What is FathomDB?

FathomDB offers relational databases-as-a-service.

We provide relational databases under the utility/service model. Because we offer standard MySQL, you don't have to change your application at all; there's no lock-in, or new API to learn.

Does this replace the DBA?

We automate the low-level DBA tasks (backup/monitoring); we also provide performance analysis tools that facilitate the high level DBA tasks.

FathomDB makes DBA tasks easier, so you don't have to hire one right away if you're a startup; good DBAs can spend their time where they really add value.

We are trying to eliminate the bad DBA...

Is running a database that hard?

Sure, it's pretty easy to launch a database. But running a database isn't like running your webservers. If a webserver fails, customers probably won't notice if you have a load balancer, so you can just bring up another one, and you're not going to lose anything - your website is safely stored in version control. But your database server has to keep running, and you have to worry about data loss if it goes down.

Running a database on the cloud brings its own complexities as well!

It's like a marathon: Starting is easy, the problem is you have to keep on running.

So it's just about backup and monitoring?

We take care of those, but we also give you much more, and we're always adding new features. We give you great insight into what's going on inside your database, so if your database is slow, now you can know why.

We also handle the tasks like resizing your database; or figuring out how to get backups of your large databases from the cloud.

Of course you can do figure out how to do these tasks yourself, but the cloud is supposed to be about making things easier!