Materialize, an operational data warehouse, achieves sub-second latency by streaming data from various sources in real time, allowing businesses to leverage data instantly. Initially, Materialize operated as a single binary limited to a single node, which restricted its database size and fault tolerance. In 2022, they transitioned to a cloud-based architecture to enhance scalability and availability without compromising speed and correctness. This transition involved adopting managed services such as Amazon EKS and Amazon S3, but they needed a robust metadata layer, leading them to evaluate several database options. They selected CockroachDB for its managed solution, which met their requirements for speed, correctness, and scalability, as well as provided a positive collaborative experience with Cockroach Labs.