Hari Kiran

About the Speaker

• Tell us about yourself: career, family, passions

  I'm Hari Kiran, a Database Engineer with close to 2 decades of experience spanning healthcare, banking, project and portfolio management, and CRM domains. Over the years I've had the privilege of working at organizations like GE, Oracle, EDB, 2ndQuadrant, and Optum, each of which deepened my understanding of how databases power critical business operations.

  In 2021, I took the entrepreneurial leap and founded OpenSource DB (OSDB), a services startup focused on "Anything & Everything on PostgreSQL", from database administration and enterprise implementations to security hardening, backup and recovery, and performance tuning. More recently, I've been working as a Distributed PostgreSQL Evangelist at pgEdge, where I get to work on the cutting edge of multi-master replication and distributed PostgreSQL.

  I'm also deeply passionate about the PostgreSQL community. I play an active role in organizing events like PGDay Hyderabad and PGConf India, and I'm a regular speaker at conferences across the Asia-Pacific region, FOSSASIA Summit, PGConf India/Asia, and PGConf Down Under in Australia.

  On the personal front: I live in Hyderabad, India, with my parents, wife, and my 12-year-old son.

• What's your favorite way to break the ice or start conversations at PostgreSQL events?

  I usually start by asking people about their current PostgreSQL challenge. It's amazing how quickly a conversation gets going when someone shares a replication headache or a performance bottleneck they've been wrestling with. Before you know it, you've got three other people jumping in with suggestions. That's the beauty of the PostgreSQL community; every challenge becomes a shared conversation.

• What would you say is your superpower?

  I'd say it's the ability to bridge the gap between complex database internals and real-world business needs. Having worked across so many domains, healthcare, banking, CRM, I've learned to translate deep technical concepts into language that resonates with decision-makers and developers alike. At OpenSource DB, our motto is "Live, Eat & Breathe PostgreSQL," and I think that passion comes through in how I help customers see the full potential of PostgreSQL.

• Which book are you reading right now and why did you choose it?

  Play Nice But Win: A CEO's Journey from Founder to Leader by Michael Dell. The book is a masterclass in resilience and survival & strategic pivots.

• What is your favorite hobby?

  Playing badminton with my son whenever I can. I also ghostwrite blogs for knowledge sharing. 😊

About the Talk

• Tell us about your talk? Why did you choose this topic?

  My talk, "Past, Present, and Future: Logical Decoding and Replication in PostgreSQL," traces the full evolution of logical replication, from its origins as a low-level decoding API in PostgreSQL 9.4, through the era of extensions like pglogical, to the robust native features we have today.

  I chose this topic because logical replication has quietly become one of the foundational capabilities of the PostgreSQL ecosystem. It powers change data capture, zero-downtime migrations, and real-time analytics pipelines, yet many people still don't fully understand how it works under the hood or what's coming next. I wanted to connect the dots between where we've been and where we're headed, especially with developments in DDL replication, performance improvements, and multi-master replication that are reshaping what's possible with distributed PostgreSQL.

  Having worked extensively with 2ndQuadrant & pgEdge's distributed PostgreSQL technologies and delivered multiple talks/webinars, this felt like the right moment to give the community a comprehensive picture of the past, present, and future of this critical feature.

• Who would benefit the most from your talk and why?

  Database administrators, backend developers, and platform engineers who work with PostgreSQL in production environments would get the most value. If you've ever had to set up replication, plan a zero-downtime migration, or build a CDC pipeline, this talk gives you the architectural understanding to make better decisions. It's also valuable for anyone evaluating distributed PostgreSQL solutions or considering multi-master setups, as I'll cover how the ecosystem is evolving to address limitations like traditional read-only replica and single-writer constraints.

• What do you hope attendees will walk away with after watching your talk?

  Three things: first, an understanding of the architecture and internals of logical decoding, how the pieces fit together under the hood. Second, a clear picture of how native logical replication compares with extension-based approaches, so they can make informed choices for their own deployments. And third, excitement about what's coming next, DDL replication, performance improvements, and multi-master replication are going to open up entirely new patterns for how we deploy and scale PostgreSQL.

• Which talk at POSETTE 2026 are you most looking forward to? And why?

  random_page_cost in PostgreSQL - why the default is 4.0 and should you lower it? by Tomas Vondra. Great for anyone who loves query planning internals.

