Open-Source Software and the Field of Database

Open-Source Software and the Field of Database Management Tools:

In the past several years, the open-source database market has continued its upswing with no signs of slowing down. Actually, the value of the open-source database market has increased from $850 million in 2008 to over $1.2 billion because of the increased use by enterprises to support Web 2.0 applications among other workloads. However, the increase is despite of the fact that many organizations are not in a hurry to rip out the proprietary database management tools. This is partly attributed to the fact that enterprises are rather slow in using open-source database management tools for mission-critical applications. According to the findings of a research, enterprises were utilizing open-source databases to avoid paying for extra database licenses from proprietary vendors for new projects in particular application areas. These areas include development and evaluation environments in addition to factors like migration costs and the amount of work involved (Prince, 2008).

As compared to proprietary database management tools, open-source databases have distinct characteristics in source code access and community code review. This is one of the major distinguishing features and benefits of open-source databases over proprietary software since source code is critical whether they are exercised by proxy or directly (Asay, 2007). Additionally, open-source database management tools provide professional services and automated updates easily unlike proprietary database management tools. The major open-source database management tools include MySQL and PostgreSQL while the major proprietary databases are Oracle, Microsoft and IBM. The typical commercial database management tools are dominated by Microsoft, Oracle and IBM though the use MySQL and PostgreSQL has increased in the recent past.

While it was initially designed as a very light-weight engine that resembles a database, MySQL didn't start with the intention of being a general database management tool. On the other hand, PostgreSQL was designed as an open-source rival to MySQL though it had the reputation of being complex. Actually, the PostgreSQL database is considered as the most advanced open-source database across the globe because of its slogan which is well applied. This is largely because this database does not suffer from any of the conceptual integrity problems associated with MySQL databases. In the proprietary database management tools, Oracle has the largest market share of these databases because it contains the richest feature set ("Selecting Your Database Platform," n.d.).

Some examples of organization's adoption of open-source database management tools include Sun Microsystems Database Group emphasis on ensuring that MySQL remains the number one database for online applications instead of replacing the traditional database. The organization purchased MySQL in early 2008 as a major step in the increased use of open-source databases due to the fact that MySQL contains a big backer. On the other hand, an example of organization's adoption of the proprietary database management tools is IBM continues to use IBM databases on its mainframes and mid-range boxes. As compared to proprietary database management tools, open-source databases are much more than free because of their price-tag. Moreover, as earlier mentioned these databases have the advantage of source code access and community code review. However, proprietary databases have advantages of provision of vendor professional services and are easier to adopt. In addition, unlike the open-source databases, proprietary database management tools don't have high migration costs.