# Centralized vs. Decentralized: Performance Comparison between BigchainDB and Amazon QLDB
## 4 Comparison between BigchainDB and QLDB
These features, which are difficult to achieve based on traditional technologies, are very appealing to users who want to use blockchain technology and distributed ledgers. The technologies examined in the present paper cover some of the features proposed in [38]. The chosen platforms, such as QLDB and BigChainDB, are not the major players in the industrial market, according to a study of the market for popular databases technologies in use in various medium-level enterprises, which states that QLDB covers only 0.01% of the market (e.g., the Slintel study from 2022 focused on the clients of 68 mid-enterprises (Slintel 2022 study: [[https://www.slintel.com/tech/database](https://www.slintel.com/tech/database)]([https://www.slintel.com/tech/database](https://www.slintel.com/tech/database)), accessed on 4 December 2022)), while BigChainDB covers under 0.01% of the market (e.g., the Enlyft study from 2022 focused on the clients of 22 mid-enterprises (Enlyft 2022 study: [[https://enlyft.com/tech/products/bigchaindb](https://enlyft.com/tech/products/bigchaindb)]([https://enlyft.com/tech/products/bigchaindb](https://enlyft.com/tech/products/bigchaindb)), accessed on 4 December 2022)). Thus, they do cover one of its significant components--the database systems based on ledger technology--despite the fact that QLDB relies less on distributed ledger technologies to ensure traceability in comparison with BigchainDB. The written data for the presented components are immutable and cannot be modified without invalidating the ledger, ensuring the second requirement of the list. The third requirement is met by both of the studied technologies due to the fact that traceability is implemented similarly in both cases using blockchain technologies. However, in the case of the fourth characteristic, QLDB is a proprietary technology that Amazon, as the organization that designed it, is primarily interested in, whilst other market participants are less so. BigchainDB, on the other hand, is an open, adaptable technology that can be used by a wide range of entities for a variety of other purposes. It also provides real decentralization across distributed ledgers, which expands the field's potential applications. QLDB is best suited for use in cases in which a trusted authority is acknowledged by all participants, when centralization is not an issue as such. On the other hand, when there is no trusted authority and centralization is an issue, blockchain structures (blockchains) are optimal. BigchainDB has been built on distributed databases with blockchain functionality [39], which is considered one of the most secure technologies available at present, as shown in [1]: _\"with high throughput, low latency, powerful query functionality, decentralized control, immutable data storage and built-in asset support, BigchainDB is similar to a database with blockchain characteristics\"_. Consequently, BigchainDB benefits from the advantages of modern distributed databases, such as high transaction rates, low latency, indexing, and structured data querying, and those of the blockchain, such as decentralized control, tamperproofing, and traceability [40]. Furthermore, BigchainDB is powered by MongoDB, one of the most popular NoSQL databases, which has some benefits such as high throughput, massive data storage capabilities, linear scaling in capacity with the number of nodes, full-featured NoSQL query language support, efficient query, and rights management [3]. As BigchainDB is based on a distributed database by adding blockchain features, and not by extending blockchain technology, some of the disadvantages of blockchain, such as, the full replication of nodes, have been avoided. We have opted for this database because it is open source, it has drivers for Java, Python and JavaScript, and also allows running a single node on any virtual machine. Amazon QLDB is a blockchain-based solution that provides the functionality of a centralized distributed ledger database. A cryptographically verifiable transaction log is one of the database's key features.