Proprietary legacy database Oracle no longer competitive in the market

Founded in 2004, EnterpriseDB (EDB) provides software and services based on the open-source database PostgreSQL, and is one of the largest contributors to Postgres. The US-based company has achieved 51 consecutive quarters of recurring revenue growth. EDB recently announced a majority growth investment from Bain Capital Private Equity. This follows EDB’s major acquisition of 2ndQuadrant, which joined the world’s top Postgres experts and positioned EDB as the largest dedicated provider of Postgres products and solutions worldwide. In an exclusive interview with Bizz Buzz Jozef de Vries, Senior Vice President, Product Development, EnterpriseDB, says, “Today, Oracle is neither technically superior nor cost-effective for enterprises. Proprietary legacy databases like Oracle still account for approximately $40 billion of the market, but they are no longer holistically competitive to Postgres and cost enterprises unjustifiable amounts of money. EDB Postgres solutions give enterprises extraordinary RoI, an essential element of transformation initiatives. Postgres provides all the same capabilities as legacy systems and more, while offering immensely better economics”

With what mission and objectives, the company was set up?

PostgreSQL is the leading enterprise-ready open source relational database management system spanning almost three decades of community development. EnterpriseDB’s (EDB) primary focus has always been about nurturing an ecosystem of innovation around Postgres, catering to the myriad workloads that it can support. Our Postgres solutions are designed to help enterprises build new modern applications and help dislodge and replace legacy database incumbents. By developing and maintaining a robust suite of tools for Postgres, enabling our partners and providing training and consulting to customers, we are helping organizations in India adopt Postgres as their enterprise database standard.

In short, tell us about the EnterpriseDB journey since inception of the company?

EDB’s journey starts and ends with technology. Continuously making Postgres extraordinary is our singular mission, today and for the future. Founded in 2004, EDB now has the largest concentration of Postgres technologists and developers and is uniquely positioned to support the complex data demands of mission-critical applications. More than a vendor, we are an indispensable business partner for our customers.

Our 51 consecutive quarters of recurring revenue growth validate the enduring power of Postgres and the innovative value that EDB continues to deliver. EDB recently announced a majority growth investment from Bain Capital Private Equity. This follows EDB’s major acquisition of 2ndQuadrant, which joined the world’s top Postgres experts and positioned EDB as the largest dedicated provider of Postgres products and solutions worldwide. These strategic decisions and investments accelerate EDB’s engineering and service capabilities globally, and enable us to expand our cloud-based technologies.

Please brief us about the products/services/solutions you provide to your customers and how do they get value out of it?

Alongside a robust independent community, EDB builds Postgres, the most transformative open-source technology since Linux. Postgres applies to the broadest range of enterprise applications and data types, far beyond what any specialty database can provide. As the leading contributor to Postgres, with more than 300 dedicated developers and more than 30 per cent of code contributions, EDB’s Postgres solutions are designed to help enterprises build new modern open-source applications and help move away from legacy and proprietary systems. We uniquely empower enterprises to accelerate strategies, move applications to the cloud and build new applications on Postgres.

Our technology solutions deliver a ‘single database everywhere’ to any platform, including self-managed private and public clouds, but our fully managed public cloud is the leading accelerator. In 2021, EDB extended its cloud offerings with EDB BigAnimal, a fully-managed cloud database as a service (DBaaS) with built-in Oracle compatibility, and the ability to deploy flexibly across any cloud, including AWS and Azure.

Recently launched, EDB’s significant development and contributions to PostgreSQL 15 include the introduction of the MERGE SQL command, which makes it easier for enterprises to migrate from expensive, legacy databases to open source. Postgres 15 also features improved database security, enhanced backup and recovery options, and advanced logical replication capabilities.

Can you talk about the advantages of transition from Oracle to Postgres?

