
What is a graph database? Do you really need one, and if yes, how do you choose?
Graph databases have been around for almost 20 years, but it was AWS and Microsoft moving in the domain, with Neptune and Cosmos DB respectively, that attracted widespread interest. So this hitherto niche domain has been the hottest one for the last couple of years. Besides trends, however, there are real reasons why graph databases are interesting, and real use cases they can help with.
Global business leaders such as Airbnb, AstraZeneca, China Mobile, eBay, Telia, Uber and Zalando are using graph in production and reaping the benefits. Global technology leaders such as Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and Microsoft are pushing the boundaries of the technology at scale.

There’s more to Graph Databases than hype. There are very good reasons why AWS and Microsoft have chosen to enter this market, driving the hype.
From operational applications to analytics, and from knowledge graphs and data integration to machine learning, a graph database can give you an edge. As Graph Databases are going mainstream, the dynamics are changing dramatically. Besides new entries, existing players keep evolving.
This means there is a growing demand to learn about graph databases, how they can be used, and which ones are right for each use case. Meeting this demand, however, is not easy. Besides lack of expertise, in the real world there is lack of resources and time for proper education and evaluation in the subject matter. In other words, it’s not easy to educate yourself and make the right choices.
What people do in situations like this is they look for the experts to help them navigate the domain. In the case of graph databases, however, that’s easier said than done.
Existing Graph Database research is mostly not up to the task. Most of it is outdated, shallow, expensive, and meant to serve as a marketing tool, not a hands-on guide for decision makers. Its authors do not have enough hands-on graph database expertise to be relevant. There’s a place for marketing, but not when you want to make an educated decision based on holistic criteria, and live with it every day in production.

What happens when you don’t have sufficient expertise and time to evaluate your options, or a trusted advisor to help, is you make suboptimal choices. Don’t let this happen when choosing a graph database.
This is where the Year of the Graph report comes in. As there is a gap in the market for graph database evaluation, i have decided to address it. I’ve done the hard work, so you don’t have to, and this is what makes me the most qualified person to do this.
I’ve been working with graph databases since 2005, when i implemented my first graph database prototype. This includes award-winning R&D, startups, enterprises, and consulting the (then) top Graph Database vendor on distributed queries in 2008. I have also been active as an analyst, consultant and entrepreneur since 2012.
Some highlights: defining and analyzing Agile Business Intelligence long before the Gartners of the world, and working with the likes of Hortonworks, SAP, and more. Since 2016, i have also been a ZDNet contributor for the Big on Data column. I’ve been monitoring graph databases for ever, publishing the Year of the Graph newsletter since 2018.
I have hands-on, deep knowledge and experience in graph databases. I also have long-standing experience as an analyst, author, and influencer. I have a holistic view, from Enterprise Architecture to the C-level suite. I saw this coming, and called 2018 The Year of the Graph, again 8 months before Gartner included Knowledge Graph in its Hype Cycle.

Graphs are in Gartner’s Hype Cycle. Late to the party again – 8 months, or 20 years, depending on how you count.
The Year of the Graph Report
In the summer of 2018, i published the Year of the Graph report on Graph Databases. This is the result of months of hard work. I have designed a unique, holistic and data-driven methodology that combines every aspect you need to consider when evaluating graph databases.
The methodology is based on high level KPIs, which in turn are based on layers of metrics. For each metric, a multitude of data points have been collected. Besides methodology design and data collection, domain knowledge expertise has been leveraged.

The Year of the Graph 2018. The most comprehensive and up to date research on Graph Databases.
I have been working in collaboration with vendors to verify the results of the research. Pretty much all of them said this work is beyond anything they have ever seen before. Some of them have gone on record saying so as well.
Impressive work. Well done. I’m not aware of another source that is as comprehensive as this one. Thank you for that as it’s providing me value from a graph market research perspective.
Jonathan Lacefield, Senior Director of Product Management, DataStax Enterprise Server
Kudos to you for your relentless work on informing the community about their options in the graph sphere. Think the report will be highly appreciated – it’s on a whole different level!
Jan Stücke, Head of Communications, ArangoDB
Anadiotis may understand MarkLogic better than we do ourselves.
Rob Lawrence, former Director or Strategic Programs, MarkLogic
Sure, this is not the only available research on graph databases. If you are looking for primers, last year’s overpriced business briefs, or yesteryear’s fragmented analysis, you can check those out.
If you are looking for
- Up to date, comprehensive, unbiased research by an analyst with hands-ón expertise
- A unique methodology, combining data & metrics on business and technical aspects
Then the Year of the Graph Report is what you need. Many levels up, at a fraction of the price. Would you like to try before you buy? That’s also an option.
For the last few months i have been presenting this work at various venues, including events such as Big Data Spain – one of the biggest and most forward-looking events in Europe. Slides and video from the presentation are online, and i’d be happy to answer any questions you may have.
What you get
What you get when you buy the Year if the Graph Report is a bundle that includes:
- The report. 40 pages of research, with key point summaries and images
- Access to updates. The report will be updated regularly. Buying once gives you lifetime access to future releases, free or at reduced pricing.
Some key points:
The Year of the Graph Newsletter
If you knew and loved the newsletter, worry not. It’s not going away, and it’s always free.
Every month i publish and comment on the top Graph database related news items.
Why me? Ever since i implemented my first graph database prototype in 2005, i have worked on award-winning research, consulted the (then) leading vendor on distributed query implementation, and lead teams of all sizes and shapes working with graph databases.
I have also published a number of reports and articles with analysis on big data, distributed systems and analytics with Gigaom and ZDNet. Perhaps more importantly though:
I work for nobody else but me, and by extension, you. No fluff, just stuff. No automatically harvested or sponsored posts. No vendor affiliations or hidden agendas. Just hand picked, curated content, and objective, concise analysis.
Would you like to receive the latest Year of the Graph Newsletter in your inbox? Easy – just signup below. Have some news you think should be featured in an upcoming newsletter? Easy too – drop me a line here.
Recent Posts
- The O word: do you really need an ontology? The Year of the Graph Newsletter: November / October 2019
- Graph Algorithms, Neural Networks, and Graph Databases. The Year of the Graph Newsletter, September 2019
- Knowledge Graphs and Natural Language Processing. The Year of the Graph Newsletter, July/August 2019
- Graph explosion and consolidation. The Year of the Graph Newsletter, June 2019
- Knowledge Graphs are the new Black. The Year of the Graph Newsletter, May 2019
Recent Comments
- admin on Knowledge Graphs are the new Black. The Year of the Graph Newsletter, May 2019
- Mark Underwood @knowlengr on Knowledge Graphs are the new Black. The Year of the Graph Newsletter, May 2019
- Athanassios I. Hatzis on A gravitational wave moment for graph. The Year of the Graph Newsletter: March 2019
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