Why out-of-the-box Data Sync solutions are more important than ever

The need for bi-directional out-of-the-box Data Sync solutions has never been higher as organizations face an explosion of connected devices, data volumes, and regulatory requirements.

By 2030, decentralized connected devices (IoT & mobile) are expected to double to over 50 billion, generating unprecedented data volumes of estimated 180 zettabytes annually by 2025. This data is generated everywhere, and its rapid growth raises significant sustainability concerns, with data centers projected to consume 12% of U.S. power by 2030. And last but not least, compliance with growing data privacy regulations like GDPR and HIPAA adds further pressure.

In the following sections, we’ll explore why out-of-the-box Data Sync solutions address these growing demands and are an important basis for every company wanting to become a data-driven organization. We’ll also explore why DIY-solutions aren’t a good alternative. From managing data at scale to meeting regulatory requirements and reducing environmental impact, out-of-the-box Data Sync solutions provide a reliable, fast, and risk-free option for organizations facing today’s data challenges.

The complexities of bi-directional Data Sync

Bi-directional Data Sync is hard. First of all, there are the key challenges (fallacies) of distributed systems, which need to be reliably taken care of: 

• The Network is unreliable (flaky, down, slow)
• Latency is unpredictable but not zero (no QoS possible)
• Bandwidth is finite (sending is limited)
• The Network poses a security risk (many ways to intercept data)
• Topologies keep changing (centralized – fully decentralized)
• Transport cost is high (energy (CO2), CPU, cloud, networking costs)
• Maintenance is often underestimated (complex and non-trivial system)

So, what looks easy in practice hides a complex bit of coding and opens a can of worms for testing. For an application to work seamlessly across devices and independent of the network conditions, reliable Data Sync must anticipate and handle all possible failures (in any combination). And to ensure data consistency, also handle data conflicts: When two (or more) users / devices update the same data simultaneously, conflicts arise, and must be resolved in a sensible manner.

To add spice to the mix, we’re dealing with a highly fragmented market. There are many different connected IoT, Mobile, and other Embedded devices on the market. This entails all kinds of hardware, operating systems, and tech stacks with differences in restrictions on memory, battery, and/or CPU resources. Therefore, resource efficiency is essential. This efficiency has the added benefit of providing speed, reduced costs, and sustainability.

On top, building the system is only the beginning. Software always requires maintenance, and data storage and synchronization systems demand exceptional reliability. These systems are highly error-sensitive and require skilled tech professionals for upkeep, resulting in significant ongoing maintenance costs. Moreover, dedicating specialized, high-value tech talent to maintenance comes with opportunity costs that should be considered.

All in all, building bi-directional Data Sync in-house is challenging due to the complexity of managing real-time, bi-directional sync across multiple devices, each with unique conditions like network reliability and power availability. These complexities make robust DIY sync solutions costly, time-intensive, and difficult to scale as app usage grows.

DIY Data Sync options vs. Databases with Data Sync

While network-oriented middleware like MQTT, Kafka, and JMS address some of the complexities of distributed systems, many non-trivial challenges remain for implementing bi-directional Data Sync. Even if you opt for a ready-made Cloud Data Sync solution that operates externally to the database, integration with databases still introduces latency, complexity, and cost (internal and sometimes external costs). Data must be serialized for transmission and deserialized upon retrieval, adding processing overhead. Moreover, such solutions are heavily reliant on a stable cloud connection and the continuous availability of cloud services. Therefore, most Cloud Data Sync options are unsuitable for scenarios involving resource-limited devices, real-time requirements, high availability demands, or ambitious sustainability targets. Additionally, the costs of networking and cloud usage can often become prohibitive, potentially jeopardizing the success of a project.

In contrast, a database that handles synchronization tasks directly simplifies development significantly. Since the database already understands the data model, there’s minimal overhead. Think about it: the database is the most efficient part of the tech stack for handling Data Sync reliably and efficiently. When data updates in one instance, changes are automatically synchronized across other instances using topic-based synchronization or similar publish/subscribe mechanisms. This approach ensures consistency and distribution of data across a distributed system with far less overhead and greater resource efficiency. Additionally, devices with on-device databases remain fully functional even when offline.

Benefits of a Database with out-of-the-box Data Sync

• Reduced Complexity: Managing synchronization directly within the database simplifies system architecture by eliminating the need for an additional middleware layer. This approach streamlines development and maintenance, as developers work with a single layer for both storage and synchronization. Instead of diving into the complexities of getting data, they can trust on the database to make data available to them when and where needed via simple APIs. It reduces potential points of failure and avoids the complexities of coordinating between separate components.
• Performance and Efficiency: Database-integrated synchronization enables faster data replication by handling it directly within the database. Since native data formats are already central to the database, there’s no need for additional transformations during syncing or data changes. This minimizes sync overhead, as the database inherently understands the data model. This approach is particularly beneficial in real-time, resource-constrained environments or scenarios with high data loads and frequency, such as industrial manufacturing, where reducing latency is critical.
• Enhanced Security: Managing synchronization within the database leverages its transactional guarantees, reducing reliance on external network services and enhancing overall system security. This is particularly advantageous in systems where data consistency is critical, such as financial or healthcare applications.
• Resource Efficiency and Cost Savings: By eliminating the need for a separate middleware solution, database-managed synchronization reduces operational costs. Middleware introduces additional resource requirements, security measures, and monitoring needs, adding complexity and expense. Consolidating these functions within the database streamlines the stack, potentially lowering costs for hardware, software, and personnel.
• Faster Time to Market: Out-of-the-box Data Sync features enable developers to focus on building core application logic rather than spending time on complex data synchronization. This ensures that data is consistently and reliably available when and where needed, accelerating development and reducing maintenance overhead.
• Maintenance Overhead: Developing and maintaining a custom Data Sync solution is labor-intensive and resource-heavy. The ongoing shortage of skilled tech professionals, particularly in networking and distributed systems, makes in-house solutions even more challenging, consuming valuable resources that could be allocated elsewhere.

