Database
PostgreSQL database services
PostgreSQL is our usual starting point for a business database. It is dependable, widely understood, and flexible enough to handle most applications and a good deal of reporting. We design it carefully, run it safely, and tell you when a different kind of database fits better.
- 1,200+ clients helped
- Building since 2010
- 15 services, one team
- 50+ technologies
At a glance
What it is
PostgreSQL is a free, open-source relational database known for reliability, rich features, and correctness, widely used behind business applications and reporting.
Problems it solves
Databases that were never designed carefully become slow, inconsistent, and risky, and nobody is sure the backups work.
Who it suits
Teams building applications that need a dependable database, and owners of databases that have become slow or fragile.
How to choose
Choose PostgreSQL as the default for most business applications. Choose something else when the data or workload clearly calls for it.
What it means
A database that keeps its promises
PostgreSQL is an open-source relational database. It stores data in tables, enforces rules about what is allowed, and guarantees that a change is either fully saved or not saved at all, even if the server fails halfway.
That strictness is the point. When money, orders, or customer records are involved, you want the database to refuse bad data and never leave things half-changed.
It is also unusually capable. Beyond tables, it can store documents, search text, handle location data, and support the vector search that AI features use, which often removes the need for a second database.
Worth knowing
Managed or self-run?
For most organizations a managed PostgreSQL service is the better choice. Backups, patches, and failover are handled for you, and the extra cost is usually less than the time it replaces.
Self-running makes sense when you need control the managed services do not offer, or when cost at scale justifies a team to run it. We say which case you are in.
Alternatives
PostgreSQL compared with other databases
PostgreSQL
This pageSuits
Most business applications, with strict rules and rich features.
- Trade-off
- Needs tuning at very large scale.
Suits
Common web applications and many content platforms.
- Trade-off
- Fewer advanced features.
Suits
Highly varied documents and rapid early changes.
- Trade-off
- Weaker guarantees on relationships between records.
SQL Server
Suits
Organizations on Microsoft platforms.
- Trade-off
- Licensing cost and tighter platform ties.
SQLite
Suits
Small, local, or embedded data.
- Trade-off
- Not designed for many users at once.
Where it fits
Is PostgreSQL the right database?
It is a strong default, and not the answer to everything.
What does the data look like?
Choose this when
Customers, orders, invoices, and records related to each other.
- What you get
- PostgreSQL is usually the best starting point, with strong rules and mature tools.
- Keep in mind
- Design the structure with care, since changing it later is harder.
Choose this when
Records that vary a lot, with little relation between them.
- What you get
- A document database such as MongoDB can suit, though PostgreSQL's document support is often enough.
- Keep in mind
- Flexibility early can mean confusion later.
Choose this when
Many terabytes queried for analysis, not for running an application.
- Keep in mind
- Do not strain an application database with heavy reporting.
How we work
Designing or fixing a database
Understand the data
We learn what the data represents, how it relates, and what the application does with it.
What it produces
- Data model sketch
- Access patterns
Design the structure
We define tables, keys, and rules that prevent bad data, and plan for how it will grow.
What it produces
- Schema
- Constraints
Tune what is slow
We find the slow queries, add indexes where they help, and rewrite what indexes cannot fix.
What it produces
- Query review
- Performance results
Make it recoverable
We set up backups and restore tests, so recovery is proven and not assumed.
What it produces
- Backup plan
- Restore test
Keep it healthy
We monitor size, speed, and errors, and plan upgrades.
What it produces
- Monitoring
- Upgrade plan
What DECHY can do
Working with PostgreSQL
Design
- Schemas that prevent bad data.
- Models that fit how the application works.
Tune
- Slow-query reviews and indexing.
- Fixing locks and wasteful patterns.
Run
- Managed and self-run set-ups.
- Backups, restore tests, and monitoring.
Move
- Migrations from other databases.
- Upgrades with little downtime.
Common questions
Questions about PostgreSQL
Is PostgreSQL free?
The software is free and open source. You pay for the servers or managed service that run it, and for the time to look after it.
Should we run it ourselves or use a managed service?
Managed services remove most of the routine work and are our usual choice. Self-running makes sense where control or cost requires it, and we plan it carefully.
Can PostgreSQL handle our growth?
It scales a long way with good design, indexing, and replicas. Very large analytical workloads are usually better in a warehouse.
Can you migrate us from another database?
Yes. We plan the move, test with copies of real data, and cut over with a way back.
Have a different question?
Tell us what you are weighing up and we will answer it plainly.
Ask a questionAlready a client? Email support@dechytech.com
Technical depth
How we build with PostgreSQL
The detail a technical reviewer will ask about: design, performance, and operations.
We normalize sensibly, use constraints and foreign keys, choose appropriate types, and use JSON columns for genuinely variable data, not as a shortcut around design.
- Indexes chosen from real query plans, and statistics kept current.
- Connection pooling, and read replicas for reporting load.
- Partitioning for very large tables.
- Managed services on AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, or self-run with automated backups and point-in-time recovery.
- Extensions such as PostGIS for location data and pgvector for vector search.
Tell us about the data
Describe what the data represents and what depends on it. We will review or design the database and say what to fix first.