Interview: MySQL rides open source wave into DBs

IDGNS: Are those features planned for Version 5 of MySQL, and when is that coming out?

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MM: Yes, we'll have 5 out as a developer version this year, then it can take half a year to a year for us to put it in production, and then it is really durable. Some of our customers use it before we dub it "production." We are very conservative about calling something a production release. You should see the first version 5 deployments in the first half of next year.

IDGNS: You and LinusTorvalds both are from Finland. Is that a coincidence or is there something about that country that makes it fertile ground for open source software?

MM: It probably is a coincidence, but there's fertile ground for open source in the whole Nordic region. Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland -- it's a region that has some of the oldest schooling systems in the world and where high education is the norm. Openness is also the norm; all government and public offices have open records. And the harsh climate has forced people to work together to get things done, so the community approach is nothing new. Maybe they are not coincidences.

Linus and myself come from the same very small ethnic minority in Finland, that probably is a coincidence. But I think he went to the wrong university. (Laughs) I went to Helsinki University of Technology and he went to Helsinki University. That's like the difference between Berkeley and Stanford.

IDGNS: What are your goals at MySQL for the coming year?

MM: We are working on enhancing the product, we are working on adding services and features. You'll see a constant improvement and expansion on all frontiers.

IDGNS: Will they be new types of services or more of what you already offer?

MM: New types in terms of consulting services, provisioning services. We have done support and training for a long time, now we're adding more consulting services.

IDGNS: Is that because you're attracting a different type of customer?

MM: Precisely. If you look at the technology adoption lifecycle written about by Geoffrey Moore in "Crossing the Chasm," it's clear that at the beginning you have the enthusiastic, highly skilled people, then you get more into the mainstream, customers who'd rather spend the money (on services) and save the time.