MariaDB announcesthat it has spun off itsSkySQL business An independent cloud database company responsible for building and supporting SkySQL products.
"We believe this spinoff will facilitate a smooth transition for customers who rely on SkySQL. We are pleased that SkySQL products will continue to grow under a new company, while allowing us to focus on developing our core MariaDB enterprise server products."
Going forward, the new company, SkySQL Inc., will handle the development, sales and support of SkySQL Database as a Service (DBaaS). MariaDB will take an equity stake in SkySQL to emphasize the long-term relationship between the two companies.
The SkySQL DBaaS product is a cloud-hosted and production-grade version of the MariaDB database. SkySQL said that by launching as an independent entity, it will be able to accelerate the pace of delivering new features to the platform. One of its main priorities is launching the service on Microsoft Azure. Currently, customers can access it through Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud.
MariaDB launched SkySQL in 2020, calling it a cloud-native version of the popular MariaDB database and an alternative to the MySQL database. Because SkySQL is built on Kubernetes, it can be integrated with any type of cloud infrastructure.
The cloud-native nature of SkySQL means customers can more easily manage their database deployments. It's also easier to license and manage than database products from other companies like Oracle. Additionally, SkySQL is one of the first DBaaS services to support row, columnar, and combined row and columnar storage, a technology that can handle transactions and analytics in one place on the same data set.
SkySQL also claims higher availability and greater scalability than other types of databases, thanks to MariaDB's proprietary MaxScale and Xpand technologies.
As an independent entity, SkySQL's leadership team includes: CEO Nithin Rao, co-founders Jags Ramnarayan (CTO) and Saravana Krishnamurthy (CPO). The core technical team that developed and operated SkySQL at MariaDB has also joined the company.
Rao said that by spinning off SkySQL, the new company will ensure that SkySQL continues to serve customers who want the best MariaDB experience in the cloud The “best choice”.