Innovation and trends in open source systems

Marc Linster

Chief Technology Officer, EDB

According to the latest StackOverflow survey, developers have declared Postgres to be the most loved and wanted database. Postgres is a free and open source relational database management system running on an extensible data model. Open source databases have seen a surge in uptake. Organisations are moving away from established database management systems (DBMS) that lock them into a specific vendor.

EDB is a leading provider of enterprise-class software and services enabling organizations to fully harness Postgres. Following a major growth investment from Bain Capital Private Equity, CIO World Asia had the opportunity of meeting EDB’s Chief Technology Officer, Marc Linster to discuss prioritising open source systems for maximum innovation. 

Open Source Systems On Digital Roadmaps

The industry has adopted open source as a key component of the new IT stack. Following the phenomenal success of Linux and the rapid adoption of open source databases in non-mission critical solutions, such as analytics and social media platforms, open source is now rapidly being adopted to replace legacy database management systems for (transactional) mission critical solutions, which is at the heart of business.

Because of the data explosion, open source is enabling organizations to benefit from better economics. The price of managing data has got to change for businesses to process data, generate insights, while operating profitably. Although it is crucial to utilise agile solutions that adapt to the speed of the business, it is also important to use solutions that developers love, otherwise developer innovation stalls. 

Open Source As A Priority For CIOs

Cost reduction has become a key priority for CIOs. This involves identifying and removing IT expenditures that do not provide added value to customers, while also optimizing existing IT processes to improve efficiency. 

Because databases are the number one software spend in enterprise IT, every enterprise application powered by open source automatically frees up a significant IT budget for CIOs, saving them millions of dollars in legacy DBMS licenses that they can show in their profit and loss statements. Open source technologies also remove the prohibitive software licensing costs that come with proprietary software. 

Upcoming Trends For CIOs To Monitor

One key trend that CIOs should monitor is the adoption of micro-services as well as the adoption of new technologies that drive digital transformation, because they both help to attract the right talent. Younger generations of developers are likely to have started developer journeys on collaborative platforms like Github. Organisations’ participation in open source communities and projects thus create more attractive work environments, which aids in employing and retaining workers, a key challenge amidst the Great Resignation Wave.

Another key trend that CIOs should monitor in Asia is the number of unbanked citizens who require access to financial services that help people rise out of poverty and advance financially. The financial sector in large parts of Asia, including India and China, has huge numbers of unbanked people. Some governments in Asia have started significant initiatives to democratise financial services. Such initiatives aim to facilitate the payment of salaries, collection and payment of pensions, distribution of government aid, and the collection of taxes electronically. 

But this democratization of technology does require that the technology costs come down significantly for financial institutions to profitably serve people who would only transact in small financial amounts. Governments and financial institutions  – leading such large scale national projects – need to figure out how to tap into open source technologies to run data transactions at a fraction of the cost of proprietary solutions to connect the masses to the financial system. 

Choosing a database solution is one of the most significant considerations for organizations seeking to enhance their operations, since businesses require well-structured database management solutions to conveniently conduct data-related tasks in order to manage data. Including open source databases on your organisation’s digital roadmap is a strategic way to stay agile and future-proofing digital solutions.