legacy DBMS which is only designed for structured data. Moreover, the amount of data generated by a business is increasing at a rate of 55% to 65% every year and the majority of it is unstructured. A modernized database that can improve data quality and availability provides tremendous benefits in performance, scalability, and cost optimization. It also provides a foundation for improving business value through informed decision-making. Additionally, cloud-enabled databases support greater agility so you can upgrade current applications and build new ones faster to meet customer demand.

Gartner predicts that by 2022, 75% of all databases will be on the cloud – either by direct deployment or through data migration and modernization. But research shows that over 40% of migration projects fail.

This is due to challenges such as:

  • Inadequate knowledge of legacy applications and their data design

  • Complexity of code and design from different legacy applications

  • Lack of automation tools for transforming from legacy data processing to cloud-friendly data and processes

It is essential to harness a strategic approach and choose the right partner for your data modernization journey. We’re here to help you do just that.

Why MongoDB?

MongoDB is built for modern application developers and for the cloud era. As a general purpose, document-based, distributed database, it facilitates high productivity and can handle huge volumes of data. The document database stores data in JSON-like documents and is built on a scale-out architecture that is optimal for any kind of developer who builds scalable applications through agile methodologies. Ultimately, MongoDB fosters business agility, scalability and innovation.

Key MongoDB advantages include:

  • Rich JSON Documents

  • Powerful query language

  • Multi-cloud data distribution

  • Security of sensitive data

  • Quick storage and retrieval of data

  • Capacity for huge volumes of data and traffic

  • Design supports greater developer productivity

  • Extremely reliable for mission-critical workloads

  • Architected for optimal performance and efficiency

Key advantages of MongoDB Atlas, MongoDB’s hosted database as a service, include:

  • Multi-cloud data distribution

  • Secure for sensitive data

  • Designed for developer productivity

  • Reliable for mission critical workloads

  • Built for optimal performance

  • Managed for operational efficiency

To be clear, JSON documents are the most productive way to work with data as they support nested objects and arrays as values. They also support schemas that are flexible and dynamic.

MongoDB’s powerful query language enables sorting and filtering of any field, regardless of how nested it is in a document. Moreover, it provides support for aggregations as well as modern use cases including graph search, geo-based search and text search. Queries are in JSON and are easy to compose. MongoDB provides support for joins in queries.

MongoDB supports two types of relationships with the ability to reference and embed. It has all the power of a relational database and much, much more.

Companies of all sizes can use MongoDB as it successfully operates on a large and mature platform ecosystem. Developers enjoy a great user experience with the ability to provision MongoDB Atlas clusters and commence coding instantly. A global community of developers and consultants makes it easy to get the help you need, if and when you need it. In addition, MongoDB supports all major languages and provides enterprise-grade support.

Why DataSwitch as a partner for MongoDB?

Automated schema re-design, data migration & code conversion

DataSwitch is a trusted partner for cost-effective, accelerated solutions for digital data transformation, migration and modernization through a modern database platform. Our no-code and low-code solutions along with cloud data expertise and unique, automated schema generation accelerates time to market. We provide end-to-end data, schema and process migration with automated replatforming and refactoring, thereby delivering:

  • 50% faster time to market

  • 60% reduction in total cost of delivery

  • Assured quality with built-in best practices, guidelines and accuracy

Data modernization: How “DataSwitch Migrate” helps you migrate from RDBMS to MongoDB

DataSwitch Migrate (“DS Migrate”) is a no-code and low-code toolkit that leverages advanced automation to provide intuitive, predictive and self-serviceable schema redesign from a traditional RDBMS model to MongoDB’s Document Model with built-in best practices. Based on data volume, performance, and criticality, DS Migrate automatically recommends the appropriate ETTL (Extract, Transfer, Transform & Load) data migration process.

DataSwitch delivers data engineering solutions and transformations in half the timeframe of the existing typical data modernization solutions. Consider these key areas:

  • Schema redesign – construct a new framework for data management. DS Migrate provides automated data migration and transformation based on your redesigned schema, as well as no-touch code conversion from legacy data scripts to MongoDB Atlas APIs. Users can simply drag and drop the schema for redesign and the platform converts it to a document-based JSON structure by applying MongoDB modeling best practices. The platform then automatically migrates data to the new, re-designed JSON structure. It also converts the legacy database script for MongoDB. This automated, user-friendly data migration is faster than anything you’ve ever seen.

