DB-Engines September 2021 Database Rankings Analysis

This article analyzes the DB-Engines September 2021 database rankings, which tracks the popularity of 378 database management systems. The report highlights significant changes in the rankings, particularly focusing on the decline of traditional database leaders and the rise of new contenders.

The analysis reveals that Oracle, MySQL, and Microsoft SQL Server have experienced substantial score decreases compared to last year, with Oracle dropping 97.82 points, MySQL 51.72 points, and Microsoft SQL Server 91.91 points. Despite these declines, they remain the most popular commercial and open-source databases globally.

Meanwhile, MongoDB has emerged as the leader in year-over-year growth, increasing by 50.02 points, while Snowflake has shown remarkable performance with a 49.39 point increase and an 86-rank improvement over the past year. Snowflake's score has grown nearly 20-fold in one year, making it a standout performer.

The article also examines specialized database categories, including time-series databases where InfluxDB leads, and key-value stores where Redis maintains its top position. Redis has surpassed Elasticsearch and Db2 to claim the 6th position in the overall rankings.

ClickHouse is highlighted as a rising star, with major companies like ByteDance, Tencent, Ctrip, and Kuaishou adopting it for large-scale data analytics. The database's ability to handle complex real-time OLAP queries has made it increasingly popular.

The analysis concludes by emphasizing that while rankings provide useful insights, the most important factor is choosing technology that best fits specific business requirements rather than focusing solely on popularity metrics.