> I'd argue that feature set (transactions, ACID, etc) are a bigger differentiator because they drive/change application development Handling atomic transactio

> I'd argue that feature set (transactions, ACID, etc) are a bigger differentiator because they drive/change application development Handling atomic transactions or ACID on a single computer is a completely different problem from dealing with them across multiple, and still a different problem from dealing with them across datacenters. I'd argue that the size of your data is the first question you need to ask, only then you can figure out if you need/desire these features. > once your data does not fit on one computer/harddrive you need to start figuring out a way for multiple to coordinate Going from one computer to two generally more than doubles the complexity of the system. But when done right, going from two computers to two hundred can be easy. However, going from two hundred (in a single datacenter) to ~two thousand (across multiple datacenters) brings its own unique set of challenges. Picking the database for an app is one of the biggest tech decisions any team can make, certainly more important than the underlying OS, and even potentially more important than choosing a predominant programming language. Even when starting a tiny startup with no initial customers, considering how big about the absolute max you think you your data can grow, and picking a database that can grow with you can save you huge headaches down the road. Case Study: I started a company on Python 2.7 (fine, but not enlightened decision), a fork of Django that supported NoSQL (bad decision), and an underlying NoSQL database that scaled with no configuration (great decision). In the first year, the database had around a gigabyte of data, so NoSQL was definitely overkill. But now, it's over 100 Terabytes, with auto replication making it much larger than that. Changing the Django middleware or even the Python language to 3.x will be difficult, but not impossible. Moving the database is far more terrifying, a non-starter.