Open Source Database Survey: strong PostgreSQL adoption in enterprises

EnterpriseDB announced the results of the company’s 2008 Open Source Database Survey, which collected the opinions of 500 corporate IT leaders on topics related to enterprise adoption of open source databases. Among other findings, the survey showed that respondents using PostgreSQL selected the database mainly for transactional applications twice as often as respondents using other open source databases.

The 2008 Open Source Database Survey results support the popular understanding that PostgreSQL is more suitable for transaction-intensive applications than other open source databases. Respondents using PostgreSQL selected the database mainly for transactional applications twice as often (38% of PostgreSQL respondents) as respondents using other open source databases (19% of respondents).

38% of surveyed PostgreSQL users selected PostgreSQL for its high reliability, while just 19% of alternative open source database users gave that reason for their database selection. The survey findings also show that PostgreSQL users have migrated existing applications from other databases approximately half the time, while users of other open source databases have done so in just one out of three cases.

In addition, the survey revealed that “lack of in-house knowledge” is by far the biggest inhibitor of enterprise open source database adoption. Only one in ten survey respondents reported corporate policies prohibiting the use of open source databases.

Bob Zurek, chief technology officer, EnterpriseDB commented:

The 2008 Open Source Database Survey confirmed the widespread perception that PostgreSQL’s performance, scalability, and reliability are driving its enterprise adoption. EnterpriseDB will be working in the coming months to provide the kind of education and training the survey has indicated will further accelerate that adoption.