April 26, 2008 1:41 PM PDT

MySQL closes $10 million deal

by Matt Asay
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MySQL, the open-source database maker that Sun Microsystems bought earlier this year, recently closed a $10 million deal, according to Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz.

Schwartz noted the deal Saturday in a Twitter Q&A related to the Web 2.0 Expo.

A $10 million deal...that's big, even by Oracle standards. It's the sort of deal that big companies do with other big companies. Here's what Schwartz said:

...(T)he MySQL team just closed the single largest deal in the history of MySQL, a $10m deal to a global technology company. I'm pleased as punch with the progress we're making there, and we're deluged with inquiries from traditional enterprises (vs. Web 2.0 companies) wanting to know how to get enterprise support for a product they've used in development, but have, until now, not felt comfortable putting into commercial deployment. Now they feel comfortable deploying it - and we're right there with them to help make it happen.

All I can say is "Wow, wish I'd have got the commission check for that one!" A $1 million deal takes time but is doable. A $10 million deal? That is truly impressive, no matter where you work. (Congratulations to Mark Burton, Kerry Ancheta, and others who were likely involved.)

P.S. I'm guessing the deal was made with Cisco Systems, Google, or Yahoo.

Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay.
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by softwareengineer99 April 26, 2008 5:10 PM PDT
Very interesting from MySQL's POV.

My bets are on Facebook as being the company. However this is just pure speculation.
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by Matt Asay April 26, 2008 8:53 PM PDT
Ah, that's better speculation than mine. Actually, I'd also throw in Intel into the mix. The more I think about it, the less likely it is that either Yahoo! or Google put that money on the table.
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About The Open Road

Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to the Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is general manager of the Americas division and vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

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