Datomic is now available free of licensing fees

Nubank proudly announces that we are making all editions of Datomic available free of licensing fees. The Datomic binaries are being released under the Apache 2.0 license and will be readily available for direct download, with no signup required. Datomic Cloud will be available on AWS at no additional cost.

We are doing this to make Datomic more useful to more people in more situations, and look forward to expanding the Datomic and Clojure community as a result.

Discover how Nubank, a leading digital bank, revolutionizes the financial industry by leveraging cutting-edge technology, including Datomic, their primary transactional database. In this article, we explore Nubank’s commitment to customer-centricity, their ability to scale rapidly, and the essential role that Datomic’s flexible data model, elastic scaling, and rich querying capabilities play in their success.

At Nubank, technology lies at the heart of everything we do. As a leading digital bank, we aim to reinvent the financial services landscape by leveraging cutting-edge technology to deliver unparalleled user experiences. By harnessing the power of technology, we have been able to disrupt traditional banking systems and offer innovative financial products to millions of customers, thus democratizing access to quality financial services.

One of the key aspects that sets Nubank apart from traditional banks is our relentless focus on customers. Technology enables us to gain insights into customer needs and preferences, which allows us to create personalized solutions tailored to their unique requirements. Through the use of data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning, we can better understand and predict customer behavior, leading to improved customer satisfaction and long-term loyalty.

Nubank’s ability to scale rapidly and cater to a wide customer base can also be attributed to our investment in technology. Our robust and secure services and platforms ensure seamless operations and high uptimes. Our technology empowers us to handle large transaction volumes, provide instant account access, and offer a range of innovative financial products—all while maintaining the highest levels of security and privacy.

At Nubank, the choice of using Datomic as our primary transactional database is a prime example of how important technology is to our operations. Datomic’s flexible data model and elastic scaling have been critical to our rapid growth, and its rich querying features enable our teams to make informed, data-driven decisions. 

This flexibility allows us to adapt to the ever-evolving needs of our customers while scaling to accommodate a growing user base without compromising performance or reliability. And now we are excited to announce that all editions of Datomic are available free of licensing fees!

Datomic is a revolutionary database solution designed by Rich Hickey, who was also responsible for the development of Clojure, the official programming language of Nubank. With Datomic’s problem-oriented approach, we can deliver simple solutions to complex issues with large data volumes.

In 2014, when Nubank still occupied a small house on California Street in São Paulo, the engineers were looking for tools that could accelerate the development of the company, which needed to face giants of the financial market in a short time. After careful consideration of the alternatives, they chose Datomic as the company’s official database.

Datomic solved, and still solves, many of the problems that financial institutions face. Datomic is an ACID compliant, immutable database with powerful history and audit capabilities.

Datomic queries are expressed using datalog, a powerful query language based on relational logic. Another advantage of Datomic is its flexible schema. Although it is not schemaless, it allows granular and gradual evolution of the data model.

Data entered into Datomic are known as “datoms”—immutable facts that are added or retracted from an entity in the database. Having an immutable database offers several advantages, such as the ability to preserve historical context, easier auditing and debugging, and faster operations. Today Nubank is making it easier for everyone to leverage this power by making all editions of Datomic available for free.

With this initiative, Datomic will be more useful to more people in more situations. By making Datomic free, it becomes accessible to a wider audience, including small businesses, startups, and individual developers who may have been deterred by the cost of adopting the technology previously.

Datomic binaries now released under the Apache 2.0 license

This newfound accessibility encourages innovation and experimentation, as a broader range of users can now explore the benefits of Datomic’s transactional database and potentially integrate it into their projects or applications. As a result, the Datomic ecosystem is poised to experience significant growth, fostering a diverse community of users who can share knowledge, and drive its adoption across various industries.

In addition to attracting new users, making Datomic free helps to enhance its reputation as a valuable and versatile solution in the realm of transactional databases. We believe that as more people adopt Datomic, the success stories will multiply—bolstering Datomic’s credibility in the eyes of potential users. This increased visibility will generate a positive feedback loop, driving further adoption and solidifying Datomic’s position as a go-to solution for those seeking a reliable, flexible, and scalable transactional database.

Finally, by making Datomic free, we are investing in the platform’s long-term success. As more users adopt the technology, valuable feedback, bug reports, and feature requests will flow in, allowing the Datomic team to continuously refine and enhance the platform. This will ensure that Datomic remains responsive to the needs of its growing user base, further reinforcing its value and appeal. 

In conclusion, the decision to make Datomic free is a strategic move that will not only broaden its reach, but also solidify its status as a leading transactional database solution. This change is a testament to Nubank’s commitment to make Datomic and Clojure even more welcoming and accessible. 

What is changing for customers?

Moving forward, we are making the software easily available to everyone, at no cost.
All current agreements and support are continued in full effect and we will continue to offer paid enterprise support. If you are interested in continuing support, and or leveraging the new licensing call us.

Which editions of Datomic are free?

Datomic Pro is free of licensing fees, and we are working on making Datomic Cloud available off AWS Marketplace with no associated license fees. 

Is it Open Source?

No. Datomic binaries are provided under the Apache 2 license which grants all the same rights to a work delivered in object form. Also Datomic will continue to be developed at Nubank, where it is a critical piece of our infrastructure.

Why did you choose the Apache 2.0 license?

We want to make Datomic more useful to more people in more situations. The Apache 2.0 license  provides benefits to Datomic users in the areas of copyright, patent, redistribution, and more — just as it does for countless other projects.

Will Pro support (2 day SLA business hour) be provided?

Yes, through the duration of your current license term. Moving forward, contact us if interested in an Enterprise Support agreement.

Where is possible to find out more?

• www.datomic.com 
• Datomic Documentation
• ask.datomic
• Datomic Forum
• In the channel #datomic in Clojurians Slack

Now is it possible run Datomic Cloud off the marketplace?

Nubank team is working on making that available.