How Distributed Databases Power Mission-Critical Business Apps: A Case Study with Amey Banarse

As the world becomes increasingly digital, businesses across industries—from retail to finance and automotive—must handle massive volumes of data. Whether managing product catalogs, processing telemetry data, or handling financial transactions, the ability to manage and scale real-time data across multiple regions is critical for global operations.

One expert leading the way in solving these data management challenges is Amey Banarse, a solutions engineer with over a decade of experience in distributed database technologies. Amey uses his expertise to solve complex data challenges, reduce costs, and improve performance.

His work has led to successful collaborations with Fortune 500 enterprises, including global financial institutions like Wells Fargo and Fiserv, large retailers like Kroger, and automotive companies including General Motors, making him a prominent figure in the field.

The Challenges of Data Management in the Digital Age

Coordinating large amounts of information presents a unique challenge in the modern world. Technological breakthroughs like real-time analytics and machine learning have provided immense benefits, but these advancements also introduce new obstacles, such as the need for low-latency access and maintaining consistent data availability across regions.

Amey Banarse shares his insights into overcoming these challenges and the journey that led him to become an expert in the field.

Q: Amey, what inspired you to pursue a career in technical solutions engineering?

A: My journey began with a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 2010. I started my career as a Senior Data Analytics Consultant at Gemini Systems, New York, where I focused on data analytics platforms in the financial services sector. Collaborating with high-profile clients like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to develop solutions and working on high-impact projects sparked my passion for data management. It was during my collaboration with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) that I truly recognized the critical importance of robust data architecture. Today, as a recognized thought leader in the data industry, I combine deep expertise in distributed systems and cloud-native transactional applications with a commitment to advancing enterprise data innovation. I am honored to contribute to the leading forums like Forbes Technology Council sharing insights through writing, presentations, and thought leadership. My speaking engagements at premier conferences like AWS ReInvent, VMWare Explore, and SpringOne reflect my dedication to shaping industry discourse, from modern data architectures to enterprise data strategies, helping organizations unlock the full potential of their data assets.

Q: As industries face the increasing demand for real-time data processing, what challenges are they encountering?

A: Today’s businesses, especially in sectors and developing industries like retail, automotive and finance, must manage massive volumes of real-time data while ensuring security and scalability. Challenges include handling traffic surges during peak periods, maintaining data integrity across geographically distributed systems, and providing consistent performance. Failure to address these issues can lead to bottlenecks, data inconsistencies, and operational inefficiencies that significantly impact customer experience and revenue.

Q: Can you share your approach to solving these challenges using distributed database technologies?

A: Absolutely. I leverage technologies like YugabyteDB, which provides the capability to handle high-throughput transactions, maintain strong consistency, and support multi-region deployments. My focus is on designing data architecture that integrates distributed databases with cloud-native platforms, ensuring real-time data is accessible and reliable across different locations. Collaborating with engineering teams, I implement rigorous testing under simulated high-traffic conditions and fine-tune systems for optimal performance.

Q: Could you elaborate on a specific project where you implemented these solutions?

A: One notable project was with a global retailer managing over 300 million products. They needed a scalable system to ensure real-time data access during peak shopping periods and ensure there was no downtime during the deals and product launch days. I led the team and implemented a scalable architecture solution using YugabyteDB, which not only reduced their total cost of ownership by over $10 million but also ensured consistent high-performance operations during critical shopping seasons. This solution provides a seamless end-customer experience during the peak holiday season, which increases customer loyalty and the retailer’s brand recognition.

Q: Could you elaborate on a specific project where you implemented these solutions?

A: One notable project was with a global retailer managing over 300 million products. They needed a scalable system to ensure real-time data access during peak shopping periods and ensure there was no downtime during the deals and product launch days. I led the team and implemented a scalable architecture solution using YugabyteDB, which not only reduced their total cost of ownership by over $10 million but also ensured consistent high-performance operations during critical shopping seasons. This solution provides a seamless end-customer experience during the peak holiday season, which increases customer loyalty and the retailer’s brand recognition.

Q: You also worked with General Motors. What challenges did they face, and how did you help them?

A: General Motors’ connected car platform plays a critical role in supporting its new services by collecting and leveraging data from over 20 million connected vehicles. The platform powers features such as vehicle health tracking, remote starts, and road condition reporting through GM mobile apps and OnStar. However, the existing database powering this platform, Apache Cassandra, was becoming a bottleneck. It resulted in high operational costs, limited scalability, and performance issues, especially during peak demand. I worked closely with their technical leadership to redesign the system architecture, which can process vast amounts of telemetry data in real-time, maintain consistency, and scale efficiently. I also led the migration from Apache Cassandra to YugabyteDB. This migration resulted in a tenfold improvement in scalability and performance, enabling the system to handle up to three million writes per second while significantly reducing hardware footprint and operational costs. This transformation allowed GM to enhance its connected vehicle services and deliver a superior customer experience.

Q: Can you provide an example of how you helped a financial services customer modernize their data systems?

A: A significant case was when I collaborated with senior technical leadership of a large financial services company in migrating from a legacy IBM DB2 mainframe to a modern, scalable system to support a retail portfolio dashboard. By leading the transition to YugabyteDB, I established a resilient architecture that not only reduced the total cost of ownership but also improved the end customer experience. The successful migration allowed live user onboarding, creating a flexible and reliable system supporting future growth. This enabled the company to meet its primary goals of migrating away from the mainframe and leveraging cloud-native databases, which can be deployed on cloud and hybrid commodity architectures. It also helped with improved productivity—rather than being slowed down by waiting for provisioning and maintenance of DB2 on the mainframe, the application team can quickly deploy YugabyteDB anywhere, and it automatically scales as needed.

Q: Your achievements in this field are impressive. What drives you to continue pushing boundaries?

A: I’m motivated by the impact that scalable data platform solutions can have on mission-critical applications that power businesses and society. Leading high-profile projects on behalf of YugabyteDB, like designing a scalable platform for the Super Bowl 2024 streaming event, has been incredibly rewarding. The ability to deliver a high-quality streaming experience to over 125 million viewers underscores the importance of scalable, resilient systems in today’s interconnected world.

Q: What is your vision for the future of data management?

A: I believe the ingenuity of technical solutions engineers like myself is crucial for a better-connected world. As industries evolve and the demand for real-time data continues to surge, developing innovative solutions that enable organizations to scale effectively is essential. I aim to lead this charge, ensuring businesses can meet their data challenges head-on and drive success through intelligent data management strategies.

Amey Banarse’s ability to architect scalable, resilient systems has allowed these businesses to modernize and handle real-time data at unprecedented scales. His expertise in distributed database technologies is shaping the future of data management and paving the way for organizations to thrive in an increasingly data-driven landscape.