    Here’s a look at how the schema designer works.

  • Refactoring – change the data structure to match the new schema. DS Migrate handles this through auto code generation for migrating the data. This is far beyond a mere lift and shift. DataSwitch takes care of refactoring and replatforming (moving from the legacy platform to MongoDB) automatically. It is a game-changing unique capability to perform all these tasks within a single platform.

  • Security – mask and tokenize data while moving the data from on-premise to the cloud. As the data is moving to a potentially public cloud, you must keep it secure. DataSwitch’s tool has the capability to configure and apply security measures automatically while migrating the data.

  • Data Quality – ensure that data is clean, complete, trustworthy, consistent. DataSwitch allows you to configure your own quality rules and automatically apply them during data migration.

In summary: first, the DataSwitch tool automatically extracts the data from an existing database, like Oracle. It then exports the data and stores it locally before zipping and transferring it to the cloud. Next, DataSwitch transforms the data by altering the data structure to match the re-designed schema, and applying data security measures during the transform step. Lastly, DS Migrate loads the data and processes it into MongoDB in its entirety.

Process Conversion

Process conversion, where scripts and process logic are migrated from legacy DBMS to a modern DBMS, is made easier thanks to a high degree of automation. Minimal coding and manual intervention are required and the journey is accelerated. It involves:

  • DML – Data Manipulation Language

  • CRUD – typical application functionality (Create, Read, Update & Delete)

  • Converting to the equivalent of MongoDB Atlas API

Degree of automation DataSwitch provides during Migration

Schema

Migration Activities DS Automation Capabilities
Application Data Usage Analysis 70%
3NF to NoSQL Schema Recommendation 60%
Schema Re-Design Self Services 50%
Predictive Data Mapping 60%

Process

Migration Activities DS Automation Capabilities
CRUD based SQL conversion (Oracle, MySQL, SQLServer, Teradata, DB2) to MongoDB API 70%

Data

Migration Activities DS Automation Capabilities
Migration Script Creation 90%
Historical Data Migration 90%
2 Catch Load 90%

DataSwitch Legacy Modernization as a Service (LMaas):

Our consulting expertise combined with the DS Migrate tool allows us to harness the power of the cloud for data transformation of RDBMS legacy data systems to MongoDB. Our solution delivers legacy transformation in half the time frame through pay-per-usage. Key strengths include:

● Data Architecture Consulting

● Data Modernization Assessment and Migration Strategy

● Specialized Modernization Services

DS Migrate Architecture Diagram

Contact us to learn more.

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Distinguish Data, Get Insights Faster with Conditional Formatting in Charts

