Skip to content
Search to learn about InterSystems products and solutions, career opportunities, and more.

A Superior Alternative to In-Memory Databases and Key-Value Stores

InterSystems IRIS

Introduction

Businesses often use in-memory databases or key-value stores (caching layers) when applications require extremely high performance. However, in-memory databases incur a high total cost of ownership and have hard scalability limits, incurring reliability problems and restart delays when memory limits are exceeded. In-memory key-value stores share these limitations and introduce architectural complexity and network latency as well.

This paper explains why InterSystems IRIS™ data platform is a superior alternative to in-memory databases and key-value stores for high-performance SQL and NoSQL applications.

Taking Performance and Efficiency to the Next Level

InterSystems IRIS is the only persistent database that can match or beat the performance of in-memory databases and caching layers for concurrent data ingestion and analytics processing. It can process incoming transactions, persist the data to disk, and index it for analytics in under one microsecond on commercially available hardware without introducing network latency.

RELATED TOPICS

Other Resources You Might Like

Mar 10, 2026
Scalability
InterSystems IRIS® can simplify the configuration, provisioning, and operation of distributed systems through scaling.
Mar 05, 2026
HTAP Benchmark Report
This report describes a performance benchmark of InterSystems IRIS® in comparison with other data platforms. The test profiles combined simultaneous transactional ingestion and analytical queries of incoming data, an instance of highly efficient, real-time, concurrent, and hybrid transactional-analytical processing.
Mar 05, 2026
Product Data Sheet
InterSystems IRIS® for Health is the interoperability-first healthcare data platform built for creating advanced healthcare applications thatconnect, analyze, and act on data in real time. It unifies data management, interoperability, analytics, and AI within a single, high-performance engine — reducing integration complexity while accelerating innovation. Trusted globally by organizations such as Epic, LabCorp, Sonic, and BioReference, InterSystems IRIS for Health powers solutions that manage over a billion health records worldwide.
Mar 05, 2026
Product Data Sheet
InterSystems in the Era of Data Convergence
Mar 05, 2026
Technical Guide
InterSystems EMPI™ is a next-generation enterprise master person index – an automated, easily integrated solution for identity resolution. It is available as a standalone solution or can seamlessly pair with InterSystems HealthShare Unified Care Record®, merging multi-source data into a single, accurate longitudinal health record.
Mar 05, 2026
Whitepaper
A Data-Driven Approach to Demand Sensing and Forecasting
Mar 05, 2026
Solution Summary
Eliminate Delays in Warranty Claims with InterSystems
Mar 05, 2026
Solution Summary
Solve for Shifts in Supply and Demand
Mar 03, 2026
White Paper
For banks seeking to modernize their decision-making capabilities, smart data fabrics offer a powerful path forward.
Mar 03, 2026
Solution Summary
A smart data fabric from InterSystems streams high-quality, real-time data into model development, deployment, and performance monitoring— overcoming the limitations of silos for operationalizing AML/KYC, CCAR/ CECL, credit, liquidity, and reporting at scale while maintaining data lineage and governance.

Take The Next Step

We’d love to talk. Fill in some details and we’ll be in touch.
*Required Fields
Highlighted fields are required
*Required Fields
Highlighted fields are required
** By selecting yes, you give consent to be contacted for news, updates and other marketing purposes related to existing and future InterSystems products and events. In addition, you consent to your business contact information being entered into our CRM solution that is hosted in the United States, but maintained consistent with applicable data protection laws.