GBase Integrates Industry, Academia, and Research at the 41st CCF China Database Conference (NDBC 2024)

From August 7 to 9, 2024, the 41st CCF China Database Conference (NDBC 2024) was successfully held in Urumqi, Xinjiang. As a long-term Platinum Partner of the CCF Database Committee, GBase showcased its full-stack database products and joined over 700 experts and scholars from universities, research institutes, and tech companies worldwide to explore the future of database technology.

First held in 1977, the CCF China Database Conference is the premier academic conference in China's database field. This year's event was hosted by the China Computer Federation (CCF) and co-organized by the CCF Database Committee and Xinjiang University. It focused on new challenges, issues, and directions in the database domain, showcased the latest advances in database research in China, and provided a platform for exchanges among universities, research institutes, and tech enterprises to foster deep industry-academia-research collaboration and drive theoretical research and technological innovation in Chinese databases.

The CCF China Database Conference has now been held 41 times.Over the past four decades, China's database industry has weathered storms, emerging from nothing and gradually growing from weak to strong amidst profound changes.

As a pioneer in the industry, GBase has always prioritized industry-academia-research collaboration and the cultivation of database talent, with this ingrained DNA setting the foundation for its partnerships with universities and research institutions. GBase engages in collaborative R&D with over a dozen universities, including Nankai University, Tianjin University, Harbin Institute of Technology, and Beijing Institute of Technology, establishing joint labs to tackle key technological challenges. By actively participating in academic conferences such as the CCF China Database Conference, GBase explores cutting-edge theories, jointly nurtures innovative talent, and provides real-world scenarios to validate theoretical feasibility, fostering academic exchange and technological convergence between industry and academia.

At this year's NDBC, Zhao Wei, Senior Vice President of GBase, Zhang Yi, General Manager of the GBase 8c Product Division, and Guo Zhuo, Head of the GBase 8s Product Department, attended events including the Enterprise Night, conference opening ceremony, parallel sessions, and the full meeting of the CCF Database Committee, deeply engaging in technical discussions and committee governance.

During the Enterprise Night event, Zhao Wei, Senior Vice President of GBase, gave an in-depth introduction to GBase to the attending experts, scholars, and students.

He stated that GBase is an independent database provider with large-scale deployments in critical sectors such as finance and telecommunications. For two decades, it has been committed to independent R&D of core database technologies and market expansion, building a product and solution portfolio that covers the entire data management lifecycle and full technology stack. Its self-developed GBase database products and services reach all 33 provincial-level administrative regions in China and are also marketed in 34 countries and regions, including the United States, Brazil, and Mexico, with over 96,000 nodes deployed and more than 500 PB of data under management.

“One size fits all? Does an all-scenario database exist?”

A themed high table was set up at the Enterprise Night, where Zhang Yi, General Manager of the GBase 8c Product Division, moderated an in-depth discussion on this hot topic with university experts, industry leaders, and attending students.

“One size fits all” was the earliest aspiration for databases—a single database to solve all problems. But reality often diverges from ideals. As requirements evolved, databases designed with that philosophy tended to become bloated with added features, undermining performance. Consequently, “one size a bunch” might be a more accurate and realistic description—meaning that a database type addresses a class of scenarios, not every scenario. In today's context, an all-encompassing database has yet to emerge.

To this end, GBase has built a full-stack domestic data product and solution system, offering a diverse range of products and options for various business scenarios. It leverages the unique strengths of different database types to solve the differentiated challenges enterprises face in actual database usage.

During NDBC 2024, GBase's booth also drew widespread attention from attendees. Its full-stack GBase database product lineup was prominently featured, and the technical realization of their core features became a focal point of discussion and exchange.

To attract top graduates and database technology experts, GBase simultaneously offered dozens of positions, including postdoctoral fellowships, as well as roles in testing, R&D, and technical support through both social and campus recruitment channels. Many doctoral and master's students showed lively interest at the booth, with strong optimism about the prospects of China's database industry and a very enthusiastic on-site response.

Databases are regarded as the crown jewel of foundational software, and theoretical research and kernel development are key to making that jewel shine. Therefore, the growth of China's database industry depends not only on the theoretical guidance from the academic community, as exemplified by NDBC, but also on the dedicated practice of database professionals.

From a nascent spark to a brilliant shine, China's database industry stands at a new historical starting point, driven by diverse data scenarios and business needs. GBase will continue to focus on core database technologies and collaborate with academia through “industry-academia-research joint tackling” to cultivate more outstanding talent, converging streams into an ocean of innovation that powers the thriving development of China's database industry.