What are some of the important criteria that influence the choice of commercial Database vs open source Database?
As a DB Professional, I can say that mission-critical applications don’t require a commercial DB anymore than in-house applications do. The only reason for a person to stay solely based on proprietary DBs these days is due to their personal tastes or investment in such DB. Most commercial DBs can be easily replaced with Open Source DBs that offer either commercial or open source licensing – which removes that silly fear from those easily influenced by FUD. The differences lie mostly in choice, features that people claim to be differentiators are usually fringe-element features that are largely fluff and not used by 80-90% of the DB world. From a business perspective – a mission critical DB is no more likely to need the complex capability of the extra features unless that feature is only available that way and is the sole underpinning of your business. In that case, you would be better off re-examining your business model IMHO, but some people become married to their DB of choice. Perha
