Beyond Caching: Building Low-Latency Data Layers for Modern Apps with Open Source In-Memory Database
Regular 50 minute session for SQLBits 2026Thursday - 23 Apr 2026 - 15:10 - 16:00 AuditoriumTL; DR
Improving database performance using in-memory caching
Open-source innovation: Valkey, a high performance key-value datastore
How Valkey solves challenges for AI developers
Session Details
In modern applications, latency kills user experience. While traditional caching helps, today's workloads (especially GenAI applications and agents) demand more than simple key-value lookups. Enter Valkey: a high-performance, open source in-memory datastore backed by the Linux Foundation that's evolving the in-memory database landscape.
In this session, we'll explore practical patterns for using Valkey alongside your existing relational databases to dramatically improve read performance while reducing database load. We'll dive into real-world use cases including semantic search for AI applications, vector similarity operations, and building ultra-fast data layers for agentic workflows. You'll see hands-on examples of how to identify which workloads benefit most from in-memory acceleration, implementation patterns that work, and architectural considerations for production deployments.
Whether you're optimizing existing database workloads or building the next generation of AI-powered applications, you'll leave with concrete techniques for leveraging open source in-memory technology to solve real latency challenges.
In this session, we'll explore practical patterns for using Valkey alongside your existing relational databases to dramatically improve read performance while reducing database load. We'll dive into real-world use cases including semantic search for AI applications, vector similarity operations, and building ultra-fast data layers for agentic workflows. You'll see hands-on examples of how to identify which workloads benefit most from in-memory acceleration, implementation patterns that work, and architectural considerations for production deployments.
Whether you're optimizing existing database workloads or building the next generation of AI-powered applications, you'll leave with concrete techniques for leveraging open source in-memory technology to solve real latency challenges.
3 things you'll get out of this session
Attendees will learn how they can:
Reduce operational overhead by using a managed caching service.
Improve database performance and lower costs using open source technology such as Valkey.
How they can use the latest developer capabilities within Valkey and ElastiCache to power AI and agentic applications.
Reduce operational overhead by using a managed caching service.
Improve database performance and lower costs using open source technology such as Valkey.
How they can use the latest developer capabilities within Valkey and ElastiCache to power AI and agentic applications.
