22-25 April 2026 
Untangling the Data Web: Strategic Database Decomposition for Microservices
Proposed session for SQLBits 2026TL; DR
Learn how to decompose monolithic databases into microservices using proven patterns like Sagas, event sourcing, and strangler fig to manage distributed data without traditional transactions.
Session Details
Modern applications often begin as monoliths with deeply interconnected databases where tables, relationships, and business logic form a complex web of dependencies. As organizations move toward microservices, they face critical challenges: the loss of ACID transactions across service boundaries, tangled responsibilities where single tables serve multiple business domains, star-like dependency patterns that resist clean separation, data duplication and synchronization issues, unclear ownership boundaries, and the risk of cascading failures during migration.
In this session, you'll learn strategic approaches to database decomposition that minimize risk. We'll cover the patterns for managing distributed workflows, event sourcing and CQRS for maintaining consistency, and compensation strategies for handling failures. You'll discover how to use domain-driven design to identify service boundaries, and how to re-architect your data model by finding clear ownership for each domain.
By the end of this session you'll gain practical strategies to confidently break apart your monolithic database and build a foundation for scalable microservices architecture.
In this session, you'll learn strategic approaches to database decomposition that minimize risk. We'll cover the patterns for managing distributed workflows, event sourcing and CQRS for maintaining consistency, and compensation strategies for handling failures. You'll discover how to use domain-driven design to identify service boundaries, and how to re-architect your data model by finding clear ownership for each domain.
By the end of this session you'll gain practical strategies to confidently break apart your monolithic database and build a foundation for scalable microservices architecture.
3 things you'll get out of this session
By the end of this session, you will be able to:
Identify natural seam lines in your monolithic database schemas to determine where services should be separated using domain-driven design principles
Apply proven distributed data patterns such as Sagas, event sourcing, CQRS, and compensation strategies to manage data consistency without relying on traditional ACID transactions
Implement the strangler fig pattern to safely and gradually extract services from your monolith while maintaining system stability throughout the migration
Establish clear data ownership by mapping tangled database schemas to bounded contexts and aligning service responsibilities with team structures
Design anti-corruption layers that protect your service boundaries during migration and prevent cascading failures across your distributed system