OrbitDB is a peer-to-peer, serverless database system. It provides one of the core building blocks in the decentralized application stack; storage.

The Decentralized Application (dApp) primary user experience is to provide an easy-to-use graphical interface when "talking to" Ethereum smart contracts. In fact, much of the tooling around dApps is Ethereum-funded and Ethereum-focussed. Other technologies such as IPFS have been integral pieces to the Ethereum ecosystem, even providing the industry-standard decentralized storage for ERC721 NFT smart contracts.

OrbitDB can fulfill two core roles; 1) providing the "much-needed" decentralized storage for the dApp stack and 2) providing off-chain storage where IPFS may not be required. For example, OrbitDB database or record hashes could be used for NFTs which may not require the storage of rich media (PDFs, images, video, etc). 