#05 – Oracle Partners with Its Rivals, MariaDB Goes Private, Users Leaving Redis

Welcome to the Red9 Podcast, your go-to source for the latest in database news and insights. I’m your host, Kit, and today we’ve got some exciting developments to discuss in the world of databases. From major partnerships reshaping cloud services to open-source alternatives gaining traction, let’s dive right in.

First up, Oracle made some big announcements at Oracle CloudWorld 2024 in Las Vegas. They’ve launched Oracle Database@AWS, allowing customers to access Oracle Autonomous Database and Exadata Database Service on Amazon Web Services. This move aims to provide a unified experience between Oracle Cloud Infrastructure—also known as OCI—and AWS, simplifying database administration, billing, and support.

Larry Ellison, Oracle’s chairman and CTO, mentioned that this initiative is in response to customers wanting to use multiple cloud services simultaneously. By deploying OCI inside AWS data centers, Oracle aims to offer the best possible database and network performance.

But that’s not all. Oracle also announced the general availability of Oracle Database@Google. This service lets users run Oracle’s database services within Google Cloud data centers, operating two clouds as one. Customers can leverage Google Cloud’s artificial intelligence capabilities, including Vertex AI and the Gemini foundation models, alongside Oracle Database 23c.

Karan Batta, Senior Vice President of OCI, highlighted that this was unthinkable in the cloud space just a few years ago. It represents a significant shift toward seamless multi-cloud experiences.

Lastly, Oracle is expanding its partnership with Microsoft through Oracle Database@Azure. They’re working to make this solution available in more regions globally, responding to increasing demand. The Azure database solution has also received updates to improve data protection and resilience, including access to Oracle Database Zero Data Loss Autonomous Recovery Service and soon, OCI GoldenGate for database replication and integration.

Brett Tanzer, Vice President of Product Management at Microsoft, emphasized that this partnership helps customers respond to market shifts and maintain a competitive edge as they grow and evolve.”

Moving on, MariaDB, the database company known for its fork of MySQL, is going private after a turbulent 18 months as a public company. K1 Investment Management, a private equity firm based in California, has completed its acquisition of MariaDB, taking it off the New York Stock Exchange.

With this acquisition, MariaDB has appointed a new CEO, Rohit de Souza, a veteran of companies like Micro Focus, HP, and Oracle. He replaces Paul O’Brien, who will remain as an advisor. De Souza stated that with K1’s support, MariaDB is poised to expand its capabilities and continue delivering innovative database solutions.

MariaDB has faced financial struggles since its initial public offering in late 2022, including job cuts and warnings over its financial viability. The company’s value dropped significantly, prompting the move to go private. K1’s acquisition is seen as a fresh start, aiming to accelerate product innovation and meet the growing demands of the market.

It’s worth noting that the MariaDB Foundation, responsible for the governance of the open-source project, remains active and strong. Developers and users will be watching closely to see how this new chapter unfolds under private ownership.

In other news, there’s a noticeable shift happening in the world of key-value stores. Redis Labs recently changed the license of its popular Redis key-value store to a more restrictive ‘source available’ license. This move has prompted many companies to seek alternatives, and according to research by database specialist Percona, a significant number are turning to Valkey.

Valkey is a fork of Redis that’s fully open-source and backed by the Linux Foundation. The research indicates that 83% of larger companies have already adopted or are testing Valkey. Even among small and midsize companies, adoption rates are high.

Ann Schlemmer, CEO of Percona, expressed that the issue isn’t about open source versus proprietary software but about transparency versus deception. Companies rely on open-source solutions not just for cost savings but for the community and collaborative benefits they offer.

Redis Labs’ licensing change, which limits third-party managed services, has forced many organizations to reconsider their database strategies. Valkey appears to be the preferred alternative, boasting support from industry giants like Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Oracle, and Ericsson.

This situation underscores the importance of open-source solutions in the enterprise space and how licensing changes can significantly impact user adoption.

Lastly, let’s touch on some crucial security updates from Microsoft. On this month’s Patch Tuesday, Microsoft fixed 79 vulnerabilities, including four zero-day exploits that were actively being used by attackers.

One of the most critical is CVE-2024-44491, a remote code execution vulnerability affecting certain versions of Windows 10. Administrators are advised to install the September 2024 Servicing Stack Update and the Windows Security Update in sequence to mitigate this issue.

Another notable vulnerability is CVE-2024-38217, a Windows Mark of the Web security feature bypass. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to evade security checks like SmartScreen and Windows Attachment Manager prompts.

Microsoft also released important updates for SQL Server, SharePoint, and addressed a Windows Installer elevation-of-privilege vulnerability, CVE-2024-38014. Administrators should prioritize these patches to protect their systems from potential threats.

Furthermore, the ongoing mitigation process for the Secure Boot security feature bypass vulnerability, known as BlackLotus, continues to be a significant concern. Microsoft has provided detailed instructions for mitigation, but enforcement of these measures is yet to be announced.

That wraps up today’s episode of the Red9 Podcast. Thanks for listening! And don’t forget to subscribe and share. Stay tuned for more updates and insights in our next episode!