MySQL has agreed to be acquired by Sun Microsystems for $1 billion. A press release provides details. Check out Johnathon's Blog for further details from Sun's CEO.
MySQL is the "M" in LAMP [ Linux | Apache | MySQL | PHP ], an acronym used to represent a common, interrelated stack of open source technologies employed in Web development environments. For example, MySQL is the back-end enterprise-scale database used to power Google, Facebook and many other popular Web 2.0 applications.
The Big Three
According to Gartner, Inc. the Big Three in the world of relational databases are as follows:
- Oracle (Oracle)
- SQL Server (Microsoft)
- DB2 (IBM)
These three database systems account for the bulk of worldwide sales. MySQL has become popular as an open source (free) alternative.
Database Trends
In terms of job opportunities Indeed's Job Trends service reports that MySQL trails the Big Three in number of job opportunities:
However, when viewed on a relative scale, MySQL job opportunities have demonstrated a robust growth curve:
Implications
Sun now owns two of the Top 20 Web Technologies:
- Java [ #3 ]
- MySQL [ #16 ]
[ Note: See links to Boston job opportunities for these and other technologies in the right-hand column. ]
Look for Sun to aggressively market MySQL as a cost-effective enterprise database alternative to the Big Three. This acquisition will likely mean expanding opportunities for developers with MySQL knowledge and experience.
If you are new to MySQL, consider placing your name on the waiting list to be notified of the next session of PHP & MySQL: Building Web Applications at the HP Learning Center.
Beantown Web will continue to monitor MySQL job trends and report on changes over time as part of the Boston Market series of reports.
