There has been widespread concern around the internet world following Oracle’s acquisition of Sun Microsystems earlier this week. It’s no surprise really, when you consider most of the internet runs on the open source MySQL database that will soon find itself in Oracle’s world-class (and costly) database lineup.

I’ve given it some thought, and I don’t think there is anything to worry about. Here’s why.

• Over the last few years, Oracle has invested a lot of time and money in adding to their open source credentials. To damage MySQL in any way would also damage the reputation they have worked so hard to foster within the Open Source community.
• The key word among Oracle and their competitors is marketshare. When was the last time you saw an advertisement for Oracle that wasn’t related to the number of customers they have in a given market? By acquiring MySQL, Oracle effectively becomes the dominant player in the online market – a market they had virtually no presence in last week.
• Oracle can now start pursuing MySQL users in an effort to convince them to upgrade to one of the revenue generating products in their database lineup. In fact, they already have. Here’s an excerpt from an email I received from Oracle last night advertising a seminar comparing Oracle to MySQL.
  

  Learn why choosing an Oracle technology platform lowers the total cost of ownership for your company during this live, interactive one hour program. Tony Tarone, the Director of Operations at Cedar Document Technologies, will discuss how he gained a reliable, scalable, secure, and cost effective platform by moving from MySQL to Oracle.

I believe MySQL will be safe under the Oracle umbrella. It may or may not get a new name, but that will be the extent of it. The potential losses in terms of reputation, marketshare and upgrade revenue is far too important for Oracle to start messing with something so loved by millions and millions of users.