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db4o Open Source Database Flourishes as a Client-side, Embedded
Engine
Analysts Spot Escalation in Embedded DBMS Market
SAN MATEO, Calif., August 23, 2005 - db4objects, providers of the leading object
database for Java and .NET, today announced that one year after its incorporation,
the company's open source dual license business model has catapulted its embedded
object database db4o to success. Analysts confirm that db4o is at the heart of growing
demand for self-contained applications that can manage data without the need for
a database administrator (DBA).
Within just eight months of launch, db4o realized more than 250,000 downloads and
is now supported by a registered user community of some 6,000 users - making it
the world's most popular object database. As a company, db4objects has been periodically
breaking financially even since inception, and has successfully closed commercial
deals with leading corporations including BMW, Hertz, and BOSCH.
Keys to the company's winning market focus and open source business model are explained
in a db4objects' business backgrounder, available
for free download. This paper illustrates why and how object database technology
is making a hearty comeback.
In addition, leading IT market research and advisory firm IDC released the report "Embedded Databases: The Invisible
Engine That Could," August 2005, demonstrating substantial growth in the embedded
database management system (DBMS) market. According to IDC, the open source paradigm
will provide interesting and creative business models that should help promote the
adoption of embedded data management platforms. The report, sponsored by db4objects,
is available for free download.
"Object-oriented DBMSs could well enjoy a second growth period as embedded DBMSs
due to the efficient and flexible data management they offer object-oriented applications,
and open source DBMSs are also attractive as embedded DBMSs because of the technological
control they offer ISVs as well as flexibility in licensing," says Carl Olofson,
research director for information and data management software at IDC. "db4objects
is in the interesting position of offering the benefits of object-oriented DBMS
technology and open source licensing, making its value proposition appealing on
two fronts."
According to IDC's estimates, the embedded DBMS market grew 15% to $1.86 billion
in 2004, and is expected to blossom to $3.18 billion in 2009 ("Worldwide Embedded
Database Management Systems 2003 Vendor Shares," IDC# 32468, December 2004). While
Oracle, IBM and Microsoft commanded only 25.1% of this pie, the same three combined
control about 85% of the overall relational DBMS market ("Worldwide RDBMS 2004 Vendor
Shares: Preliminary Results for the Top 5 Vendors Show a Solid Boost," IDC# 32969,
March 2005.) db4objects believes that these facts indicate that customers seek specialized
capabilities in various segments of the embedded market, that go beyond what RDBMS
can offer.
Other analysts agree that non-relational technologies are increasingly common in
the embedded space, versus the "classical" use of databases.
Chris Lanfear, director at Venture
Development Corporation (VDC), says: "Especially on the client side, such
as in stand-alone devices and other zero-administration environments, engineers
look for innovative persistence solutions that meet their immediate specifications
and help them outrun the competition. As a result, more than 50% of embedded and
device software developers still build their own database tools today. With the
advent of standardized object-oriented platforms, such as embedded Java and the
.NET CompactFramework, we expect object databases to become a universal solution
for OO persistence - with db4o's open source offering leading the charge."
Redmonk director Stephen O'Grady
was recently
quoted in eWeek stating that people are starting to question the relational
model's aptness for particular jobs. "There's an increasing recognition in the open
source world that other, non-relational models are called for," he said, citing
db4objects' OO open source database as "an early indication of what we may see coming
from open source database vendors in the future."
db4objects continues to build on its technological leadership and its fast growing
user community. Christof Wittig, CEO of db4objects, strictly focuses db4objects
on object database technology that exactly meets the requirements of Java and .NET
developers for embeddable persistence. With rapid user adoption in its back, he
sees the company ideally positioned to be the leader in the embeddable OO database
market segment in the long run.
About db4objects, Inc
db4objects, Inc (www.db4o.com) provides db4o, the only native object database for
both Java and .NET, available under open source and commercial licenses. With more
than 200,000 downloads and many more deployments, db4o is used by some of the world's
most innovative companies, including BMW, Hertz, and Bosch. db4objects is a privately
held company based in San Mateo, California, and backed by noted Silicon Valley
investors including Mark Leslie, founding CEO of Veritas.
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