How does database indexing drive performance
So, how does database indexing drive performance? If you’re trying to build a business case, we’ll explain why database optimisation is something you should prioritise. That’s because every business is sitting on growing data volumes, and customers expect instant results. And all those requests run off of your database. If it slows down, everything slows down. So how do you get more speed from your database? Indexing.
What is database indexing?
An index helps you find things faster without having to scan every row of data in your database. With an index, you can jump straight to the right place, like looking up a word in the dictionary. Let’s say you have a customer database of 10,000 customers. Without indexing, you’d have to scroll through every row. Instead, with filters, you can jump right to the right result.
How indexing impacts business performance
Think of how many times someone in your business might need to look up a customer record… with indexing, those queries can be 10x to 1000x faster. It also reduces the load on servers, so your whole infrastructure performs better and costs less. It also improves response times for users, so your customers find what they want faster (which keeps them happier). And finally, it helps analytics run more quickly, which speeds up business decision-making amongst your senior leaders.
Indexing business use cases
Nearly every business can benefit from indexing, but let’s just take e-commerce as a first example. When your visitors are searching for products by name, category or price; indexing makes them lightning fast. Or what about finance, imagine your team pulling transaction histories or balances…well, indexing helps generate reports in seconds, and that’s compounding efficiency. And lastly, think about SaaS. With all those user accounts, you need an easy way to filter user data and activity logs. Properly indexing your database will scale as usage grows.
Risks of unindexed databases
When you don’t have an indexed database, you’re probably already dealing with slow queries, and that’s only going to get worse as your volume of data grows. Without indexes, systems can time out or even crash during high traffic periods. You might also be spending more money on your cloud resources than you need to. That’s throwing money away when the fix is fast and easy. Lastly, if you do have developers in-house, they’re likely wasting their time debugging performance that could be solved with a well-placed index.
How to add indexes
Once you’re ready to add an index, we recommend talking with an expert team like ours. You don’t want to overdo it. Too many indexes can slow down writes because the database must keep these indexes up to date. Just index what you query often, then review and tune indexes periodically as your needs change. Speed is your competitive edge with databases, whether in customer experience or operational efficiency, so you want to make these indexes and then ensure they’re continually fit for purpose.
If you’re ready to start your indexing journey, get in touch today. We’d love to review your current database and make our best recommendations for your data structure.
