Category Archives: Stories
At the MariaDB Foundation, clarity of purpose matters. In an ecosystem as foundational as open-source databases, confidence is built not through slogans, but through predictability, restraint, and long-term commitment.
As I reflect upon what we learned in 2025 and how we can serve the database community in 2026, one thought stands out: MariaDB is the natural successor to MySQL, as Oracle loses its interest in the development of what has been the default Open Source Relational DBMS.
The MariaDB Foundation recognises its responsibility. As uncertainty around MySQL’s long-term direction continues to grow, the global community of users, operators, and vendors quite reasonably seeks continuity.
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Continue reading “Making MariaDB the Natural Successor to MySQL”
This blog post is based on the YouTube presentation “MariaDB vs PostgreSQL: Technical Deep Dive | Architecture, Performance & Design Trade-offs” by Manoj Vakeel, part of MariaDB Foundation’s ongoing series exploring core database design choices and how they impact modern workloads.
The goal here is not to pick a “winner,” but to provide clear architectural insight for CTOs, database engineers, and system architects making decisions in 2025 and beyond.
“Both are powerful engines — both are proven in production — but they take very different routes to get there.” — Manoj Vakeel, MariaDB plc
Why this matters
PostgreSQL and MariaDB are two of the most widely adopted open-source relational databases.
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Continue reading “MariaDB vs PostgreSQL: Understanding the Architectural Differences That Matter”
Strengthening the Board with industry leaders is a key goal for the MariaDB Foundation in 2025 – and beyond.
At the MariaDB Foundation, we believe that leadership in open source isn’t just about code — it’s about courage, community, and conviction. That’s why we’re thrilled to announce that Frank Karlitschek, founder and CEO of Nextcloud, has joined the MariaDB Foundation Board.
This is more than a new appointment — it’s a signal of where we’re heading as a Foundation: towards deeper collaboration with open-source and database pioneers who share our European values and our vision for digital independence.
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Phillippe Balzli, CTO at zvoove Switzerland AG, shared in an interview with Kaj Arnö of MariaDB Foundation how the company navigated legacy software, rapid growth, and evolving customer needs – all with the help of MariaDB.
Who is zvoove?
zvoove Switzerland AG is a Swiss-based software company that provides tailored solutions for personnel service providers. The company has evolved significantly over the years, transitioning from M&D Computers to backoffice, and finally to zvoove Switzerland AG. Current CTO Phillippe Balzli took over leadership in 2023, continuing the company’s journey toward modern, scalable infrastructure built on MariaDB.
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August may have been a holiday month for many, but the MariaDB community certainly didn’t take a break. From Amsterdam to Bengaluru, from deep technical dives to festive dinners, August brought us fresh insights, new collaborations, and plenty of reasons to be excited about the road ahead.
Community Interaction at Linux Foundation’s Open Source Summit in Amsterdam
MariaDB Foundation proudly joined the Open Source Summit in Amsterdam, hosted by the Linux Foundation (LF OSS). Alongside me, Vlad Radu represented the Foundation at our booth – joined by none other than Michael “Monty” Widenius (founder of both MariaDB and MySQL) and Sergei Golubchik (Chief Architect of MariaDB Server).
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Continue reading “This Month in MariaDB Foundation: August 2025”
At the MariaDB Foundation, we’re constantly engaging with users, partners, and collaborators to understand how MariaDB fits into their infrastructure—and what we can do better. A recent conversation between our Executive Chairman Kaj Arnö and Renato Furter from Switch.ch, Switzerland’s national research and education network, revealed valuable insights into open source adoption, digital sovereignty, and collaboration across European academia.
From MySQL to MariaDB: Why Switch Made the Move
Switch has been a MariaDB user for years. Their journey began with MySQL, like many institutions in academia. But when Oracle’s roadmap grew increasingly opaque and development around MySQL 5.7 stagnated, the Switch team made a practical decision: migrate to MariaDB.
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In our mission to grow MariaDB adoption, we’re always eager to spotlight the journeys of real-world users – especially those who’ve made thoughtful, strategic choices. Thanks to long-time MariaDB consultant and community champion Oli Sennhauser, we got a chance to sit down with one of his clients: Swiss eCommerce provider Glarotech of the PepperShop platform, and their founder Roland Brühwiler.
When Swiss eCommerce platform provider Glarotech started over 20 years ago, it was a small university project with three people. Today, it has grown to 30 employees and thousands of eCommerce clients – but many of their early choices still echo through their technology stack.
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Right after the recent MariaDB Meetup in London, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Steve Shaw – founder and CEO of HammerDB, former Principal Engineer at Intel, and board member of the MariaDB Foundation. Steve delivered the keynote talk at the event and has a unique perspective on performance, open source, and the intersection between commercial and community-driven database development.
This blog post captures our conversation – a dialogue between two people passionate about open source and database performance. We talk about Steve’s transition from Intel to HammerDB, his relationship with MariaDB Corporation, the nuances of performance testing, and what lies ahead for the HammerDB and MariaDB communities.
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Continue reading “Open Source Performance, Benchmarks and MariaDB: A Conversation with Steve Shaw”