Document Database Use Cases

Your use case drives whether you need a document database or some other type of database for managing your data. Document databases are useful for workloads that require a flexible schema for fast, iterative development. The following are some examples of use cases for which document databases can provide significant advantages:

User Profiles

Because document databases have a flexible schema, they can store documents that have different attributes and data values. Document databases are a practical solution to online profiles in which different users provide different types of information. Using a document database, you can store each user’s profile efficiently by storing only the attributes that are specific to each user.

Suppose that a user elects to add or remove information from their profile. In this case, their document could be easily replaced with an updated version that contains any recently added attributes and data or omits any newly omitted attributes and data. Document databases easily manage this level of individuality and fluidity.

Real-Time Big Data

Historically, the ability to extract information from operational data was hampered by the fact that operational databases and analytical databases were maintained in different environments—operational and business/reporting respectively. Being able to extract operational information in real time is critical in a highly competitive business environment. By using document databases, a business can store and manage operational data from any source and concurrently feed the data to the BI engine of choice for analysis. There is no requirement to have two environments.

Content Management

To effectively manage content, you must be able to collect and aggregate content from a variety of sources, and then deliver it to the customer. Due to their flexible schema, document databases are perfect for collecting and storing any type of data. You can use them to create and incorporate new types of content, including user-generated content, such as images, comments, and videos.