The open source and MySQL community started getting worried after MySQL acquisition by Sun Microsystems, but after that Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems the future of MySQL become unclear. Will Oracle continue to support MySQL or shutdown one of its biggest competitors ?
First we saw Michael “Monty” Widenius, the creator of MySQL database forking his own database and launching MariaDB with a company behind it called the Monty Program. In addition to the core functionality of MySQL, MariaDB offers a rich set of feature enhancements including alternate storage engines, server optimizations, and patches.
Then recently appeared Ulf Sandberg, ex-senior VP of global services at MySQL, with SkySQL a company providing enterprise class support & services for the MySQL ecosystem. According to the company website all core members of SkySQL are former employees of MySQL. In addition they are currently hiring in all areas, including support, consulting, training, marketing & sales.
Monty noted in a blog post : “I have done my best to keep the MySQL core development talent together by employing them at Monty Program Ab, working on MariaDB, but I have not been able to provide a good home for the very talented support, training, consulting and sales people from MySQL AB, who I also care a lot for.”
“I am happy to see that there is now another home for MySQL talent being formed where they can continue to do what they do best; Providing support and other services around MySQL and also MariaDB.” he added.
So today we have two possible scenarios, the first if Oracle continue to support and develop MySQL, in this case we will have Oracle to compete with its own database (?!?), in addition to MariaDB the MySQL fork. The second if Oracle abandon MySQL, and in this case there is already the MariaDB alternative to MySQL with SkySQL folks for support and consulting, training, marketing… etc.
I don’t think that Oracle will have answers in the short term, and the Open Source community is not worried anyway. I totally agree with Monty : “By having a lot of independent companies working tightly together we will be stronger than ever before. We will of course have new interesting challenges, but I believe these will be easy to solve as all the companies have the same goal: Give the best possible services to our customers and to keep MySQL and it’s future incarnations, like MariaDB, alive.”
