MySQL AB
Encyclopedia
MySQL AB
(founded 1995, acquired by Sun Microsystems
2008, now owned by Oracle Corporation
since 2010) was a software
company. MySQL AB is the creator of MySQL
, a relational database management system
, as well as related products such as MySQL Cluster
. The company was dually headquartered in Uppsala
, Sweden
and Cupertino, California
with offices in other countries (Paris
, Munich
, Dublin, Milan
, and Tokyo
).
With around 400 employees in 25 countries, MySQL AB was one of the largest open source
companies worldwide. Around 70% of the employees worked for MySQL from their home offices
.
On 16 January 2008, MySQL AB announced that it had agreed to be acquired by Sun Microsystems
for approximately $1 billion.
The acquisition completed on 26 February 2008.
Together with Linux
, Apache
, and PHP
, the MySQL Server forms one of the building blocks of the LAMP technology stack
. The company claims a user base of over 5 million MySQL installations worldwide and over 10 million product downloads in 2004.
What generally distinguishes this "second generation" of companies, such as MySQL AB and Trolltech
, from earlier "open source" business model
s is dual licensing
— while the software may be made available under the provisions of some open source license, the software is, in fact, owned by the commercial companies who seek to derive revenues from selling traditional software licenses.
As an example, MySQL AB makes MySQL available under the GPL
at no charge, but sells it under other more traditional licenses to clients who do not find the GPL to be ideal for their purposes, such as inclusion of MySQL AB technology in a closed source product.
Other sources of revenue for MySQL AB are providing support and consulting, as well as training and certification for MySQL Server. Together with some additional services, MySQL also provide this as a subscription-based product called MySQL Enterprise
, which is also resold by other companies such as Dell
, HP
, and Novell
.
Aktiebolag
Aktiebolag is the Swedish term for "limited company" or "corporation". When used in company names, it is abbreviated "AB" or "Ab"...
(founded 1995, acquired by Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
2008, now owned by Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
since 2010) was a software
Computer software
Computer software, or just software, is a collection of computer programs and related data that provide the instructions for telling a computer what to do and how to do it....
company. MySQL AB is the creator of MySQL
MySQL
MySQL officially, but also commonly "My Sequel") is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is named after developer Michael Widenius' daughter, My...
, a relational database management system
Relational database management system
A relational database management system is a database management system that is based on the relational model as introduced by E. F. Codd. Most popular databases currently in use are based on the relational database model....
, as well as related products such as MySQL Cluster
MySQL Cluster
MySQL Cluster is a technology which provides shared-nothing clustering capabilities for the MySQL database management system. It was first included in the production release of MySQL 4.1 in November 2004. It is designed to provide high availability and high performance, while allowing for nearly...
. The company was dually headquartered in Uppsala
Uppsala
- Economy :Today Uppsala is well established in medical research and recognized for its leading position in biotechnology.*Abbott Medical Optics *GE Healthcare*Pfizer *Phadia, an offshoot of Pharmacia*Fresenius*Q-Med...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Cupertino, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
with offices in other countries (Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Dublin, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
).
With around 400 employees in 25 countries, MySQL AB was one of the largest open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
companies worldwide. Around 70% of the employees worked for MySQL from their home offices
Telecommuting
Telecommuting or telework is a work arrangement in which employees enjoy flexibility in working location and hours. In other words, the daily commute to a central place of work is replaced by telecommunication links...
.
On 16 January 2008, MySQL AB announced that it had agreed to be acquired by Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
for approximately $1 billion.
The acquisition completed on 26 February 2008.
Together with Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, Apache
Apache HTTP Server
The Apache HTTP Server, commonly referred to as Apache , is web server software notable for playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web. In 2009 it became the first web server software to surpass the 100 million website milestone...
, and PHP
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...
, the MySQL Server forms one of the building blocks of the LAMP technology stack
LAMP (software bundle)
LAMP is an acronym for a solution stack of free, open source software, referring to the first letters of Linux , Apache HTTP Server, MySQL and PHP , principal components to build a viable general purpose web server.The GNU project is advocating people to use the term "GLAMP" since what is known as...
. The company claims a user base of over 5 million MySQL installations worldwide and over 10 million product downloads in 2004.
