In today’s business world which uses IT for its optimal and non-stop functioning, a database is something which any organization will not run without. Speedy business needs has made database an absolute requirement. This has given rise to a numerous software solution providers or database developers. As their number increases, so is the competition between them. These all vendors always think about new and innovative ideas to win the market competition. One of these way has been to offer customer an open source software so that if the customers preferences changes they can make necessary amendments by spending much less money than to buy a complete new software. Does this, supplying open source software, give an indication about future of all database Vendors? Do all database vendors will eventually have to open up their source code or go out of business? This essay disagrees to this thought and will examine few reasons for it. Those who still believe in supplying closed source software will always own a bigger share of the market as they have been doing it in the past.
In the recent past some companies have searched for a more economic database than to shell out a hefty amount to Database biggies every time they thought of expanding their business limits. There stepped in the open source database software because modifying it to the extended needs just take little. As the volume of business is rising and so does the requirement of software capabilities. Many companies today resort to open source database but merely acquiring an open source doesn’t guarantee that whatever changes you make to the database it will always work with finesse. There may be instances of irrecoverable data loss or reduced security. There will be no one to take guarantee to that effect. That’s why, industries where there is a requirement of updating the software importantly with the transfer of their past crucial data, they will always look for bigger companies doing this against insured terms. These insured terms are not possible even if you have a complete software development wing in your office. Developing software is a group effort, but modifying the software with keeping existing data intact is a serious group effort. Now days there are so many companies selling open source databases but they are less preferred upwards in size of business. So the open source will of course keep in market and remain in competition with the packed database software but will never be able to beat them. There is also a psychological reason behind this that as someone reaches towards the peak his chances of falling are increasing. The top of the peak is all surrounded by falls so after reaching near to peak no one would like take a cheap and risky step but will always go for a costly but assured step. For example a bank would never use open source software modified by its own organization.
There is a related online special article in which Lacy S (2006) has told about Herman’s search for database management keeping budgetin mind. “His search took him in an unexpected direction. He’s spended a lot of time evaluating databases built around the open-source software that’s disseminated and developed freely over the Internet. Sony, like most big companies, has been conservative when it comes to open source. So now Herman and executives like him are the spoils in what’s shaping up to be a heated round of database wars. On one side are the defending champions — Oracle, IBM, and Microsoft — against a ragtag bunch of coders and some more organized corporate ventures, all going to market in different ways, but all trying to take down the Big Three using the power of open source.”
This open source trend is rising not only in database softwares but in other fields too. In this regard Va?lima?ki (2005) states in his book – The rise of Open Source Licensing, that in IDC 2003, Microsoft’s share of all revenue generating server shipments in 2002 was 55% while Linux held only 23%. Also open source has not been that successful in personal computer desktop software so far. The market shares have not been changed much. If one uses searches made on Google as an indicator, during June 2001 and June 2004, a steady 1% of all searches came from computers using Linux as the operating system.
Today top database masters – IBM, Microsoft and Oracle own the ¾ of database market and same time there is this rising trend of open source databases. This trend is certainly shooting up and will go up but certain parameters. As I mentioned before that as the security and sensitivity increases and time required to be given is less people will always land up at either at IBM, Microsoft or Oracle.
“Most open source projects are being worked on by developers who do it for fun and in their own time. Most projects have no funding or financial support. There are often no official code reviews or quality assurance processes in place. With the correct knowledge it is quite trivial to find security problems in open source software. With the correct knowledge, it becomes trivial to use this information for evil purposes. With the correct knowledge, it is quite trivial to fix these problems.” (Mongers.org)
Thus, database developers who supply close end software will remain in business and their product will be preferred before open source software. However open source software will still remain in tandem to meet needs of some continually growing smaller businesses.
REFERENCES
Lacy, S. (2006). Taking On the Database Giant. Retrieved February 28, 2008, from the business week website http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/feb2006/ tc20060206_918648.htm
Mongers.org. Open Source versus Closed Source. Retrieved Mar 03, 2008, from the http://mongers.org/open-vs-closed
Va?lima?ki, M. (2005). The rise of open source licensing: a challenge to the use of intellectual property in the software industry. Helsinki, Finland: Turre., 18-19
Wikipedia, (2007). Open Source Software. Retrieved February 26, 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source_software