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DBaaS: EnterpriseDB

Cloud Dreams

In my first story on database as a service (DBaaS) [1], I spoke to Xeround and Standing Cloud about how they implement and deliver their software as a service (SaaS). Although they come from different parts of the SaaS market, they had one thing in common: They're finding different ways of doing what's been done before in the hope it works better at the (cloud) Internet scale.

This is all part of an ongoing project to understand why it's worth bothering with SaaS at each level. Sure, there's hype, but is it actually worth it? This time, I look at EnterpriseDB [2], which is a slightly different case, as I'll describe. They've taken an existing product that they already support in the enterprise market, and they've deployed it to the cloud.

Their proposition: point-and-click simplicity running both on the premises and in the cloud. They differ because they're pitching to two separate markets. The traditional, highly expert database admin and the new cloud market, where ease of deployment and "it just works" matter.

The Beginning

With Skype fired up, I talked to Karen Padir from EnterpriseDB. EnterpriseDB was founded on the principle that Oracle database prices were too high. To combat this, EnterpriseDB built on PostgreSQL, an open source program with a reputation as a strong relational database preferred by many database admins. The thought was that they could go into the Fortune 500 market offering PostgreSQL with a few extras and added support to lure the blue chip firms away from their Oracle habit.

Although this worked, they then tweaked the recipe. A little more than three years ago, they had a change of CEO and decided that luring Oracle users might not be the only way. Maybe they could offer something more to the Postgres users of the world, which is where

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