EnterpriseDB just announced a new “database as a service” offering with the help of a few friends. EnterpriseDB’s PostgreSQL and PostgreSQL Plus database products are going to be at the heart of service offerings from CloudBees and Engine Yard as well as being made available on Amazon EC2 and HP Cloud Compute.
What did EnterpriseDB launch?
EnterpriseDB announced that it has ported its Postgres Plus® to Amazon Web Services. The company is calling this “Postgres Plus Cloud Database.” It is hoping to convince organizations interested in deploying cloud-based solutions that this product is a full-featured, enterprise-class product that is ready to support complex business critical applications.
As part of this launch, EnterpriseDB announced today that CloudBees and Engine Yard have selected Postgres Plus Cloud Database as one of their leading database solutions.
EnterpriseDB is also offering PostgreSQL Plus Cloud Database on both Amazon EC2 and HP Cloud Compute. HP Cloud Compute currently leverages the OpenStack Nova compute platform and API.
Postgres Plus Cloud Database offers the following features in a cloud environment:
- Fully ACID compliant relational database service
- Point-and-click simple setup & management with web-based interface
- Automatic scaling, load balancing and failover
- Automated online backup and point-in-time recovery
- Database Cloning
- Oracle database compatibility
Postgres Plus Cloud Database is available now with two versions of its cloud database: PostgreSQL 9.1, and Postgres Plus Advanced Server 9.0. Pricing for Postgres Plus Cloud Database on Amazon Web Services is the same as Amazon RDS (MySQL), whether you choose the PostgreSQL or Postgres Plus Advanced Server database engine.
Snapshot analysis
EnterpriseDB has long offered PostgreSQL Plus, the company’s enhanced version of the PostgreSQL open source database engine, and has targeted unhappy Oracle customers. Each time Oracle announces a new restriction, a price increase or end of life of an important platform, EnterpriseDB steps up to offer a product or service to replace Oracle’s database product in that situation. (see Compatibilty wars - can EnterpriseDB take on Oracle and win? an example.)
Although EnterpriseDB has hardened PostgreSQL and added some Oracle database compatibility, it faces the challenge of a small company taking on a massive company. Offering good technology is only the beginning of the battle. Creating a complete ecosystem that includes applications, development tools and developer support can be difficult for a small challenger. EnterpriseDB has been making progress, one partner at a time, for a number of years.
Getting the word out about EnterpriseDB and its products is still an ongoing challenge. The technology is there for many applications, but many in the industry have never heard of PostgreSQL or EnterpriseDB. The company really needs to focus on building industry awareness. Only then can the company go the rest of the way and develop interest in the what the company is doing, a desire to learn more and, finally, making interested parties take action.
Pushing PostgreSQL Plus into the cloud with the help of a number of parties clearly is going to help EnterpriseDB move foward on many of those fronts.
