By a number of metrics, MongoDB is by far the most popular NoSQL database. But in a sign of NoSQL's growing clout in the broader economy, MongoDB is rapidly surpassing the industry's most entrenched relational databases, as well, as a new chart from DB-Engines shows:
Given that developers, not venture capital investments, are the best indicator of success, MongoDB's popularity bodes well for those enterprises that are using it in production. Companies like MetLife, Edmunds.com, The Guardian and others.
I suspect we'll see MongoDB move past DB2 and PostgreSQL by the end of 2013. The core foundations for MongoDB's popularity - developer productivity, high performance and scalability and flexibility to handle a broad array of use cases - improve with each release, drawing in an ever-growing ecosystem.
Of course, there's still a long way to go to catch up with SQL Server, MySQL and Oracle. But that's OK. We didn't expect to displace Oracle's 40-year dominance overnight. Developer freedom and productivity will take time...but it will happen.