DevTools Brew #39: InfluxDB: From Open Source Time Series Database to Millions in Revenue
Hey folks, welcome to DevTools Brew #39!
If you're new here, my name is Morgan Perry, co-founder of Qovery, and every Saturday, I share the stories, strategies, and insights behind the most successful devtool companies.
In this Issue #39:
📈 InfluxDB: From Open Source Time Series Database to Millions in Revenue
⭐ Star History Weekly Pick
I hope you will enjoy this new edition.
Let's dive in!
📈 InfluxDB: From Open Source Time Series Database to Millions in Revenue
Today, let’s explore the fascinating journey of InfluxDB, an inspiring narrative of strategic pivots and unparalleled success in the open-source space. From its humble origins as a closed-source SaaS product to becoming a trailblazing open-source initiative, InfluxDB has redefined the landscape, meeting the demands of a niche market and forging ahead to generate millions in revenue. Let's dive into the journey of InfluxDB, shared by its co-founder & CTO, Paul Dix👇
Key Takeaways
Origins and Pivot to Open Source
Errplane's Evolution: Founded in 2012 by Paul Dix as Errplane, an initial closed-source SaaS product aimed at real-time metrics and monitoring.
Pivotal Decision: By 2013, Errplane wasn't gaining traction. The team recognized the potential of the time-series infrastructure they'd developed for broader applications.
InfluxDB Emergence: InfluxDB was born in September 2013, utilizing the existing infrastructure to craft a standalone time-series database engine, addressing a gap in the open-source community.
Market Void Identification: Observing Graphite's stagnant progress despite a considerable following, InfluxDB spotted the need for a more progressive, actively developed time-series database project.
Catering to a Specific Market
Market Disparity: Existing commercial offerings catered to high-frequency trading with small data series, neglecting applications with slower-moving but vast amounts of time-series data, such as sensor or server-monitoring data.
InfluxDB's Niche: Filling the void, InfluxDB aimed to serve the demand for handling large-scale, slower-moving time series, a niche untouched by competitors at the time.
Differentiation from Graphite
Graphite's Limitations: Graphite's limitation in handling event data time series inspired InfluxDB to specialize in managing logs, exceptions, and various other data types, aiming for a broader application spectrum.
Usability Focus: Recognizing the critical role of user experience, InfluxDB drew inspiration from MongoDB's developer-centric approach, prioritizing ease of use and developer productivity.
Open Source Strategy and Initial Development
Strategic Approach: InfluxDB's strategy revolved around initially creating an open-source project, prioritizing building popularity before devising a monetization plan.
User-Friendly Launch: The early version of InfluxDB was user-friendly, adopting an MIT-licensed open-source model and ensuring accessibility and simplicity for developers.
Commercial Transition and Challenges
Balancing Act: The transition involved maintaining open source integrity while introducing a commercial offering for clustering, which sparked both interest and criticism within the community.
Ensuring Viability: The decision to focus on the commercial, clustered version was vital for ensuring consistent revenue generation and the company's sustainability.
Commercial Success and Expansion
Growth Trajectory: Shifting focus toward the commercial version propelled revenue growth, facilitating successful funding rounds and marking significant milestones in user base expansion.
Community Growth: The open source community saw a massive expansion, growing from 10,000 servers in 2016 to over 400,000 single servers at present, underscoring the project's popularity.
InfluxDB Iox: A New Venture
Rust-powered Innovation: The announcement of InfluxDB Iox signifies a new core time series engine, harnessing the power of Rust to cater to larger-scale analytical queries.
Hybrid Cloud Solution: Introducing a cloud-based solution that complements the open-source version, aimed at simplifying operations without sacrificing open-source functionalities.
InfluxDB's evolution from Errplane to a groundbreaking open-source time-series database embodies a journey of innovation and market foresight. Transitioning strategically from open source to a commercial model drove revenue and community growth. InfluxDB's narrative underscores the potency of adaptive innovation and community-driven development in the open-source world.
—> To explore more, read the full story here - published initially on HackerNoon by Flagsmith.
⭐ Star History Weekly Pick
The Star History Weekly Pick is:
Hyperswith: “An open-source payments switch written in Rust to make payments fast, reliable and affordable.”
⭐️ 8.6 stars reached
Github: https://github.com/juspay/hyperswitch
It’s already over! If you have any comments or feedback, you can reach out to me on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Thanks for reading,
Morgan
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