The latest release of MongoDB Charts adds Conditional Formatting; an exciting new feature that enables chart authors to highlight important changes in their chart data, based on a set of rules that they define. Conditional Formatting rules can be applied to table charts and number charts . Why use Conditional Formatting? For table charts, the data is densely packed into the visualisation using rows and columns. This is great for comparing many values simultaneously, but as the density increases it may become more difficult to find and focus on the data that matters. Many authors use Number charts to track key individual metrics within their data. While the number itself can be useful, sometimes it isn’t enough to convey other necessary information for its context – for instance, is a high number good or bad? Conditional Formatting can aid users in understanding the data by applying different styles based on rules to highlight what is important, and to provide them with more context. See Conditional Formatting in Action with Formula 1 Data Formula 1 motorsport is what I like to refer to as the “sport of nerds”, because analyzing and understanding huge amounts of data, and being able to quickly make a decision on that analysis can be the difference between winning and losing. So let’s see how Conditional Formatting can help with this task using data from the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. Single Color Conditional Formatting Let’s start off with something simple. Below is a table showing the 2021 Drivers Championship after three rounds. A driver’s position in the championship is determined by the total number of points they have been awarded over successive rounds of the season. Let’s edit this chart and add Conditional Formatting to highlight the top three drivers in the championship with colors to represent 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. Click on the Customize tab , and then click on the Conditional Formatting menu to expand the accordion. As you can see we haven’t yet defined any rules, so let’s add a new rule by clicking the + Add button. A drawer will open up from the left hand side of the screen displaying the Add Format Rules view. A conditional formatting rule must have at least one condition, and all conditions must match in order for the rule to be applied. Let’s highlight the row of the driver currently in 1st place by adding a single color rule with one condition. Since this rule will be determined by the driver’s current position in the championship, we need to add a condition to act on this data. We can target this field by selecting Pos from the Applies to select control. Now that we know what field we are targeting, we must next choose an operator to use for the comparison. Since we are only interested in data that matches a specific value, we select the Equal To numeric operator. Next we must provide an input for the operand to be compared to. For this rule we are only interested in highlighting the driver that is in first place in the championship, so we enter a value of 1 into the Input . You can think of this condition as saying; “is the value of the field Pos equal to the value of 1?” If it is, then apply the styling of this rule, otherwise do not. Finally we choose what styling changes should be applied by choosing from the options under Styling . In this example, we want to highlight the background color of the cell in a gold color to signify 1st place, and we will also apply a bold font weight to the text to make it more prominent. Additionally we also would like for these styles to be applied to the entire row, and not just the cell that the condition is applicable to, so we will check the Format entire row option. And that’s it! Once we save the rule, you’ll notice that the table re-renders in the Chart Builder Preview to show that the data is being evaluated correctly and the Conditional Formatting rule is applied. We then simply rinse and repeat this process to add additional rules to highlight the drivers in 2nd and 3rd place, resulting in the following output: Color Scale Conditional Formatting When comparing tabular data, sometimes it is desirable to use color to show where each value lies relative to other values in the column. The table below shows the race results for the third round of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. Each row displays the final result for each driver taking part in the race. Let’s compare the Average Speed of each driver’s Fastest Lap using a Color Scale Conditional Formatting rule. Navigate to the Add Format Rule screen in the same way by going to “Customize > Conditional Formatting > + Add” , but this time select the Color Scale radio option. Note: Conditional Formatting Color Scale rules can only have one condition, and this condition can only be applied to fields in a Table Chart encoded as Value columns. Select the Fastest Lap Average Speed as the target for the condition. You’ll notice that unlike the discrete Single Color rules, there are no other settings to configure for the condition. This is because a Color Scale will compare the values across the documents in sort order, and will determine a background color to apply to the cell based on the rank of the value within the range. Since we are interested in finding the highest Average Speed across each driver’s fastest lap, we will select a sequential color scale, where higher values are colored green, and lower values are colored in white. Save the rule to see the changes applied. As you can see, for the third round of the 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship, the fastest lap average speed was set by Valtteri Bottas at a blistering speed of 209.74 km/h (130.32 mph)! And there we have it. I hope this brief introduction to Conditional Formatting has highlighted (pun intended) the capabilities of this exciting new feature! In this post we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible though, Conditional Formatting has many many more powerful operators than what we have demonstrated here, including matching values by range, regular expression and even ranks. Why not take it for a test drive yourself to see what is possible? If you haven’t tried Charts yet, it’s quick, easy and free to get started. Simply sign up for MongoDB Cloud , deploy a free Atlas cluster and click Charts in the top navigation bar. You can also ask questions on the MongoDB Developer Community Forums , or suggest new or improved features using the MongoDB Feedback Engine .

May 13, 2021
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MongoDB Named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Cloud Database Management Systems

