Sync Engines are the Future.

They collapse the database and the server. If your database is smart enough and capable enough, why would you even need a server? Hosted database saves you from the horrors of hosting and lets your data flow freely to the frontend.

I never thought this was possible in practice, but then Roam Research proved me wrong. For the first few years after public release, they didn’t have a single server. Everything was synced to and served from Firebase. Living the dream.