A new vendor-neutral nonprofit organization aims to give the MySQL community a stronger voice in the future development of the popular open-source database.
Since acquiring MySQL from Sun Microsystems in 2010, Oracle has overseen development while offering both community and commercial editions.
Oracle still owns MySQL, its trademarks, and the underlying code. However, the open-source community launched the OurSQL Foundation on May 27 to promote transparency, collaboration, and greater visibility into MySQL's development roadmap.
"This Foundation will provide a platform to promote and support MySQL as a database, fostering collaboration across everyone looking to contribute to the broad MySQL ecosystem," said Vadim Tkachenko, co-founder at Percona, an enterprise software and services company specializing in open-source databases.
Tkachenko, who serves as president of the foundation's founding board, added that bringing the community together under the banner of an independent foundation will demonstrate that MySQL has a valid and vibrant future. The nonprofit will serve as an independent legal entity to coordinate events, community resources, and adoption efforts.
The foundation emerged after months of discussion among longtime MySQL contributors who called for greater transparency into MySQL's roadmap and governance, as well as more meaningful opportunities for community participation. Those concerns helped drive the organization's creation.
Why a New Structure Is Necessary
The foundation says it gives users, developers, and companies that build products or services around MySQL a stronger voice in shaping the database's future. With millions of MySQL deployments worldwide, it serves as an independent hub for hosting content, supporting contributors, and encouraging broader participation.
Oracle is not a member of the foundation. However, the organization says it supports Oracle's broader goals for MySQL while operating independently rather than under the company's direction.
Supporters say this independence allows the foundation to take a long-term view of MySQL as a technology, regardless of changes in the broader market. They argue it will help ensure the broader MySQL ecosystem remains healthy regardless of Oracle's long-term priorities.
Unlike the MariaDB Foundation, which focuses exclusively on MariaDB, the OurSQL Foundation is dedicated to supporting the long-term success of MySQL and believes the database has a strong future as long as it continues delivering value to users.
Oracle, meanwhile, says it has welcomed broader community participation and has already taken steps to make MySQL development more transparent.
"For over 30 years, MySQL has grown through the contributions, feedback, and collaboration of a global community of developers, database administrators, customers, partners, educators, and open-source advocates," said Heather VanCura, VP of external standards and community engagement at Oracle.
Addressing a New Open-Source Challenge
According to the foundation, MySQL users lack a unified public voice to advocate for the database beyond its existing open-source community. Supporters argue that an independent organization can better represent user interests than any single vendor.
VanCura said the community helped make MySQL one of the world’s most widely used open-source databases. As the ecosystem continues to grow and evolve, so do the opportunities for collaboration.
Over the past year, Oracle took important steps to increase transparency and engagement across the MySQL ecosystem. The company expanded GitHub discussions and contributor events to give the community greater visibility into upcoming development plans and more opportunities to provide feedback.
"Our goal is simple: accelerate innovation and contributions, make it easier for the community to participate meaningfully in the evolution of MySQL and grow the MySQL Ecosystem," she wrote in a June 25 post on the Oracle MySQL Blog.
From Visibility to Deeper Participation
The launch of the OurSQL Foundation represents the next step in that process, VanCura said. Contributors need clear pathways to engage. Users need opportunities to share real-world feedback. Partners need visibility into long-term priorities. Community leaders need a forum for collaboration and strategic discussion.
"Transparency is important, but participation is what drives innovation," she added.
Matt Lord, a software engineer at the managed cloud database platform PlanetScale, said in the OurSQL Foundation's launch announcement that his company has worked for years to support the broader MySQL community and help customers overcome the challenges of running MySQL at scale.
He noted that the OurSQL Foundation is another avenue for supporting MySQL and growing the community. Without the next generation of developers learning where and how MySQL shines relative to alternatives in the space, the community will continue to shrink over time.
"For companies that rely on MySQL at scale, keeping that pipeline of developer interest and talent centered around MySQL will be essential — and the OurSQL Foundation is uniquely positioned to help foster a healthy future for MySQL," he said.
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