Why I Joined InfluxData - Ryan Betts

By Ryan Betts / Developer, Company
Mar 30, 2017

Ever take a long break and think about changing careers or industries only to realize that you still absolutely love building high-performance databases? I did, and I’m thrilled to have recently joined InfluxData to continue that path. I took seven months off and in early March joined InfluxData to lead the team that builds InfluxDB - the ‘I’ in the TICK stack.

I spent eight years as a founding developer and then CTO at VoltDB building a high-velocity ACID relational database. I’ve thought a lot about high-velocity data, and I sought out and joined InfluxData very intentionally. InfluxData is building the right tools for the right users in the right way.

Making high-velocity data simple for developers is an unsolved problem that needs to be solved. Real-time metrics, events, and interactions are the heart of large-scale operational workloads and critical to creating value from IoT. Monetizing IoT often requires meaningful real-time action on real-time data. It’s still too hard to get right.

Easy for developers means thinking about the full stack, not just the database. Teams that set off to build high-performance data applications can quickly lose themselves in the weeds of integration, interoperability, and complex distributed systems management. It is still too hard to do simply.

Open source is the foundation for modern infrastructure. InfluxData is working hard to build a sustainable business (so we’ll be here for you in the future) around our open source tools and stacks. We’re committed to our community and determined to build the heart of our systems in the open.

Finally, a talent-driven business must recruit based on skills and experience, not location. InfluxData embraces distributed development teams. Why should your employer dictate your neighborhood? (Recruiting pitch here: just email me!)

I feel a lot of gratitude for the offer to join InfluxData. The people here are amazingly welcome and focused on the company’s mission. There is a lot of work to do, and I look forward to sharing with you what we learn and build over the next few years.