[NTLUG:Discuss] database(s) on Linux

[Greg Edwards]

iostream at attbi.com wrote:

> <snip>
> 
>>>If Oracle, Sybase, or Informix had a reasonable price tag OSS products 
>>>like MySQL and PostgresSQL wouldn't have a following.
>>>
>>No argument from me.
>>
>>Ry
>>
> 
> That is not entirely true.  The feature set of Oracle is required for many things, and corporations will gladly spend the money on such features.  I doubt you will see many people trying to run a multi TB data warehouse with any OSS tool, or a CRM datamart, etc.  Many companies use these expensive database systems to do mission critical work.  The databases save more than enough in operational costs, or create enough extra revenue to easily justify the pricetag.  Lets face it, if you are buying million dollar + servers, Oracle licensing fees are not going to bankrupt you.
> 
> Justin
> 


If you can afford the million + servers you can afford the pros to build 
your front end the right way and then the feature set isn't as big a 
deal.  Many companies only look at the cost of construction and forget 
about the cost of next years upgrade.  Companies like Oracle, IBM, and 
MS live long and prosper not on the sale but on the upgrade.  I've never 
agreed with an enteprise hand-cuffing themselves on canned solutions, 
especially mission critical systems.

Don't get me wrong, I think Oracle is a good product and has a place in 
many corporate solutions.  I just think far too many execs jump on the 
canned solution without getting good advise about the long term costs 
and constraints that come with not owning the solution.

-- 
Greg Edwards
New Age Software, Inc.
http://www.nas-inet.com