I’m pleased to announce that MongoDB has been named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Cloud Database Management Systems (DBMSs) for the third consecutive year. In our view, this recognition cements MongoDB’s status as the only pure-play database provider in the cloud database management system category, underscoring MongoDB’s innovation, execution, and customer-centric approach. According to Gartner, “The cloud DBMS market remains as vibrant as ever and is transforming in important ways, especially in the use of gen AI and how DBMSs interact with other data management components. This Magic Quadrant will help data and analytics leaders make the right cloud DBMS choices in this essential market.” We believe this continued recognition by Gartner is a testament to MongoDB’s commitment to serving developers, as well as the investments we’ve made in our unified platform and integrated services. Driving innovation for enterprises MongoDB's mission is to empower innovators to create, transform, and disrupt industries by unleashing the power of software and data. 2024 was a year of innovation and accolades at MongoDB, and I’m proud to share some of its highlights: In October, we released MongoDB 8.0 , the best performing version of MongoDB yet. MongoDB 8.0 is over 30% faster than the previous version of the database, it’s more secure than ever, horizontal scaling is faster and easier (at a lower cost), and MongoDB 8.0 gives teams greater control for optimizing database performance. We also launched—and grew—the MongoDB AI Applications Program (MAAP) . With MAAP, MongoDB offers customers a full AI stack and an integrated set of professional services to help them keep pace with innovation, identify the best AI use cases, and to help them future-proof AI investments. MongoDB became a founding member of the U.S. Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute Consortium . Established by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Consortium supports the development and deployment of safe and trustworthy AI. MongoDB released hundreds of features and enhancements to accelerate innovation, manage costs, and simplify building applications at scale. MongoDB was recognized as the most loved vector database in Retool’s State of AI report —for the second consecutive year. The Gartner Magic Quadrant for cloud database management systems “Gartner defines the cloud database management systems (DBMSs) market as solutions designed to store, manipulate, and persist data, primarily delivered as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). These systems must support transactional, analytical, and hybrid workloads while enabling enterprises to innovate across multi-cloud, hybrid, and intercloud ecosystems.” 1 It’s our opinion that this recognition by Gartner is a testament to MongoDB’s strong ability to execute and support customers today, as well as MongoDB’s comprehensive product vision that positions our platform to support tomorrow's operational workloads. What is the Magic Quadrant, and what is a Leader? “A Gartner Magic Quadrant is a culmination of research in a specific market, giving you a wide-angle view of the relative positions of the market’s competitors.  By applying a graphical treatment and a uniform set of evaluation criteria, a Magic Quadrant helps you quickly ascertain how well technology providers are executing their stated visions and how well they are performing against Gartner’s market view.” 2 According to Gartner, “Leaders execute well against their current vision and are well positioned for tomorrow.” Overall, Magic Quadrants can help you “get quickly educated about a market’s competing technology providers and their ability to deliver on what end-users require now and in the future.” Powering innovation at scale with MongoDB Atlas Enterprises choose MongoDB Atlas because it gives them the freedom and agility they need to succeed in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. MongoDB Atlas’s multi-cloud architecture—including availability across Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure—ensures customers can design for unmatched scale and resilience. By automating functions like scaling and performance optimization , and giving them the ability to leverage industry-first capabilities like MongoDB Queryable Encryption (which allows customers to encrypt, store, and perform queries directly on data), with MongoDB Atlas customers can spend less time managing infrastructure and more time delivering experiences. MongoDB Atlas’s integrated capabilities to support multi-modal data types and use cases—like full-text and vector search , stream processing , and data federation —accelerate innovation, helping enterprises quickly respond to market changes, power AI-driven insights, and deliver meaningful digital experiences to their end users—all without the burden of operational complexity. Modernizing and building for the future In our opinion, the Gartner Magic Quadrant provides organizations with a clear and accessible evaluation framework to identify solutions that fit their needs, today and tomorrow. The placement of MongoDB in the Leader quadrant for Cloud Database Management Systems—for the third year in a row!—validates the efforts MongoDB has made to help developers and organizations take advantage of their most valuable resource, their data. I talk to MongoDB customers frequently, and many say the same thing: in today’s digital-first economy, AI-powered applications and scalable data infrastructure aren’t just advantages, they’re absolute necessities. They say that the time to act is now, and they’re looking for solutions that will help them innovate, streamline, and seize the AI-driven future. And when it comes to modernizing their operations, they consistently point to MongoDB as their go-to partner. Begin your cloud journey with MongoDB Atlas today. Contact our sales team or register for a free account to begin building! And to learn how MongoDB can help accelerate your AI journey, visit the MongoDB AI Applications Program page. Footnotes Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Cloud Database Management Systems,  Henry Cook, Ramke Ramakrishnan, et al., 18 December 2024 GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, and MAGIC QUADRANT is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. 1 Gartner Peer Insights, Cloud Database Management Systems, December 2024 https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/cloud-database-management-systems 2 Gartner Research Methodologies, Gartner Magic Quadrant, 20 December 2024 https://www.gartner.com/en/research/methodologies/magic-quadrants-research

December 23, 2024