Sun Snaps Up MySQL
MySQL has emerged as the database engine of choice among open source and LAMP
application developers. But now that Sun Microsystems has
snapped
up the little database-company-that-could for $1 billion, you have to wonder
-- what next?
Yes, the acquisition immediately vaults Sun into a position to approach Oracle,
IBM and Microsoft as a viable database vendor. "It changes the landscape,"
said Gartner Vice President Donald Feinberg. "It's immediate in some areas
but it's really more of a play for the longer term. I think over the next five
years, it will really start to grow."
Grow where? Industry watchers see Sun moving into the data warehouse appliance
market, where open source databases are widely used. There are also opportunities
for Sun to bolster its Solaris OS, which currently ships with the open source
PostgreSQL. With Solaris, Java and MySQL, Sun now has a very compelling platform
for application and database development.
Of course, a lot of developers are probably thinking what I'm thinking right
now, which is: Will Sun blow this? It blew the StorageTek acquisition. And with
MySQL suddenly operating under corporate cover, you wonder if the open source
community might someday pine for the salad days of MySQL.
What do you think? Is Sun's purchase of MySQL a good or bad thing for developers?
E-mail me at [email protected].
Posted by Michael Desmond on 01/17/2008