EnterpriseDB's Open (Source) DeceptionEnterpriseDB's Open (Source) Deception

Andy Astor, CEO of EnterpriseDB, stated in November, "Our offering is unique among open source databases." That's blatant, open deception; a cynical attempt to exploit the open-source label. Even Microsoft's shared source is closer to open than EnterpriseDB's licensing terms!

How does EnterpriseDB see it? CEO Astor, in an April 2006 interview, said that "the extensions that we've done [to the open source PostgreSQL that EnterpriseDB is based on] -- the Oracle compatibility for example -- is code that we share with customers who subscribe to our service." Paying customers -- and only paying customers -- can see and modify the code but "just can't redistribute it." That's open source?!Compare to Microsoft shared source licenses, which no one would call open. Microsoft's Permissive and Community licenses permit redistribution of modifications to source code that have been disclosed to customers; EnterpriseDB's terms sit just south of Microsoft's Reference licenses in restrictiveness.

Simply put, Astor's is the wildest definition of "open source" I have ever seen claimed.

What was Astor's December 5 response to an e-mail inquiry about EnterpriseDB positioning? "We are, in fact, taking steps to clarify our licensing model, which will be evident in January, when we launch our new Web site."

Yet between then and now, as a Jolt Awards judge, I've reviewed material submitted by EnterpriseDB to support their contest entry. The company continues to make their deceptive claims.

It's time for EnterpriseDB to come clean. It's time for their open deception to end.Andy Astor, CEO of EnterpriseDB, stated in November, "Our offering is unique among open source databases." That's blatant, open deception; a cynical attempt to exploit the open-source label. How does EnterpriseDB see it? CEO Astor, in an April 2006 interview, said that "the extensions that we've done [to the open source PostgreSQL that EnterpriseDB is based on]... is code that we share with customers who subscribe to our service." That's open source?!