Title

AWS re:Invent 2022 - How Capital One accelerates innovation with AWS databases (DAT211)

Summary

Ryan Thurston from AWS introduced the session, highlighting the importance of tying technology to business benefits and the shift from monolithic to microservices architecture.
Geeta Gopal from Capital One discussed their cloud journey, emphasizing the move to 100% cloud with zero data centers by 2020 and the focus on purpose-built databases.
Capital One reduced database variability, standardized access patterns, and automated lifecycle tasks, even with AWS Managed Services.
They developed a database selection tool and automated several database management aspects, including cross-region auto-failover and resiliency testing.
Preston Burrows presented business use cases for DocumentDB, Aurora Global Database, and DynamoDB, detailing the requirements and architecture for each.
Capital One's internal database migrator service was developed to enhance AWS Database Migration Service (DMS), integrating with Capital One's tooling and automating various migration tasks.
The success in moving to purpose-built databases was attributed to partnerships with engineering teams and AWS, leveraging minimum viable product (MVP) services for business growth.

Capital One's strategic approach to database modernization involves consolidating database types, creating "paved paths" for standardized databases, and automating database management tasks.
The company's focus on purpose-built databases is driven by the need for agility, scalability, and cost savings in their microservices architecture.
Capital One's database selection tool and the internal database migrator service demonstrate a proactive approach to overcoming limitations of existing AWS services and tailoring solutions to their specific needs.
The use of AWS databases like DocumentDB, Aurora, and DynamoDB showcases the flexibility and scalability of AWS services in handling large-scale, real-time, and critical financial operations.
The partnership with AWS and the internal collaboration within Capital One are key factors in their successful cloud and database transformation journey.
Capital One's cloud-native approach and investment in automation and tooling reflect a broader industry trend towards managed services and serverless architectures for increased efficiency and innovation.