Business model
MySQL AB representatives are commonly cited as champions of what they claim to be a "second generation" of open source companies. The revenues of both first and second generation open source companies usually derive from selling support, consulting services, and training for their products.What generally distinguishes this "second generation" of companies, such as MySQL AB and Trolltech
Trolltech
Qt Development Frameworks is an Oslo, Norway-based software company best known for its Qt toolkit and application framework. Qt Development Frameworks is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nokia Corporation...
, from earlier "open source" business model
Business model
A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value...
s is dual licensing
Dual license
Multi-licensing is the practice of distributing software under two or more different sets of terms and conditions. This may mean multiple different licenses or sets of licenses. Prefixes may be used to indicate the number of licenses used, e.g...
— while the software may be made available under the provisions of some open source license, the software is, in fact, owned by the commercial companies who seek to derive revenues from selling traditional software licenses.
As an example, MySQL AB makes MySQL available under the GPL
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
at no charge, but sells it under other more traditional licenses to clients who do not find the GPL to be ideal for their purposes, such as inclusion of MySQL AB technology in a closed source product.
Other sources of revenue for MySQL AB are providing support and consulting, as well as training and certification for MySQL Server. Together with some additional services, MySQL also provide this as a subscription-based product called MySQL Enterprise
MySQL Enterprise
MySQL Enterprise is a subscription-based service produced by Oracle Corporation and targeted toward the commercial market. Oracle's official support, training and certification focus on MySQL Enterprise.MySQL Enterprise contains...
, which is also resold by other companies such as Dell
Dell
Dell, Inc. is an American multinational information technology corporation based in 1 Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas, United States, that develops, sells and supports computers and related products and services. Bearing the name of its founder, Michael Dell, the company is one of the largest...
, HP
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
, and Novell
Novell
Novell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...
.
History
- 1995 Company founded by Michael WideniusMichael WideniusUlf Michael Widenius , born 3 March 1962, in Helsinki, Finland, is the main author of the original version of the open-source MySQL database and a founding member of the MySQL AB company....
, David AxmarkDavid AxmarkDavid Axmark is one of the founders of MySQL AB and a developer of the free database server, MySQL. He has been involved with MySQL development from its beginning along with the fellow co-founder Michael Widenius....
, and Allan Larsson - 2001 Mårten MickosMarten MickosMårten Gustaf Mickos was chief executive officer of MySQL AB. He served as chief executive officer from January 2001 to February 2008, when Sun Microsystems bought MySQL Inc and MySQL AB. He served as senior vice president of the database group at Sun Microsystems until March 2009...
elected CEO - 2001 First round financing by Scandinavian venture capitalists
- 2003 Second round financing by a group of investors headed by Benchmark CapitalBenchmark CapitalBenchmark Capital is a venture capital firm responsible for the early stage funding of some very successful startups. In 1997, the firm invested $6.7 million in eBay, which became worth more than $5 billion by the spring of 1999. Other high-profile investments include Ariba, Juniper Networks, Red...
- 2003 Partnership agreement concluded with SAPSAP AGSAP AG is a German software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. Headquartered in Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, with regional offices around the world, SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software...
, acquiring the full commercial rights to MaxDBMaxDBMaxDB is an ANSI SQL-92 compliant relational database management system from SAP AG, which was delivered also by MySQL AB from 2003 to 2007. MaxDB is targeted for large SAP environments e.g. mySAP Business Suite and other applications that require enterprise-level database functionality... - 2003 Acquired Alzato, a subsidiary of EricssonEricssonEricsson , one of Sweden's largest companies, is a provider of telecommunication and data communication systems, and related services, covering a range of technologies, including especially mobile networks...
- 2005 MySQL Network subscription service launched
- 2006 Third round financing by Intel Capital, Red HatRed HatRed Hat, Inc. is an S&P 500 company in the free and open source software sector, and a major Linux distribution vendor. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina with satellite offices worldwide....
, SAP Ventures, and others - 2008 Announcement of acquisition by Sun MicrosystemsSun MicrosystemsSun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
- 2010 Announcement of acquisition by Oracle CorporationOracle CorporationOracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...