Re: [GENERAL] Oracle buys Innobase

Christopher Kings-Lynne wrote:

> With no disrespect to PostgreSQL, MySQL has 100x our downloads and
> installations...
>
> Oracle is simply going after by far the biggest open source database
> player...
>
As I said, Oracle demonstrated in 2000 that they had already singled
MySQL out for special competitive treatement. They did this by starting
to offer db conversion utilities in order to help people migrate from
MySQL to Oracle. It is not about technical merit, it is about market
share. We could have the best RDBMS in the world but if we never get
enough users to directly threaten them to the level that MS SQL Server
or DB2 does, we are not the threat that they are, and we are not worth
the time and expense that research, competitive strategizing, etc. would
incur. Therefore, I suspect that we are sort of on the back burner
competitive strategy wise. I.e. competition is on a project-by-project
basis, and not coordinated as of yet.

There are some things on the horizon that could change this quite
quickly, however:

1) Sun is talking about packaging PostgreSQL and distributing it with
Solaris. This would bring us directly head to head with Oracle in a
large number of potential installations.

2) EnterpriseDB's efforts and awards may have attracted some
attention. This may reinforce the idea that we are a threat.

If this is the case, I bet that Oracle is probably pressuring Sun not to
distribute PostgreSQL, and if they do anyway, we need to be concerned
about the beginning of a high-level coordinated strategy targetting us
specifically. IMO, it is likely to start with one of two things:

1) PostgreSQL to Oracle database conversion utilities released by
Oracle (unlikely given extensible languages in PostgreSQL).
2) Some sort of FUD campaign on the part of Oracle directed
specifically at us and not tied to any specific project (fairly likely).

Best Wishes,
Chris Travers
Metatron Technology Consulting