AWS Data Center news; Graph Database on Spanner; Hopsworks; AuraDB; Graph and Vector databases

AWS
The Magnolia state is looking forward to two new data centers to be built. In case you did not know, I’m referring to Mississippi.

The article discusses Mississippi's involvement in constructing AWS's $10 billion data center campuses in Madison County, set to be completed by 2027.

Local contractors like Birdsong Construction and Southern Rock are playing key roles, and AWS is working with Mississippi-based companies and workforce development programs to ensure the availability of skilled labor.

The first building is expected to be operational by January 2025, reflecting rapid progress. The project is expected to significantly boost the local economy.

GCP
Today’s newsletter is going to be vector and graph database skewed. The hits keep on coming with Google introducing Graph Database in Spanner.

Google Spanner has introduced Spanner Graph, which integrates graph database capabilities with Cloud Spanner.

This feature enables the use of Graph Query Language (GQL) alongside SQL for querying relational and graph data simultaneously.

It aims to eliminate data silos and operational overhead by combining relational and graph querying within the same infrastructure.

It also includes advanced features like vector search and full-text search, making it suitable for use cases like fraud detection, knowledge graphs, and data lineage.

AZURE
No meaningful, current, Azure database centric news today. Unless you want to hear about the Microsoft stock price.

DATABRICKS
An intriguing start-up that aims to take on the likes of Databricks.

Hopsworks, a European AI lakehouse, is pursuing a fourth funding round to scale and compete with Databricks, Amazon SageMaker, and Google Vertex AI.

Its Python-centric enterprise feature store and new Hopsworks 4.0 platform aims to support batch, real-time, and LLM applications.

SNOWFLAKE
Trust me when I say I comb the web to find news. It’s a little disheartening when all I’m finding news on the Snowflake stock price, and nothing else.

The quest goes on though.

GRAPH DATABASES
Neo4j has released major updates to its cloud-based graph database, AuraDB.

Key improvements include a GenAI-powered console that integrates tools for data exploration, visualization, and querying, eliminating the need to learn Neo4j's Cypher language.

VECTOR DATABASES
Ziff Davis, or ZDNNET (I can’t believe they are still around), have a good wrtite-up about the basics of RAG and Vector databases.

DEEP DIVE
I have to look into, research, read about, explore many different subjects about databases as this is not a SQL world anymore. One of the more fascinating aspects of modern day databases are graph databases and vector databases.

A graph database is a type of NoSQL database that uses nodes, edges, and properties to represent and store data, making it ideal for handling complex and interconnected data. Vector databases are designed to store high-dimensional vectors, often used for tasks like similarity search and machine learning, enabling fast retrieval of data based on proximity in a multi-dimensional space.

I remember a few years ago that I mentioned to a co-worker that I wanted to study these. he thought I was out of my mind and wondered why I did not stick to SQL relational databases.

Fast forward 3 years and what you see now is the application of these types of databases in the forefront, not some esoteric database that only has limited use cases.

Even in my “real life“, we are using vector databases. I’m even certified in Generative AI, which uses vector databases.

I even came across an article on the weekend where you are even seeing a merging of these two new technologies.

So what can we infer from all of this. I would implore anyone, learn about this stuff. It is only going to proliferate in the near future. You will stand out to your current or future employer if you have the skills to manage and implement vector databases.

Real exciting stuff I must say, and it is only going to grow from here.

Gladstone