Why Cloud‑Native Databases Are the Next Big Leap Over Traditional Systems

Cloud‑native databases are not merely a shortcut; they represent a paradigm shift that changes how enterprises store and process data.

Databases, chips, and operating systems form the three core pillars of global IT. Before cloud databases, traditional giants like Oracle dominated the market.

Innovation can be incremental or disruptive. Established players can easily adopt incremental advances, but disruptive change usually comes from new entrants, as seen with cloud databases replacing traditional ones.

The history of databases dates back to the 1960s, from early network and hierarchical systems to the relational model, followed by a golden era of Oracle, MySQL, SQL Server, PostgreSQL, and DB2.

Cloud computing is transforming everything. The shift from stable, on‑premise IT to elastic, resource‑pooled, containerized, and intelligent operations makes cloud databases a compelling alternative.

Alibaba Cloud’s PolarDB, launched in 2017, exemplifies this disruption with storage‑compute separation, three‑layer decoupling, multi‑master writes, HTAP, and Serverless capabilities—often world‑first or industry‑leading features.

The following is an excerpt from a dialogue between Ti Media co‑founder Liu Xiangming and Alibaba Cloud Intelligent Database division leader Li Feifei, presented in Li’s first‑person voice.

Li argues that “bending‑road overtaking” is unlikely for entrenched giants like Oracle; instead, the rise of cloud databases has shifted market shares toward new players such as AWS and Alibaba Cloud.

Cloud computing changes the fundamental logic of software construction by pooling resources and decoupling compute, storage, and networking, enabling broader participation and higher efficiency.

Business demands drive database evolution from the top, while hardware advances (e.g., SSDs, MPP architectures) pull from the bottom.

In the cloud era, databases must be redesigned for resource pooling, decoupling, and elasticity, which Alibaba Cloud leverages without legacy constraints.

Future database development will continue to follow the dual forces of business‑driven requirements and hardware innovation, emphasizing technical strength, industry‑specific capabilities, and the ability to embed unique functions early.

Gartner predicts that by 2022, 75% of databases will run in the cloud, with trends toward cloud‑native, distributed architectures, security, automation, AI‑driven processing, and multi‑model support.

Appendix: Database Evolution History

Databases have moved from monopolistic commercial systems to cloud‑native, distributed platforms, driven by changing workloads, hardware breakthroughs, and the need for scalable, intelligent data services.