Cloud Database Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Era of AI

Title of the Talk: Cloud Database Systems: Challenges and Opportunities in the Era of AI
Speaker: Karthik Ramachandra, Director of Engineering, Microsoft
Date: Tuesday, 10 February 2026
Time: 11:00 AM
Venue: LHC-8, Lecture Hall Complex

Abstract

Database systems represent a relatively mature area of computer science research, resulting in sophisticated products that are robust, efficient, and widely used. However, the emergence and rapid adoption of cloud computing has caused significant disruption in this domain, rendering several traditional database designs inadequate for modern applications. More recently, the advent of artificial intelligence has further transformed database systems, impacting almost every layer of the database stack.

These developments have led to a fundamental rethinking and redesign of database systems, questioning many of the core assumptions and design principles traditionally followed. This talk will take the audience through this ongoing transformational journey of cloud database systems and highlight exciting challenges and research opportunities in designing database systems for the age of AI.

Bio

Karthik Ramachandra is a Director of Engineering at Microsoft, where he leads the Microsoft SQL Server and Azure SQL Database R&D India organization. Prior to this role, he was a researcher at Microsoft Research India and Microsoft Gray Systems Lab, Madison, WI, USA. He received his Ph.D. from IIT Bombay, where his doctoral thesis received an honorable mention for the 2015 ACM SIGMOD Jim Gray Doctoral Dissertation Award and the IIT Bombay Excellence in Ph.D. Research Award (2015). His doctoral work was supported by the MSR India PhD Fellowship (2011) and the Yahoo! Key Scientific Challenges Award (2011).