MongoDB Inc., the company behind the popular open-source NoSQL database used for managing large amounts of rapidly changing data, today unveiled a new iteration of the platform that could significantly raise its enterprise appeal.

MongoDB 4.0 introduces support for what’s known as the ACID standard, which stands for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, Durability. The acronym refers to a set of properties that a database must possess to maintain a high standard of reliability even in the event of a technical issue. In the enterprise, ACID compatibility is a key requirement for mission-critical applications that must perform well to ensure smooth business operations.

MongoDB has until now only supported ACID at the document level, enforcing the standard on changes made to the individual items within a file. The new release augments the feature set to work on a multidocument basis.

That means that when a change is applied to information in a MongoDB 4.0 deployment, the modification becomes permanent only if everything is executed correctly. The result is that there are no partial changes or corrupted data left over in case something goes wrong with the process. Moreover, ACID compatibility ensures that the other operations going on in the background can continue as normal even if an action must be canceled because of a technical problem.

MongoDB Chief Technology Officer Eliot Horowitz wrote in a blog post that the new ACID support is the fruit of a more than three-year effort. The executive detailed that almost every part of the system has been revamped as part of the project, from the data storage mechanism to the way information is distributed across the servers in a deployment.

ACID support historically hasn’t been included in NoSQL databases such as MongoDB. As a result, many companies instead opt to use traditional “relational” databases from the likes of Oracle Corp. to power their most important applications. MongoDB is banking that the release will level the playing field and put it in a stronger position to compete for those mission-critical workloads.

MongoDB is already widely used in the enterprise. The company claims more than 4,900 customers, including MetLife Inc., Cisco Systems Inc. and Comcast Corp.

MongoDB 4.0 is set to become generally available in the summer. A beta version is already available to early adopters, which Horowitz said currently has about 85 percent of the features required to achieve ACID compatibility.

Image: MongoDB