Feb 6
Open source databases
A key component of our projects are databases. They drive dynamic sites, store information and model business process. Several years ago, database driven, customized applications would have been cost prohibitive for most companies. There were a few expensive options: IBM, Oracle and Microsoft. We’ve been using Postgres and mySQL for years and the improvements over that time are amazing. These open source DB’s so powerful, that Oracle and IBM are releasing free versions of their own software to compete. And now, the cost benefits too great to ignore, some of the biggest companies around are considering the switch.
Herman’s search has taken him in an unexpected direction. He’s spending a lot of time evaluating databases built around the open-source software that’s disseminated and developed freely over the Internet. Sony, like most big companies, has been conservative when it comes to open source. But that has changed since Linux, the open-source operating system, started making big inroads with servers, the computers that run Web sites and corporate networks. Those gains have let companies see firsthand the benefits of open source, which include lower costs and more control over the code. Switching to an open-source database can slash costs for one of the most expensive segments of the software budget by as much as 90%. “If you had told us four or five years ago we would be considering these types of products at the rate we are, I would have looked at you like you were insane,” he says. “But open source isn’t going away, and I’m pretty excited about it.”