Use Cases where Databases with integrated Data Sync Shine

One of the most powerful advantages of a database with integrated Data Sync is that synchronization is handled graciously across devices and in challenging environments. 

• Offline-first Mobile applications: Imagine a field worker using a customer relationship management (CRM) app to update client records offline, with data automatically syncing as soon as connectivity is restored. This offline-first capability empowers the field workers to be able to rely on the application to work, wherever they are, delivering updates instantly whenever a connection is available, keeping data consistent and the user experience uninterrupted.
• IoT in Low-Connectivity Settings: Resource-constrained environments often have limited processing power and connectivity but still require real-time data processing and quick sync to central databases. Consider IoT devices placed in remote fields, monitoring soil health, or air quality sensors set up in remote locations. With built-in database synchronization, these devices can gather data locally and automatically sync with central servers when they connect to the network, regardless of how flaky that connection may be.
• Manufacturing / Industrial IoT: Another example is a manufacturing plant running on edge computing nodes that can monitor machinery status locally, instantly updating a central database when critical thresholds are reached. Database-integrated synchronization enables these distributed systems to operate with minimal latency, supporting fast decision-making and efficient coordination without the need for extensive infrastructure.
• E-commerce and Retail: Picture a point-of-sale (POS) system in a bustling retail store. Inventory updates from the POS system are instantly reflected in the backend and on the website, preventing stockouts and ensuring customers receive accurate product availability information. When every sale, every item update, and every transaction syncs in real-time, the customer experience becomes seamless, and operations run smoothly. Also, you can keep selling when offline, and never loose a transaction.From in-store systems to mobile apps, database-integrated synchronization ensures that every element of the e-commerce ecosystem is connected and up-to-date, even when managing thousands of transactions per second.

Whether it’s real-time data from IoT, PoS in a retail store, or logistics information from trackers on shipping containers, database-integrated Sync ensures that data reaches the locations where it’s needed and when it’s needed.

Choosing a Database with Integrated Sync: Key Features to Look For

How to choose the right solution for your case? When selecting a database with integrated Data Sync, it’s essential to focus on features that ensure seamless, efficient data handling across distributed environments:

• Offline-first: empowers devices / users to keep working independent of a constant Internet connection. Prerequisite is a low-footprint high-efficiency database that can run on most devices.

• Delta Sync: makes sure only changed data is synchronized, reducing the amount of data transferred and with it network usage and speeding up sync times.

• Ressource-efficiency: database efficiency impacts your hardware needs, hardware lifetime, and battery / energy needs. Sync efficiency impacts your data transferal needs and therefore the reliability as well as the networking costs of Data Sync. 

• Low-latency conflict resolution: Enables smooth handling of data conflicts without disrupting the user experience, which is especially crucial for collaborative or real-time applications.

• Scalability: ensures a growing user base or growing data volumes can be handled resource-efficiently and fast. Typically, you need to benchmark within your own setup to make sure how this translates to your system.

One of the most popular solutions: Mongo DB Realm with Atlas Device Sync got deprecated in Sep 2024.

	MongoDB Realm Realm DB was acquired by MongoDB in 2019; the Mongo Realm Sync solution (Atlas Device Sync) used Realm DB on edge devices and synchronized with a MongoDB hosted in the cloud. However, MongoDB recently announced end-of-life of the Mongo Realm solution by September 2025.
	ObjectBox Database & Data Sync ObjectBox is an offline-first database for any device: From restricted edge devices to on-premise servers all the way up to the cloud. It offers an out-of-the-box bi-directional Data Sync that can be self-hosted, on-premise, or in the cloud. Cloud use is 100% optional.
	Couchbase Couchbase offers a Cloud and an Edge database (Couchbase Mobile) and Sync offering that requires the use of Couchbase servers. It recently added a free tier to start with but becomes very expensive quickly.
	PowerSync PowerSync focuses on scalable, cloud-based sync. It’s suited for applications that prioritize centralized, cloud-hosted synchronization to maintain real-time data exchange, making it a good choice for distributed cloud applications where connectivity is stable.

Choosing a database that balances these features with your specific application requirements will help you achieve reliable, real-time data sync across all platforms and devices.

The Case for Databases with  Integrated Data Sync

Out-of-the-box database-integrated sync offers a practical, streamlined way to tackle the biggest headaches of distributed systems. These challenges, known as the Fallacies of Distributed Computing, include issues like unreliable networks, unpredictable latency, limited bandwidth, changing network structures, security risks, high transport costs, and the often-overlooked complexity of maintenance. By building synchronization directly into the database, these solutions help applications stay consistent, fast, and secure, even when the network isn’t perfect.

For development teams, choosing a database with built-in Data Sync, it means you avoid a lot of hassle and risks. You get access to reliable, thoroughly tested tools that keep data in sync across devices and locations, freeing you up developer time and allowing them to focus on building features and delivering value to users. As distributed systems become more essential to modern applications, database-integrated sync provides a smart, forward-thinking way to make data management easier and more efficient. Consider exploring these solutions to future-proof your applications and keep your data handling smooth and reliable.