Lora Bentley spoke with Ian Murdock, chief OS platform strategist, Sun Microsystems.

Bentley: Why acquire MySQL and not another open source database? Yes, it's widely used, but are there other reasons?
Murdock: MySQL is the developer of the world's most popular open source database software, and the combination of the two companies changes the landscape of the software industry, accelerating the use of open source databases, and reaffirms Sun's position as the leading provider of platforms for the Web economy. With MySQL's nearly 50 percent share of the open source market across all major operating systems, hardware vendors, geographies, industries and application types, the acquisition opens doors and creates business opportunities for Sun in such key growth markets as Web 2.0 and software-as-a-service (SaaS).

The MySQL database is deployed across every major operating system, hardware platform, geography, industry and application type, and will enable Sun to both better leverage its OEM agreements with Intel, Dell, IBM and Microsoft, and engage potential customers looking for additional open source solutions. The open source database software from MySQL, OpenSolaris, and GlassFish, together with Sun's Java and NetBeans communities, create a powerful Web application development platform across the spectrum of customers, service providers, and enterprises shifting their applications to the Web.

Bentley: Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz has indicated the company will do much to increase its support for the LAMP stack, of which MySQL is a part. What will that involve?
Murdock: Sun is committed to enhancing and optimizing the LAMP stack on Linux and Microsoft Windows along with OpenSolaris and Mac OS X. As we've stated, MySQL's open source database is the "M" in LAMP — the software platform (comprised of Linux, Apache, MySQL and PHP/Perl) is often viewed as the foundation of the Internet. The integration of MySQL's renowned open source database software and Sun's global services capabilities and highly complementary product line will deliver a powerful new end-to-end systems offering tailor made solutions for innovative companies focused on leveraging the power of the network and driving the enterprise and Web 2.0 economies.

Further, Sun's open source communities benefit ... The acquisition adds an important piece of the application stack to the software portfolio and offers a complete open source platform for the Internet. The open source database from MySQL, OpenSolaris, and GlassFish, together with Sun's Java and NetBeans communities creates a powerful Web application development platform across the spectrum of customers, service providers, and enterprises shifting their applications to the Web. The open source community is vital to Sun, and this acquisition deepens our investment in open source.

Bentley: Considering Linux is also a part of the LAMP stack, how does increasing Sun's support of LAMP fit with Sun's efforts to market Solaris as a Linux competitor?
Murdock: This move serves to further bolster Sun's presence in the Linux space. The day of the monolithic stack is dead. The world that we live in today is about mixing and matching architectures and platforms — whether that's Solaris OS on Dell, Linux on Sun, or MySQL on Windows. This acquisition further underlines Sun's commitment beyond the Sun software stack and to the ecosystem.

Bentley: Is Sun looking to create its own middleware stack?
Murdock: Sun now has a best-in-class solution for customers that want to take advantage of open source software from the operating system and middleware through database to office suite software.

While the open source database market is an established one, it is a new area for Sun and an opportunity for growth. The acquisition of MySQL adds an important piece of the application stack to Sun's software portfolio and reaffirms our position as a leading provider of platforms for the Web economy. The integration of MySQL's renowned open source database software with Sun's global services capabilities and highly complementary product line delivers a powerful end-to-end systems offering that is tailor-made for innovative companies focused on leveraging the power of the network and driving the enterprise and Web 2.0 economies.

Bentley: How does the acquisition change the database market, in your view?
Murdock: Web-scale environments and traditional IT differ in many important ways. The database market has been evolving for some time, hence the enormous success of MySQL to date. MySQL is unquestionably the database choice for these environments. The acquisition changes the database market in that MySQL is now a part of a much larger company with the experience, relationships and resources to accelerate its success.