Sleepycat's products should stay Open Source

I just wanted to highlight a couple of the comments on my previous post about the acquisition of Sleepycat Software.

From Rex Wang, VP of Marketing for Sleepycat Software:

I just wanted to reassure you that Oracle has no plans to discontinue any of the Berkeley DB products or change dual license business model. All of Sleepycat's employees have joined Oracle and will continue to develop, support, and promote the products. Both open source licensees and commercial licensees will be supported. Oracle will continue the business with minimal disruption. Syncato and your other projects can continue to use Berkeley DB XML under the same license

From Mike Olson, CEO of Sleepycat Software:

You're not alone, of course, in wondering what this holds for the future of the open source distro. As I have said publicly, including during my panel at the Open Source Business Conference in San Francisco yesterday, I am convinced that Oracle's commitment to maintaining the dual license is real. Time will tell, but I think time will tell a story that you and our other open source adopters will like.

Sleepycat's got great technology, but Oracle doesn't need to buy small companies to acquire great database technology. The thing that makes Sleepycat unique among embedded DB vendors is the size and enthusiasm of the community that's adopted our software. I've spoken with execs across the company, now. They've all expressed excitement at the chance to reach out to that community, and to strengthen it. We're really busy now, integrating Sleepycat into Oracle, but so far I see lots of evidence that that excitement is real.

So, at least for now, Oracle is committing to keeping Sleepycat's products under a dual license allowing Open Source usage. And hopefully, the extra resources will also bring some nice enhancements to make the projects even more valuable going forward.

Posted by Kimbro Staken