Polyglot Persistence with Django: When One Database Isn't Enough

About this session

Polyglot persistence is the use of multiple databases in a single application, with each chosen for what it does best. Django ships with multi-database support: define your connections, write a router, and in theory, you're done. In practice, the gap between "Django supports this" and "I have this working" is where most developers get stuck. This talk closes that gap by using a Django MongoDB backend alongside PostgreSQL, with honest coverage of where the ORM abstraction leaks, what migrations look like against a document store, and lessons learned from building with MongoDB's Queryable Encryption in a real Django context. Attendees leave with working patterns, a clear decision framework, and an answer to whether polyglot persistence is the best choice for their project.

Presented by

Abigail Afi Gbadago

Abigail Afi Gbadago is a software engineer and a dev advocate.

She contributes to the community and tech through her roles as Vice President of the Django Software Foundation Board, a Fellow of the Python Software Foundation, Program Chair for DjangoCon US 2025, ex-Regional Executor for Black Python Devs, and Microsoft MVP for the Python and Web Track.