Re: [HACKERS] How can we expand PostgreSQL ecosystem? - Mailing list pgsql-advocacy

MauMau,

Crossing this over to pgsql-advocacy list where it really belongs.
That's what that list is *for*.

Especially since the discussion on -hackers has focused on new
PostgreSQL Features, which while also good don't address the general
question.

On 03/05/2016 09:29 PM, MauMau wrote:
> Hello,
> As I said in the previous greeting mail, I'd like to discuss how to
> expand PostgreSQL ecosystem.  Here, ecosystem means "interoperability"
> -- the software products and cloud services which use/support
> PostgreSQL.  If pgsql-advocacy or somewhere else is better for this
> topic, just tell me so.
> THE BACKGROUND
> ==================================================
> Thanks to the long and hard efforts by the community, PostgreSQL has
> been evolving to be a really great software comparable to existing
> strong commercial products.  Open source databases are gaining more
> popularity to influence the database market.
> Open source threatens to eat the database market
> http://www.infoworld.com/article/2916057/open-source-software/open-source-threatens-to-eat-the-database-market.html
> "Though the proprietary RDBMS market grew at a sluggish 5.4 percent in
> 2014, the open source database market grew 31 percent to hit $562 million."
> "As Gartner highlights in a recent research report, open source
> databases now consume 25 percent of relational database usage."
> Perhaps related to this is that the revenues of Oracle, IBM and
> Microsoft have been declining (but I read in an article that SQL Server
> is gaining more revenue).
> On the other hand, there is a gulf between the two top popular databases
> -- Oracle and MySQL -- and PostgreSQL.  They are nearly five times more
> popular than PostgreSQL.
> DB-Engines Ranking
> http://db-engines.com/en/ranking
> Yes, I understand this ranking doesn't necessarily reflect the actual
> use, but I also don't think the ranking is far from the real
> popularity.  In fact, some surveys show that MySQL has been in more
> widespread use even here in Japan than PostgreSQL since around 2010 (IIRC).
> What should we do to boost the popularity of PostgreSQL?  One challenge
> is to increase the number of software which supports PostgreSQL. To take
> advantage of the trend of shift from commercial products to open source,
> PostgreSQL needs to interoperate with many software that are used
> together with the commercial databases.
> The easily understandable target is Oracle, because it is anticipated
> that more users of Oracle will seek another database to avoid the
> expensive Oracle Standard Edition 2 and increasing maintenance costs.
> In addition, PostgreSQL has affinity for Oracle.
> However, there is a problem.  The number of software is very small that
> the users can know to interoperate with PostgreSQL.  That is, when the
> users want to migrate from commercial databases to PostgreSQL, they
> can't get information on whether they can continue to use their assets
> with PostgreSQL.  Many applications might be interoperable through
> standard interfaces like JDBC/ODBC, but the case is unknown.  For example:
> * Only 24 open source projects are listed as interoperable.
> Open Source Projects Using PostgreSQL
> https://wiki.postgresql.org/wiki/OpenSource_Projects_Using_PostgreSQL
> * Even EnterpriseDB has only 12 certified application vendors.
> http://www.enterprisedb.com/partner-programs/enterprisedb-certified-application-vendors
> * PostgreSQL Enterprise Consortium lists only about30 related products
> (Japanese only).
> https://www.pgecons.org/postgresql-info/business_sw/
> * MySQL touts more than 2,000 ISV/OEM/VARs.
> http://www.mysql.com/oem/
> Besides, in practice, we probably should increase the number of software
> interoperable with PostgreSQL.  e.g. one customer asked us whether
> Arcserve can be used to back up PostgreSQL databases, but unfortunately
> we had to answer no.  They are using Arcserve to back up Oracle
> databases and other resources.  "Then, you can use NetVault instead" is
> not the best answer; they just want to replace the database.
> PROPOSAL
> ==================================================
> Last month, I attended the steering committee of PostgreSQL Enterprise
> Consortium (PGECons) for the first time and proposed starting the
> following activity.  PGECons is a Japanese non-profit organization to
> promote PostgreSQL for enterprise use.  The members include NTT, SRA OSS
> (Tatsuo Ishii runs), NEC, Hitachi, HP, Fujitsu, etc.  We concluded that
> we need to consult the PostgreSQL community on how to proceed the
> activity and work in cooperation with the community.
> * Attract and ask product/service vendors to support/use PostgreSQL.
> Provide technical assistance to those vendors as an organization so that
> they can support PostgreSQL smoothly.
> If the vendors aren't proactive, we verify the interoperability with
> their software by executing it.
> * Make a directory of software/services that can be used with PostgreSQL
> on the community web site (wiki.postgresql.org or www.postgresql.org).
> Software/services vendors and PostgreSQL developers/users can edit this
> directory.
> This list not only has the names of software and its vendors, but also
> other information such as the level of interoperability (certified by
> the vendor, or verified by the community/users) and remarks about
> configuration, tuning, and whatever useful for users.
> PostgreSQL Enterprise Consortium (PGECons)
> https://www.pgecons.org/en
> CONSULTATION AND DISCUSSION
> ==================================================
> I'd like to discuss and hear opinions on how can we expand the ecosystem
> of PostgreSQL.  Example points are:
> * How/Where can we get the knowledge of expanding the software
> ecosystem?  Is there any OSS project that we can learn from?
> How can we attract software vendors to support PostgreSQL?  What words
> are convincing to appeal the increasing potential of PostgreSQL as a
> good replacement for commercial databases?
> * How can we gain momentum for the activity?
> Can we involve globally influential companies like Dell, HPE, and Red Hat?
> * Do we need some kind of assistance from a foundation or establish a
> foundation?
> There should be many, many software to address, so the ecosystem
> activity has to be long-lasting. Plus, money and expertise is necessary.
> Would we benefit if we join the Linux Foundation Collaborative Projects?
> Linux Foundation Collaborative Projects
> http://collabprojects.linuxfoundation.org/
> * Which software/services in what category should we address preferentially?
> What software would many users desire to be interoperable when migrating
> from commercial databases?
> What is the effective way to absorb user requests for this?  Is it
> enough to make a questionnaire like the following?  What is the popular
> questionnaire site which can catch many users (SurveyMonkey?)
> https://postgresql.uservoice.com/forums/21853-general
> Regards
> MauMau


--
--
Josh Berkus
Red Hat OSAS
(any opinions are my own)