DataStax unveiled "change data capture" (CDC) for Astra DB, a new capability for its multi-cloud database built on Apache Cassandra. The new CDC for Astra DB is powered by advanced streaming technology built on Apache Pulsar. It processes and delivers database changes in real time via event streams, making real-time data available for use across data lakes, data warehouses, search, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

This powerful integration of event streaming with the high-scale, high-performance Astra DB multi-cloud database enables any organization to create smarter and more reactive applications fueled by connected, real-time data.

"CDC for Astra DB is unique in that it taps the performance of the world's most scalable database and combines it with next-generation event streaming to fuel today's data-intensive applications with a solution that just works," said Ed Anuff, chief product officer at DataStax. 

Despite the urgency for businesses to use real-time data for immediate action and intelligence, today only a fraction of real-time data is being leveraged due to the failure of legacy architectures to meet the performance and scale requirements of real-time data processing. As a result, data is often uploaded in batches, creating chronically stale data. 

Alpha Ori Technologies develops real-time data solutions for maritime shipping. "We are excited about the availability of CDC for DataStax Astra DB which will provide a real-time source of streaming data for real-time analytics. This will enable us to rapidly deliver analytics and alerts that help our maritime clients save money on fuel, mitigate maintenance-related risks, and reduce carbon emissions," said Praveen Viswanath, enterprise architect, Alpha Ori Technologies.

According to the recent McKinsey report, "The Data-Driven Enterprise of 2025", data that is processed and delivered in real time is one of the seven characteristics predicted to define data-driven enterprises, yet companies often must choose between speed and computational intensity, which can delay more sophisticated analyses and inhibit the implementation of real-time use cases.

WorkJam is the platform industry leader for true frontline orchestration: schedule, task management, training, communications, staffing and more. "We're always looking for ways to streamline operations, and we hope that the combination of event streaming with Change Data Capture (CDC) will enable us to create smarter and more reactive applications fueled by connected, real-time data", said Waseem Fadel, director of R&D at WorkJam.

With CDC for Astra DB, organizations can now standardize on the massively scalable, zero-downtime Astra DB, and any changes to the database are processed and delivered in real time to other parts of the data ecosystem with no trade offs between speed, scale and availability. This seamless integration enables companies to activate their real-time data to derive incremental business value from areas including e-commerce, fraud detection, customer experience, sales and inventory and transportation and logistics. 

"With CDC, Astra DB further converges operational and streaming data to become a bidirectional data hub for real-time data," said Tony Baer, principal analyst at dbInsight. "CDC will allow customers to blend Astra DB with cloud analytic platforms like Snowflake, or the hub for mobile apps with far less friction."