Red Hat Invests in EnterpriseDB

In a move that could boost its fortunes in the open-source database space, EnterpriseDB this week said it received a third round of financing valued at $19 million led by Red Hat.

EnterpriseDB is the key sponsor of the PostgreSQL open source database. The company offers a standard and advanced edition with tools to migrate from Oracle databases and more recently from MySQL. While the companies are not saying how much of a share Red Hat will hold in the company, IBM, NTT and Sony Online Entertainment are also strategic investors in the company.

IBM and Red Hat in particular have a vested interest in the success of EnterpriseDB, whose database platform is suited for Java developers. "Red Hat has a very strong position with Java and corporate developers through their JBoss product suite and we think that's an important market segment for PostgreSQL," said president and CEO Ed Boyajian, in an interview. "In the arena of new application development, PostgreSQL is growing to be the de-facto standard for open-source databases for Java developers.

Because EnterpriseDB's core business is targeted at drawing from Oracle database shops, IBM and Red Hat also stand to benefit from the company's success. Meanwhile since Oracle has announced its $7.4 billion bid to acquire Sun Microsystems, which owns the MySQL database, Boyajian said interest has increased in PostgreSQL as a potential alternative.

"We definitely see a growing interest from MySQL users who are concerned about going to Oracle," Boyajian said, noting that he has seen a steady rise in downloads for its MySQL to PostgreSQL migration tools.

Boyajian was not specific as to how the funds would be used other than the company will look to expand its presence and extend its channel program in the coming year. He declined to say what new technology may arise from the investment.

Posted by Jeffrey Schwartz on October 28, 2009