Episode 244:

Postgres to ClickHouse: Simplifying the Modern Data Stack with Aaron Katz & Sai Krishna Srirampur

May 20, 2025

This week on The Data Stack Show, the guys are chatting with Aaron Katz & Sai Krishna Srirampur live at Data Council in Oakland, California. Aaron and Sai discuss the evolution of database technologies, focusing on transitioning from traditional transactional databases like Postgres to purpose-built analytical databases like ClickHouse. They explore the challenges of using Postgres for analytics, the benefits of open-source technologies, and the importance of simplifying database infrastructure. Sai shares his background with CITUS Data and Peer DB, highlighting the motivation behind creating ClickPipes, a native ingestion service for ClickHouse Cloud. Aaron discusses the company’s journey, the open-source strategy, and the diverse use cases for ClickHouse, including observability, data warehousing, and real-time analytics. The conversation emphasizes the need for efficient data migration, native querying capabilities, the potential of combining Postgres and ClickHouse to create a more streamlined data stack, and more.

Notes:

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

  • Background of ClickHouse (1:14)
  • PostgreSQL Data Replication Tool (3:19)
  • Emerging Technologies Observations (7:25)
  • Observability and Market Dynamics (11:26)
  • Product Development Challenges (12:39)
  • Challenges with PostgreSQL Performance (15:30)
  • Philosophy of Open Source (18:01)
  • Open Source Advantages (22:56)
  • Simplified Stack Vision (24:48)
  • End-to-End Use Cases (28:13)
  • Migration Strategies (30:21)
  • Final Thoughts and Takeaways (33:29)

 

The Data Stack Show is a weekly podcast powered by RudderStack, the CDP for developers. Each week we’ll talk to data engineers, analysts, and data scientists about their experience around building and maintaining data infrastructure, delivering data and data products, and driving better outcomes across their businesses with data.

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