Migrating to Open Source databases: A path to innovation

Profitability has become the primary focus for most companies these days. So, naturally, when weighing different database options, cost plays a significant role in the conversation. However, when it comes to data and the management of it, cost is just one of several key components to consider. In fact, too narrow a focus on cost alone — especially when it comes at the expense of these other factors — can prove quite detrimental for organizations in the long run. Other critical considerations include security, scalability, efficiency, and innovation; just to name a few. Inevitably, though, the question then becomes: “But, can we really afford to have it all?” 

Fortunately, the answer is “Yes, you can have it all — if you opt for Open Source, rather than proprietary, solutions.”

Open Source insecurity: When untruths, oft-repeated, become common knowledge

Let’s start with the elephant in the room: Open Source security. Critics of Open Source software have long argued that it is inherently less secure than its proprietary counterparts — based on the simple assumption that making source code visible allows bad actors to seek out and identify vulnerabilities and other flaws to exploit. However, this argument falls short by failing to extend the same line of reasoning to its natural conclusion — namely, that the same degree of visibility is available to everyone; including contributors, community members and other well-intentioned parties. And, in the end, that means more eyes on the code and more opportunity to recognize and address bugs, flaws, and vulnerabilities. 

The XZ Utils backdoor discovered in March 2024 is a perfect example of this phenomenon at work. Yes, this was a nefarious security breach involving an Open Source lossless compression utility that comes preinstalled with major Linux distributions. Despite this, there was never a confirmed report of the backdoor being actively exploited in the wild. That’s because the malicious code was quickly found and reported by a community member whose keen eye and commitment to the project prevented what could have been a very significant and far-reaching incident. Software engineers understand the importance of secure code, and the well-intentioned Open Source contributors of the world far outnumber the bad actors. Working with Open Source database software — and especially larger, more popular projects — means there’s a network of passionate, hardworking developers watching over the security of their shared code base. 

Open Source enables innovation at scale

Innovation means pushing the boundaries of what’s possible today. Time and again, we see customers and users pushing the limits of what a database can do. This is one of the main reasons why developers appreciate using Open Source. They can take advantage of the underlying, stable project and make additions, in compliance with the Open Source license, to meet their unique needs and workloads. The popular projects have community forums and third-party commercial entities to offer support in the event the software doesn’t work as expected. Push boundaries, and see what is possible, all while knowing a community of like-minded experts is willing to jump in to troubleshoot with you to help you overcome the inevitable barriers and stumbling blocks that stand between the individual and the possible. Ultimately, the Open Source model allows you to crowdsource talent, passion, and problem-solving, and drive innovation at a pace that would be otherwise impossible without the shared passion and contributions of the Open Source community. 

Why Open Source makes good business sense

So, how does using open source make your management team happy? Doesn’t reliance on Open Source technology inherently undermine your competitiveness? To dispel that idea, you needn’t look any further than the near industry-wide adoption of Open Source software and components — not only in the database space, but across the entire software market — that has taken place over the past two decades. Not only does replacing proprietary software with Open Source have the potential to reduce an organization’s total cost of ownership, but the reduction of cost can come from various sources. One is the simple elimination of licensing fees. Vendor-lock in is real and can be very costly. Breaking free from that lock-in is only truly possible with open source. 

Another area of potential savings comes in the form of talent acquisition. Because there is often a larger pool of software engineers fluent in Open Source projects than proprietary software, finding the necessary talent to work with Open Source databases can often be significantly easier. Finally, widely adopted projects also spur competition, leading to more alternatives for supporting services. This ultimately means your organization will have a much broader ecosystem offering a wider variety of capabilities, functionality, and other nuances to choose from to find the databases and related software that work best for your organization and its operational needs. 

Low risk, high reward — Only with Open Source

No migration is painless. But, when migrating to Open Source databases, the costs (of all kinds) are significantly reduced, while the potential upside is enormous. It should come as little surprise that 97% of today’s software leverages at least some open source code, and a staggering 90% of companies are actively applying or using open source in some way. At the same time, three of today’s top five most popular databases are Open Source. 

We’ve come a long way from the early, rebellious, outsider days of open source. And I’m confident we will continue to see steadily increasing adoption, growth, and most of all, innovation in the space for many years to come.