intelligent enterprise: Will open source databases ever have a major role in business-critical applications?

“Database software forms the foundation for enterprise
computing; after the operating system, it is the next
significant layer in building an environment based entirely
on open source. Yet to date, there has been relatively
little buzz about open source databases, and only a
handful of cases where businesses have adopted the
technology.”

“… Both databases offer a few unexpected features that are pleasantly surprising. MySQL
supports ODBC, which makes it a good alternative for Windows or Web-based applications
currently connecting through ODBC. A full-text indexing and search feature is also available,
which would prove valuable for Web-based applications as well. PostgreSQL provides
support for queries and data manipulation statements that span multiple database instances.
MySQL supports the binary large object data type.”

Database software forms the foundation for enterprise
computing; after the operating system, it is the next
significant layer in building an environment based entirely
on open source. Yet to date, there has been relatively
little buzz about open source databases, and only a
handful of cases where businesses have adopted the
technology.