[Fwd: [OT] PostgreSQL gets commercial support/funding]

[Rodrigo Moya <rodrigo linuxave net>]

Charles Galpin wrote:
> 
> interesting news snippet..
> 
> Red Hat Angel Investor Funds New Open-Source Software Startup to Take On
> Database Giants
> 
> NORFOLK, Va., May 9, 2000 (BUSINESS WIRE) --
> 
>    Frank Batten Jr.'s new Great Bridge LLC to commercialize world's
>                   most advanced open-source database
> 
> Landmark Communications, a large privately held media company whose chairman
> bankrolled Linux leader Red Hat Inc., announced it has funded a wholly owned
> subsidiary with the intention of doing for databases what Red Hat did for Linux
> and operating systems - give business a formidable open source alternative to
> existing proprietary applications.
> 
> Newly formed Great Bridge LLC is backed by more than $25 million from Landmark
> Communications, a media conglomerate involved in broadcast, print and
> interactive media including The Weather Channel, the Virginian-Pilot newspaper,
> and weather.com. Batten funded Red Hat's successful launch and IPO last year,
> and served on its board of directors.
> 
> As Red Hat has done for the open-source Linux operating system, Great Bridge
> will market commercial products, services and support for PostgreSQL (popularly
> called "Postgres"), a rapidly evolving, open-source database that rivals leading
> proprietary databases such as Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server in performance and
> features. After recently winning the prestigious LinuxWorld award for Best
> Database Management System, the judges said PostgreSQL "has become one of the
> most mature and powerful open-source tools available."
> 
> Open-source software like PostgreSQL and Linux is freely owned, enhanced and
> supported by global grassroots communities of elite programmers, rather than by
> a single company. Working with this collaborative software community, Great
> Bridge will help proliferate the commercial adoption of Postgres by providing
> the financial stability, assurance and professional support organization
> corporate buyers require.
> 
> The Postgres development community consists of hundreds of developers worldwide,
> guided by a six-member core steering group, similar to the way Linux creator
> Linus Torvalds oversees and screens new enhancements for Linux. A key member of
> the steering group is joining Great Bridge as a senior developer, and the
> company intends to recruit other members from the Postgres community as well.
> 
> "While PostgreSQL's Internet presence is growing rapidly, commercial acceptance
> has been hampered by the lack of a large-scale support organization," said Bruce
> Momjian, a PostgreSQL core member and author of PostgreSQL: Introduction and
> Concepts (Addison-Wesley). "Even though we continue to make huge advances using
> the open-source development model, many businesses prefer to get database
> support from a trusted, professional enterprise. I am excited to see Great
> Bridge providing that support."
> 
> Great Bridge will operate initially as a wholly owned subsidiary of Landmark,
> which under Batten's leadership has made significant investments in other
> technology companies over the past two years. Alfred Ritter, former Landmark
> executive vice president and CFO, will head the company as president and CEO.
> Robert Strickland, former Landmark chief technology officer who held senior
> technology officer positions at MediaOne, Harvard Business School and The
> Weather Channel, will serve as CTO. Ned Lilly, a veteran of several
> Landmark-funded web startups, will serve as vice president of open-source
> development. David Mele, a new ventures director at Landmark and former manager
> with Andersen Consulting, will serve as vice president of marketing.
> 
> "We strongly believe that the open-source process is a fundamentally better way
> to develop software," said Frank Batten, Jr., Chairman of the Board, Landmark
> Communications. "Products like Red Hat Linux and Apache Web Server proved these
> technologies can be commercial successes thanks to the faster development
> cycles, fewer bugs and better flexibility their development communities were
> able to deliver. The next big venue for the open-source movement will be the
> database market. We scrutinized all the potential open-source database systems,
> and Postgres was by far the most sophisticated, ready-for-prime time offering."
> 
>     Postgres in progress
> 
> Today's unveiling of Great Bridge coincides with the Postgres development
> community's launch of PostgreSQL version 7.0, which adds significant performance
> improvements, new querying capabilities, and over 300 other enhancements.
> 
> While Great Bridge will officially open for business in August, the company has
> already made significant progress working with the Postgres community to help
> make the technology a commercial contender:
> 
> --In March, Great Bridge hosted the first-ever face-to-face meeting of the
> PostgreSQL core developers- a three-day meeting in San Francisco at which the
> core steering group and Great Bridge agreed to coordinate their respective
> efforts on technology improvements, with Great Bridge focusing on identifying
> key product and service features required by business customers.
> 
> --Great Bridge has established a testing and integration lab and initiated the
> most comprehensive benchmark tests of PostgreSQL to date to give corporate
> technology buyers fair and accurate product performance comparisons.
> 
> --The company has launched what it believes is the most extensive market
> research program ever conducted for an open-source software product to help it
> better understand and meet customer needs, and lay the foundation for the
> company's business model. These efforts include an initial round of 32
> qualitative focus groups conducted across four U.S. cities and an ongoing
> program of statistically valid quantitative research.
> 
> "While open-source development yields superior software, businesses have been
> reluctant to deploy open-source alternatives without a reliable, professional
> enterprise behind them. The Postgres community has done an exemplary job in
> developing a standards-based, object-relational SQL database that can handle the
> heaviest demands of many e-commerce and enterprise applications," said Ritter.
> "Postgres can only get better. The community will continue to develop its
> capabilities beyond the award-winning features and performance it has already
> achieved. We at Great Bridge will be active contributing members of the
> community. And, we are committed to providing the kind of service and support
> that will encourage businesses to enjoy the benefits of this open-source
> database."
> 
> Great Bridge will unveil its initial product and service offerings in August,
> along with additional members of its management team, and information regarding
> its channel strategy and business model.
> 
>     About Great Bridge
> 
> Great Bridge LLC is committed to making open-source software commercially
> viable, and will be the leading commercial provider of PostgreSQL database
> products, service and support. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., Great Bridge is a
> wholly owned subsidiary of Landmark Communications Inc. (www.landmarkcom.com), a
> multinational media company with businesses in newspapers; broadcasting; cable
> programming; electronic publishing; and specialty media, including guide books,
> billboards, interactive media and a new career schools division. The privately
> held company employs more than 5,000 people worldwide.
> 
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> 
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