
IBM will monetize better MySQL's investment
Sun has failed to monetize its $1B MySQL investment primarily because has been extremely stubborn on the kind of users they are going after. They believed that going after new Web 2.0 application was sufficient to obtain a desirable ROI. IBM will do a way better job monetizing on the acquisition of MySQL.
IBM can actually position MySQL not as the database for Web 2.0 apps but as a database replacement for IBM competitors in the small to medium size market. There are millions of applications worldwide that are paying extremely high database premiums. That in this current economic crisis is completely unjustified as many analysts are saying that up to 80% of all applications worldwide are ready for a MySQL migration. So I would only imagine that IBM might want to provide a low cost alternative to Microsoft’s SQL Server, Oracle and others.
Cost and complexity of the application migration process has been THE impediment to MySQL migration but there are new migration technologies that are really accelerating this process. Analysts like Forrester are saying that ANTs Software (www.ants.com), my current employer, is the only company able to migrate from database A to database B without the painful/costly job of rewriting the business app and we have customers like Wyndham Hotels to confirm this.
If you are interested in getting more information or a quick briefing, please feel free to contact me at cesar(dot)rojas(at)ants(com).