Sun buys MySQL AB

I wanted to mark the day (yesterday) Sun Microsystems announced the purchase of MySQL AB (also coincidently  Oracle buying BEA). The news of Sun was most exciting (a surprise for many).  You can read more about the acquisition here, or at Sun Microsystems CEO - Jonathon's blog.

I've always admired Sun and that's why you'll see me writing about them often. My enthusiasm stems from direct experience working with their servers and software, but also from their story and culture.  Since the dot com bubble burst, they have had to transition themselves, and persevere though financial hardship. But with strong leadership and commitment to innovation, they are getting back into the game. I hope this merger will benefit both parties, their customers, and perhaps continue Sun's recent upswing.

A couple of interesting podcasts on Sun's history/philosophy and also marketing perspective:
Conversations from the Corner Office
The B2B Marketing Podcast

Comments

[Mike Dundas]

I think one thing that will be interesting is what if anything they do with the licensing model for mySQL. Many software developers choose not to use mySQL, for the simple fact that if you base and sell a product on it, it requires you license mySQL. In most startups it is typical that you don't know how a new idea / product will take off and when if at all. This makes it difficult to design a product that is dependent on a piece of software that requires a financial commitment to a license. Although much less of a cost to database systems such as Oracle.

In most cases, startups end up using a database like Postgres as the licensing model is more flexible. Then if your product is successful you just stick with it because it works and your product is based on it. You might consider mySQL or Oracle later on, but usually only if there is enough customer demand to warrant the work to add it to the product.
-mike.