• How do you balance technical depth with engaging storytelling in your conference presentations?

  I try to ground every technical concept in a real-world scenario. When I talk about logical decoding internals, I don't just show the architecture diagram, I walk through a scenario where a team needs to migrate from PostgreSQL 14 to 17 with zero downtime, and then show how each component plays its role. That narrative thread keeps the audience anchored even when we dive deep into WAL decoding or replication slots. I also make sure to include live demos wherever possible, because seeing data flow in real time is worth a thousand slides.

About PostgreSQL

• What inspired you to work with PostgreSQL?

  Early in my career, I worked across several proprietary database systems. When I encountered PostgreSQL, what struck me was the combination of enterprise-grade capability with the openness and transparency of its development process. The fact that I could read the source code, understand exactly how a feature worked, and even contribute back, that was transformative. Over time, I realized that PostgreSQL wasn't just a database; it was a community-driven project where sharing knowledge and helping others was part of the culture. That philosophy aligned perfectly with my own belief in "Learn and Share," which eventually became the foundation of OpenSource DB.

• What is your favorite PostgreSQL feature, extension or tool? And why?

  Logical replication, and I know that's not a surprise given my talk topic! But it really is remarkable how this feature has evolved. What started as a relatively niche capability in PostgreSQL 9.4 now powers mission-critical workflows like CDC pipelines, cross-version migrations, and distributed multi-master setups. The ability to replicate selectively at the table and row level, across major versions, opens up architectural patterns that were simply not possible with streaming replication alone.

• What is the single thing that you think differentiates PostgreSQL most from other databases?

  I'll choose 2, the community spirit and the extensibility model. PostgreSQL isn't just a database, it's a platform.

• What advice would you give to someone starting their journey with PostgreSQL?

  Start by getting your hands dirty, install PostgreSQL, create a database, and try things out. Don't just read about features; use them. Beyond that, get involved in the community early: join mailing lists, attend local meetups, and follow blogs from practitioners.

• What are your favorite resources for learning about PostgreSQL?

  The official PostgreSQL documentation is genuinely excellent, it's one of the best-documented open-source projects out there. For deeper dives: Planet PostgreSQL for community blog posts, conferences' recordings.

• Could you share a memorable experience or challenge you faced while working with PostgreSQL?

  One of the most memorable and challenging experiences of my career was founding OpenSource DB in 2021.

  The early challenge was establishing credibility as a small, independent PostgreSQL services firm competing in a space dominated by larger players. What made the difference was the community. The relationships I'd built through years of speaking at PGConf India, PGConf Asia, and PGConf Down Under opened doors that no amount of marketing could. Customers trusted us because they'd seen us share knowledge openly and honestly, at conferences, through our blog at opensource-db.com, and in community forums.

• In your opinion, what are the most common pitfalls or mistakes developers make when working with PostgreSQL?

  A few come to mind: not understanding how the query planner works and blaming PostgreSQL when a query is slow (when the real issue is a simple missing index or stale statistics), neglecting VACUUM and autovacuum tuning, underestimating the importance of connection management (not using/using a connection pooler like PgBouncer), and treating PostgreSQL like a drop-in replacement for another database without learning its idioms.

• Which skills are a must-have for a PostgreSQL user/developer?

  Strong SQL fundamentals, that's the foundation everything else builds on. Beyond that: understanding EXPLAIN/EXPLAIN ANALYZE output for query optimization, familiarity with backup and recovery strategies, knowledge of indexing strategies, and an awareness of how PostgreSQL handles concurrency through MVCC. For administrators, understanding replication (both streaming and logical), monitoring & observability, and security hardening is essential.

• What is the most overlooked thing about PostgreSQL?

  I think the extension ecosystem is still under-appreciated. Many people use PostgreSQL as a straight relational database and never explore what extensions can do. Whether it's PostGIS for geospatial, pg_partman for automated partitioning, pgvector for AI/ML workloads, or Spock for multi-master replication, the extensibility model is what makes PostgreSQL not just a database but a data platform. It's the most powerful aspect of PostgreSQL that many teams simply don't take full advantage of. I often use the term "PostgreSQL is a hyper-converged database"

• PostgreSQL is open source, did that ever help you in any way and how?

