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Sun completes MySQL buy, guns for Microsoft ... but not Oracle?

Sun announced today that it has completed its $1 billion acquisition of MySQL and plans to continue making open source acquisitions as opportunities arise.“Open source is really in Sun’s DNA,” said Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz, (to the right in the above photo), noting there are many open source companies out there ripe for the picking.
Written by Paula Rooney, Contributor

Sun announced today that it has completed its $1 billion acquisition of MySQL and plans to continue making open source acquisitions as opportunities arise.

“Open source is really in Sun’s DNA,” said Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz, (to the right in the above photo), noting there are many open source companies out there ripe for the picking. “We’re a natural home for them.”

In a brief conference call today, Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz said the acquisition of the open source database fills out the Sun software stack, which now includes an open source operating system, office suite, database and development tools. The deal was announced in mid January.

Curiously enough, the CEO affirmed that the deal would enable Sun to compete head to head against Microsoft -- but not other database giants. “I could not agree more strongly,” Schwartz said when asked about taking on Redmond with its full stack. “What we’ve done with MySQL is complete our capacity to deliver completely open source operating platform for the network."

But later in the call, when asked about competing with Oracle, its once close partner, Schwartz backed off. Oracle is a leading database company.

“We’re not competing with a proprietary company,” he said, in political fashion. “Our customers are looking at choices and making choices toward open source.”

But Sun has every intention of competing against Oracle.

Sun announced today, for example, the immediate availability of 7-day, 24-hour enterprise service and support for the enterprise database as well as MySQL Enterprise trial subscriptions at no cost and MySQL Enterprise Unlimited, an unlimited number of MySQL Enterprise Servers at a flat annual fee.

MySQL CEO Marten Mickos (left in photo), who will head up Sun’s database division, said the merger will accelerate the MySQL roadmap and allow faster development of enterprise grade capabilities and scale due to Sun’s deep resources as well as its threading, I/O and memory management technologies.

Schwartz said the new services will enable mySQL to grow more quickly in the enterprise market.

“The single biggest impediment to MySQL is their inability to provide peace of mind to companies that wants global service and support,” he said, noting the new services will enable MySQL into mission critical carrier grade deployments.

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