United chose Couchbase Server and Couchbase Mobile as the underlying technology to help modernize its flight operations technology for 41,000+ employees. The airline now uses its FAA-approved mobile applications to provide pilots with flight information, simplify flight attendant tasks, and streamline information delivery to global personnel.
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Data synchronization, offline capabilities, and security are key to successful mobile apps
Avoid pitfalls in mobile development, app security, and data loss
Top 4 mobile challenges with MongoDB™ and how Couchbase solves them
Challenge 1: Flexible deployment options
MongoDB's™ mobile sync offering prevents you from deploying on your system of choice.
MongoDB™
MongoDB™ uses their backend as a service (BaaS) offering to deliver mobile synchronization, which makes it impossible for you to manage your mobile service stack yourself. You can’t install the stack on your own hardware and you can’t deploy it in a private cloud with your own controls in place. Once you build on the stack, your only choice is to use MongoDB’s™ service for delivery. And because there are limited geographic options available, you have to use their service within the region of their choice.
Couchbase
Couchbase has focused on building a manageable platform that includes advanced mobile support for peer-to-peer and complex edge-to-cloud hierarchies. You can deploy a robust solution anywhere you need it – on-premises or hosted on any private or public cloud. Installing with cloud tools such as the Couchbase Autonomous Operator for Kubernetes means you can also deploy easily using the same tools everywhere. You have complete control over the deployment of the Couchbase Mobile platform.
Challenge 2:
Security
MongoDB’s™ mobile security leaves your application exposed.
MongoDB™
MongoDB™ makes it difficult to deploy a fully secure mobile application. MongoDB™ Mobile (Beta) requires the use of their hosted service and doesn’t provide on-device or over-the-wire encryption. Because you have limited control over the sync backend, you may never be able to fully manage or monitor security issues for your applications.
Couchbase
Couchbase provides enterprise-grade security with end-to-end and over-the-wire encryption, on-device data encryption, and robust authentication, authorization, and role-based access control enforced by Couchbase Sync Gateway. Additional features also enable a failure-resistant solution with on-device backup options including offline support.
Challenge 3:
Ease of development
MongoDB’s™ proprietary API slows mobile development.
MongoDB™
MongoDB™ has a proprietary API – which means MongoDB™ mobile developers must also become MongoDB™ database developers. It’s a big deal because programming semantics greatly impact the ability to leverage mobile developer skills, especially for more complicated operations. And if you’re using a set of patterns that are for MongoDB™ only, it’s harder to find, train, and grow your mobile developers. Also, MongoDB™ doesn’t provide support for your .NET developers.
Couchbase
Couchbase Lite provides programming syntax that’s familiar to mobile and server developers alike. Couchbase provides a SQL-like query language along with familiar JOIN capabilities and powerful full-text search features. That means developers can get up and running fast without having to learn completely new development patterns. Other features of our API – like a fluent design pattern, thread safety, and comprehensive iOS, Android, and .NET support – make it easier to write robust apps.
Challenge 4:
Mission critical
MongoDB™ Mobile is a very young product and still playing catch up.
MongoDB™
MongoDB™ Mobile is in beta and doesn’t provide good examples of customers who have built mobile solutions for enterprise-level problems. As with any new technology, it's a gamble to invest in such an early release.
Couchbase
Couchbase Mobile is a mature market-tested platform for building enterprise-level solutions. Our customers’ production deployments have been running for several years and have significantly influenced the evolution of the Couchbase platform. Ongoing enhancements to scalability, performance, availability, security, usability, and offline support have all been driven by real enterprise users.
Webinar: Architecting Your Mobile Storage Solution With a NoSQL Data Platform
October 23
Building a mobile app with local data storage capabilities can be a daunting task – but it doesn't have to be. Learn about the main challenges and requirements of an offline or offline-first storage solution and how to overcome the toughest obstacles using NoSQL with JSON documents.
Get an overview of Couchbase Mobile's architecture along with code examples that demonstrate the CRUD and query API for managing your local data store and take a quick look at how Fortune 500 healthcare company, BD, is using Couchbase Mobile.
Why enterprises choose Couchbase over MongoDB™
BD, a leading medical technology company, is constantly looking for new ways to improve diagnostics and health care delivery. In the case of Type 2 diabetes, a major obstacle to optimized treatment has been the inability to easily collect and review patient data. BD’s innovative solution is a mobile patient app and clinician portal built on Couchbase and Couchbase Mobile.
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DirecTV, a leading global provider of digital television entertainment services runs software to support 38 million customers on 3,000 channels. One of their top challenges was developing systems capable of supporting business changes in a fast-paced environment. DirecTV discovered Couchbase’s performance to be unparalleled thanks to its RESTful API and SQL-like query language (N1QL).
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Staples needed a better way to manage its B2B catalogs, which use 1.6 billion rules applied in real time. Staples explored using MongoDB™, but had to cancel projects because MongoDB™ was unable to scale easily and affordably. Couchbase not only enabled Staples to simplify its catalog management using N1QL and JSON, but also to increase its database performance and reliability.
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