Today, Oracle is neither technically superior nor cost-effective for enterprises. Proprietary legacy databases like Oracle still account for approximately $40 billion of the market, but they are no longer holistically competitive to Postgres and cost enterprises unjustifiable amounts of money. EDB Postgres solutions give enterprises extraordinary RoI, an essential element of transformation initiatives. Postgres provides all the same capabilities as legacy systems and more, while offering immensely better economics.

Organizations deserve and demand greater ownership and control of their data. Locked into expensive contracts no longer makes sense when there’s a trusted open source option. The Postgres community is independent, well-supported by EDB and others and more active than any other database community, making it difficult for Oracle or the specialty NoSQL databases to match the pace of innovation.

Being an industry expert please guide us how to plan and manage a multi-cloud database environment.

The biggest enemy of growth and innovation is a stagnant data platform. The legacy, proprietary systems that once dominated the database market are no longer technically viable or cost-effective for most enterprises. With ever-increasing competition and expectations, IT executives and developers are realizing it’s time to modernize their data strategies. The enhanced capabilities and potential cost savings of adopting a cloud-centric, open source approach to database management systems is critical to thriving in today’s business landscape.

Time and cost savings are vital factors influencing enterprises to adopt some form of cloud-based computing. However, not all enterprises are ready to take the full leap; instead, some are opting for a hybrid cloud environment in which some applications remain on-premises, while new applications are built in the cloud and together centre around a common set of technology that enables for a centralized, hybrid cloud deployment model.

A multi-cloud approach entails enterprises distributing all their applications and services across a combination of clouds, including public and private. One major incentive for taking a multi-cloud approach is that it lets enterprises avoid over committing to a single cloud vendor, or themselves for that matter, in the case of private cloud. Spreading systems across cloud service providers can be advantageous for data ownership, business continuity, and product innovation. For enterprises considering adopting a multi-cloud or hybrid cloud approach, database expertise should be a primary factor when planning a strategy, including choosing vendors. The goal is for enterprises to reap the full benefits of the cloud: freedom, flexibility, scalability, and cost savings. With Postgres, developers and business leaders alike can take advantage of capabilities like database performance at scale, security, and reliability. Avoiding vendor lock-in provides greater flexibility in hybrid and multi-cloud environments so that developers can focus on what’s most important - building with greater speed and innovation.

Where do you see growth coming in for the sector and what are your growth plans for the next six months? Please share some major achievements under your leadership and what is your leadership mantra?

EDB’s recent majority growth investment from Bain Capital Private Equity further validates the growing power of Postgres and supports our GTM strategy, which is focused on accelerating our engineering and service capabilities globally with an emphasis on expanding our cloud-based technologies. We believe that 2022 was the tipping point for Postgres. Legacy systems like Oracle are no longer technically superior nor cost-effective, and Postgres is the fastest-growing database management system in an $80 billion market. EDB will continue to drive technology innovation, support our customers, and build strategic partnerships to position the company for accelerated growth alongside Postgres.

Under Ed Boyajian’s leadership as President and CEO of EDB, the company has achieved 51 consecutive quarters of recurring revenue growth, and a major acquisition of 2ndQuadrant, which joined the world’s top Postgres experts and positioned EDB as the largest dedicated provider of Postgres products and solutions worldwide. In a challenging market, Ed has run a highly successful business. EDB has built Postgres into the most transformative open source technology since Linux and is now disrupting the database industry. Not only has Ed unlocked significant value for customers, but he has also built a world-class executive team that rivals any in the industry. Furthermore, under Ed’s leadership, EDB continues to deliver customers a unique value proposition with true multi-cloud flexibility.

Today, Oracle is neither technically superior nor cost-effective for enterprises. Proprietary legacy databases like Oracle still account for approximately $40 billion of the market, but they are no longer holistically competitive to Postgres and cost enterprises unjustifiable amounts of money. EDB Postgres solutions give enterprises extraordinary ROI, an essential element of transformation initiatives. Postgres provides all the same capabilities as legacy systems and more, while offering immensely better economics