In mid-January, Sun Microsystems surprised the high-tech communities by announcing its intent to purchase MySQL AB for one billion dollars. The original announcement was an informal blog post, but it was almost immediately followed by a formal press release the following day. Regardless, the end result is the same. MySQL, one of the most popular platforms for building networks will soon be owned by Sun, and the MySQL developers are thrilled.
On January 14, 2008, My SQL’s Vice President for Community Kaj Arno posted on the company’s blog that Sun was in the process of buying the company. Arno went on to explain his feeling on the acquisition which were overwhelmingly positive despite apparently also feeling anxious.
It appears that his high regard for Sun Microsystems was well founded. In continuing entries on his blog, Arno has explained in great detail what is happening with the acquisition and tries hard to put the anxious minds of employees, customers and investors at ease. In his latest entry dated January 31, Arno expounds on what will happen to MySQL as closure to the sale is negotiated by the heads of the commercial firm noted for selling enterprise database products.
Business as Usual
While less than 10% of the MySQL AP staff are away at Sun’s headquarters, Arno has assured the rest of the employees that business will go on normally. The deal should close in the spring, and plans are being made as to what will happen following that closure. Apparently this discussion is overwhelmingly positive and Sun is working hard to incorporate MySQL AP without doing any harm to the smaller company.
Stay Positive
It seems every Sun employee feels this positive attitude toward the integration and there is not even a hint of hostility. There was no mention of impending layoffs or reallocating human resources due to the acquisition, but Arno did mention the integration of systems. The technical aspects of the purchase are taking center stage during discussions, and the MySQL team is working hard to ensure that systems critical to the operations and overall feel of their business remain intact however they are integrated into Sun’s current systems.
Continuing Normally
Finally, Arno once again reiterates that only a few people are working to answer the many questions the acquisition has caused. Everyone else, even top management personnel are still working to do the jobs they must to make the company run well on a daily basis. Customers are still being helped with the technology and new customers are being enticed.
The database products are being updated and new coding is being developed to make MySQL products even more desirable in the marketplace. Regardless of the huge sums of money changing hands and the endless hours of discussion and problem solving that is going on to make the acquisition as painless as possible, MySQL AP is still a company in the business of offering a product, earning a profit and keeping customers happy.