Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Database
    • Database

    MySQL Takes Over SAP DB Development

    By
    Lisa Vaas
    -
    June 4, 2003
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Open-source database developer MySQL AB is riding high, scoring venture capital wins in a tight-fisted economy, fueled by a recently announced partnership that will result in the companys takeover of development of SAP AGs open-source database.

      Officials at the Uppsala, Sweden, company on Tuesday reported a $19.5 million Series B round of financing that will fuel its growth in the mainstream database management system market.

      This follows the companys announcement last week that it has acquired commercial rights to SAP DB and will provide it free of charge under the free software/open source GNU General Public License. The company will also offer a commercial license aimed at companies that want to resell the database and therefore would prefer to refrain from opening up their code.

      According to SAP AG officials, about 1,100 SAP AG customers use the SAP DB database worldwide, in about 2,000 installations. The database was originally released in October 2000 in response to customer requests for a nonproprietary database.

      SAP AG officials, in Palo Alto, Calif., said that the company is turning over control of the database to MySQL for a few reasons. One reason is that the initial purpose of creating a nonproprietary database—i.e., to keep costs down—was canceled out by the persistent scarcity of development skills for SAP DB.

      “There were so few people who could work on it,” said an SAP AG spokesman. “Turning it over to someone like MySQL, with their widespread developer community, to let it run free, is good. It secures lower total cost of ownership for customers and allows the product to be released in a faster cycle and to be upgraded in a wider-spread dimension than what SAP would use it for.”

      Another reason for turning over the reins on SAP DB is that SAP AG doesnt want to compete in the database market, the spokesman said. “Were one of the largest resellers of Oracle [Corp. 9i], [IBMs] DB2 or Microsoft [Corp.s SQL Server databases],” he said. “When someone buys our software, they check a box to say which database they want it to ship with. We said, Hey, we dont want to compete with [our partners] by having this other product that we developed. [MySQL] is a fourth alternative, and it has a time and place, and the partners are all OK with it. They say that MySQL may be a complement, by providing support, faster innovation and partnering with customers that they couldnt [access] otherwise.”

      SAP AG will continue to support SAP DB installations for the foreseeable future, said officials for the companies, and will transition to a co-development and co-support effort at some point. Also, by years end, the database will be renamed, they said.

      The first release of a database that will be compatible with both SAP AG and MySQL installations will be in the fourth quarter, officials said.

      Lisa Vaas
      Lisa Vaas is News Editor/Operations for eWEEK.com and also serves as editor of the Database topic center. Since 1995, she has also been a Webcast news show anchorperson and a reporter covering the IT industry. She has focused on customer relationship management technology, IT salaries and careers, effects of the H1-B visa on the technology workforce, wireless technology, security, and, most recently, databases and the technologies that touch upon them. Her articles have appeared in eWEEK's print edition, on eWEEK.com, and in the startup IT magazine PC Connection. Prior to becoming a journalist, Vaas experienced an array of eye-opening careers, including driving a cab in Boston, photographing cranky babies in shopping malls, selling cameras, typography and computer training. She stopped a hair short of finishing an M.A. in English at the University of Massachusetts in Boston. She earned a B.S. in Communications from Emerson College. She runs two open-mic reading series in Boston and currently keeps bees in her home in Mashpee, Mass.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×