In this episode of Disseminate: The Computer Science Research Podcast, host Jack Waudby sits down with Xiangyao Yu (UW–Madison), one of the leading voices shaping the next generation of cloud-native databases.We dive deep into disaggregation — the architectural shift transforming how modern data systems are built. Xiangyao breaks down:Why traditional shared-nothing databases struggle in cloud environmentsHow separating compute and storage unlocks elasticity, scalability, and cost efficiencyThe evolution of disaggregated systems, from Aurora and Snowflake through to advanced pushdown processing and new modular servicesHis team's research on reinventing core protocols like 2-phase commit for cloud-native environmentsReal-time analytics, HTAP challenges, and the Hermes architectureWhere disaggregation goes next — indexing, query optimizers, materialized views, multi-cloud architectures, and moreWhether you're a database engineer, researcher, or a practitioner building scalable cloud systems, this episode gives a clear, accessible look into the architecture that’s rapidly becoming the default for modern data platforms.Links:Xiangyao Yu's HomepageDisaggregation: A New Architecture for Cloud Databases [VLDB'25] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.