Leaving MySQL

After nearly ten years working for MySQL, I’m pursuing a new opportunity to expand into new areas of open source data infrastructure as part of the excellent Cloudera support organization.  I’ve been fortunate to work with incredibly talented, dedicated and wonderful people on relational databases, and I’m looking forward to doing the same in the Hadoop space in my new role.  Despite this transition, I intend to remain active in the MySQL community – most immediately, finishing off a handful of half-finished blog posts in the coming weeks.

My various bit roles at MySQL have given me a front-row seat as the company grew from a smaller independent company to a prominent product at Sun to part of a much larger, enterprise-focused portfolio within Oracle.  I’m incredibly proud of the progress MySQL has made over the years, in each stage – but the past 6 years under the stewardship of Oracle are particularly satisfying.  The Oracle way of doing things is well-understood, and has historically produced very successful results – for the products, the customers and the business – but it’s not for everybody.  While I certainly appreciate the motivation of those who wanted to continue an independent MySQL tradition outside of Oracle, my heroes are the committed MySQL staff who stayed to ensure MySQL flourished inside Oracle.  Thanks for all you have done – and continue to do – to ensure MySQL is strong and gets better.

Oracle isn’t perfect, and there have been mistakes made along the way, and things I still wish could change today.  It’s a big company, and MySQL is a small part of it.  But there is an incredible dedication within the MySQL team at Oracle to improve products and experiences for both community users and customers alike.  There’s also a number of legacy Oracle staff who have worked hard to position MySQL for success inside Oracle, and to help apply and adapt Oracle ways of doing things to add value for MySQL users.  Keep up the good work – I know I’m excited to see what the future holds for MySQL.

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