The Uppsala, Sweden-based company has previously distributed the MySQL database via a commercial license to businesses, but will now use the same open source GNU General Public License it uses for individuals.
The dual license model works well in the OEM and ISV businesses, Zack Urlocker, MySQL’s vice president of marketing, told ComputerWire. In the corporate arena we realized we spent way too much time talking about licensing issues that really don’t mean that much to corporate customers.
MySQL will continue to offer a commercial license of its database to original equipment manufacturers and software vendors who want to embed the database in their products, and will also continue to make the GPL version freely available for download.
For corporate customers, however, it is looking to add support and update services via MySQL Network. As the company has grown and open source has become more mainstream, corporate customers are looking for something a bit different, said Urlocker. We wanted to put together a bundle to take advantage of a lower TCO.
The MySQL Network is also competitively priced compared to the former commercial license. Four subscription levels are offered with the basic package starting at $595 per server per year. By comparison, a single commercial license for MySQL Pro started at 500 euros (currently $650).
Among the services provided through the MySQL Network subscription are certified software, production level support, the MySQL Knowledge Base library of technical articles, and the MySQL Update Advisor and Technical Alert Advisor automated messaging systems providing new product and issue alerts respectively.
Another service offered via the MySQL Network is warranties and legal indemnification to protect users against patent, copyright, trademark, and trade secret infringement claims. Although the MySQL code is open source, the company owns all the code, enabling it to be confident about its legal position, said Urlocker.
The company has also set up a new certified partner program to ensure that third-party software will work with the software and support offerings provided by MySQL Network and announced that 25 companies have joined, including Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems, Red Hat, Novell, JBoss, and Business Objects.
MySQL is not the first open source software vendor to launch a subscription-based services, and it won’t be the last. Linux vendor Red Hat Inc set up its Red Hat Network in September 2000, while open source application server vendor JBoss is planning on launching its network in the first quarter of this year.
