MySQL … The $1 Billion Acquisition
Posted in: Today's ChiliThis article was written on January 16, 2008 by CyberNet.
MySQL was acquired by Sun Microsystems today (also here and here) for a whopping $1 billion. I can’t say it was something I was expecting after MySQL has remained independent for over 10 years, but in the end I think it will be good for both the companies involved and the users.
The MySQL blog feels that users of the popular database software have little to worry about:
Given Sun’s proven track record as the largest contributor to Open Source, I think MySQL users have plenty of reason to feel happy about the acquisition. There are many companies that attempt to ride the wave of positive attention towards Open Source, but in my judgement, Sun gets it right.
The 350+ MySQL employees will be joining Sun’s 34,000+ employees, creating what I hope to be a remarkable team. The good news is that MySQL is currently available under the GPL license, which essentially means anyone can fork it off into their own product if they so desire. If Sun drops the ball it’s likely that someone else will pickup where the project left off.
Like most acquisitions we have to ride this one out to see if the end result is better or worse than what we would like. Sun is a good promoter of open source software though, and I would have to believe that they will not let us down.
Read more on the MySQL blog or on the Sun blog
Kudos to Mohan for the tip!
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