Database Categories Are Dead: Here’s What’s Next

The traditional database taxonomy is broken. The labels we’ve used for over a decade like “NoSQL,” “relational,” “document, “key-value” and “graph” no longer describe how modern databases work or what developers actually need.

This isn’t just semantic drift. The fundamental assumptions that created these categories have changed. Modern applications don’t fit into neat database buckets, and neither should the systems that power them.

The Category Trap

Database categories emerged from real technical limitations. In the…