EnterpriseDB eases Oracle price increase pain

EnterpriseDB on Monday announced an Oracle Migration Assessment Program after Oracle recently raised prices on database modules by as much as 40 percent. This comes on the heels of license increases of up to 20 percent in 2008.

The program enables enterprises to migrate their applications running on Oracle to Postgres Plus Advanced Server, an open-source PostgreSQL-based database containing an Oracle compatibility layer, "with no disruption to operations, and delivers ongoing cost savings of 50 percent or more."

"Oracle's price hikes might be good news for those on Wall Street, but they're terrible news for IT departments trying to function in the worst economy since the Great Depression," said Ed Boyajian, president and CEO of EnterpriseDB.

It's no secret that Oracle is good at pricing--at least from its perspective. I can certainly understand why Oracle customers would be interested in a program that allows them to make a switch to a less expensive option that provides the same functionality.

However, I think the trick for EnterpriseDB is to not focus on the database, but on the administrative and other tools that have no competition. It's much easier to replace tooling than it is to swap out a database, even if it's compatible.

There's no doubt that this is an appealing offer for Oracle users. The big question is if they will be willing to make the switch even if Oracle's pricing continues to go up. EnterpriseDB said it can reduce total cost of ownership by 80 percent even before Oracle raised prices. Sooner or later Oracle customers will need to re-evaluate their relationship and decide if it's worth the extra money.

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