The451.com is no stranger to open source databases; their analytics services are built using PostgreSQL, MySQL and probably others. So their analysis is a bit more on-target than other analysts (not that I would be thinking of anyone in particular) who are still treating open source databases as a fringe alternative. Matt Aslett is their database and information storage technology guru.
The part of their report I found the most interesting was this part:
In fact, despite significant interest in NoSQL and NewSQL products, almost as many MySQL users had deployed PostgreSQL as a direct replacement for MySQL (17.6%) than all of the NoSQL and NewSQL databases combined (20%).And:
Our survey results support this anecdotal evidence, with PostgreSQL by far the most popular choice among users as a direct replacement for MySQL, ahead of MySQL derivatives such as MariaDB, Percona Server and Amazon's RDS (Relational Database Service).I'd some idea that we were seeing a lot of post-Oracle-acquisition MySQL refugees in the PostgreSQL community. However, given the strong appeal that the new databases have for web developers, I'd assumed that three times as many developers were going to non-relational solutions as were to PostgreSQL. I'm pleasantly surprised to see these figures from the451.com.
Of course, this means that us PostgreSQL folks really need to work even harder on being welcoming to former MySQL users. They're our users now, and if they have funny ideas about SQL syntax, we need to be encouraging and helpful rather than critical. And, above all, not bash MySQL.
The summary report also has the first solid figure I've seen on PostgreSQL market share in a while (hint: it's higher than 10%). You can access it here. To access the full base report, you need to apply for a full free trial membership. As a warning, that free trial registration feeds into their sales reps, so don't be surprised if you get a call later.