  Absolutely, it's been central to my entire career trajectory. The open-source nature of PostgreSQL meant I could study the internals, contribute to the ecosystem, build a startup around it, and share knowledge freely through blogs and conference talks. When a customer hits a tricky issue, being able to look at the source code to understand exactly what's happening is invaluable. More than that, the open-source ethos of the PostgreSQL community, the culture of "Learn and Share", inspired the philosophy behind OpenSource DB and continues to guide how I approach my work.

• If you had a magic wand, what single thing would you change in PostgreSQL as it is today?

  I would add native DDL replication to logical replication. Right now, logical replication handles DML beautifully, but schema changes (DDL) remain one of the biggest operational pain points, you have to manually apply DDL on subscribers or use external tooling.

• Are you involved in any volunteer or community efforts around PostgreSQL? If so, what do you do and why did you get involved?

  Yes, community involvement has been a cornerstone of my professional life. I play an active role in organizing PostgreSQL events, including Hyderabad PGDays and PGConf India. I'm also a regular speaker at conferences across the Asia-Pacific region, FOSSASIA Summit, PGConf India/Asia, PGConf Down Under.

  I founded PostgreSQL Women India, an initiative close to my heart that focuses on encouraging and empowering women in the PostgreSQL community. Diversity makes our community stronger, and I believe it's important to actively create spaces where under-represented voices are welcomed, supported, and amplified. PostgreSQL Women India is doing exactly that, helping bridge the gender gap in the database ecosystem by providing mentorship, visibility, and a supportive network for women who are building careers around PostgreSQL.

  I got involved because I believe knowledge grows when it's shared. PostgreSQL community gave me so much through its openness and generosity, and volunteering, organizing events and speaking at conferences is my way of giving back. There's nothing quite like seeing someone's face light up when a concept clicks during a talk or a workshop.

About POSETTE & Events

• What motivated you to speak at this year's POSETTE: An Event for PostgreSQL?

  POSETTE has become one of the premier virtual PostgreSQL events and an incredible platform to share knowledge. Plus, the POSETTE team does an outstanding job of making speakers feel supported and creating a welcoming environment for attendees.

• What other PostgreSQL events in 2026 are you excited about and why?

  I wrapped up organizing & speaking at PGConf India in March. Just about wrapping up PGConf.dev. Looking forward to ACM SIGMOD/PODS Conference, PostgreSQL Summit US 2026 and PGConf.EU.

• What advice would you give to fellow speakers preparing for a PostgreSQL conference?

  Know your audience and tailor your depth accordingly. Include live demos or real-world examples whenever you can, they make abstract concepts tangible. Rehearse your timing, because it's easy to spend too long on the introduction and rush through the most valuable content.

• What would be helpful to know for a first-time speaker?

  PostgreSQL community is one of the most supportive audiences you'll ever speak to. Remember: it's okay to say "I don't know" to a question. That honesty builds more trust than any rehearsed answer.

• Could you share a memorable moment from a previous PostgreSQL conference you attended or spoke at?

  The most memorable experience has to be organizing the Hyderabad PGDays 2025, a two-day community event that I essentially pulled together.

  I wore almost every hat imaginable: I led the sponsor outreach. I served as a non-voting chair of the paper selection committee, helping curate a lineup of talks that would deliver real value to attendees while staying objective about the selection process. I was a speaker myself, preparing and delivering my own talk alongside everything else. And on top of all of that, I was the person planning and organizing the entire two-day event, from venue logistics and schedules to registration, catering, volunteer coordination, and making sure everything ran smoothly on the day.

  There were moments when it felt overwhelming. There's no playbook for doing all of this at once, you just play by the ear.

  But then the event happened. People showed up. The talks were excellent. Conversations were flowing. Watching all of that unfold, knowing that this gathering only existed because someone decided to put in the work, was one of the most rewarding moments of my career.

Open Forum

• Is there anything you’d like to share with the Postgres community attending this year’s POSETTE: An Event for Postgres?

  To everyone attending POSETTE 2026, I'm truly excited to share the story of logical replication's evolution with you, and I encourage you to come with questions, the best conversations happen when we explore ideas together.

  And if there's one thing I'd leave you with, it's this: PostgreSQL is not just a technology, it's a community. Get involved, share what you learn, ask questions without hesitation, and pay it forward. The future of PostgreSQL is as bright as the people who contribute to it.