A large purchase of a freely distributed product invites a closer look at how such software is valued.

Wikipedia's current-events log for January 16, 2008, recorded that Sun Microsystems announces the acquisition of MySQL AB, a leading open source relational database management system vendor, for US$1 billion. TechCrunch reported of MySQL that "Sun Microsystems has acquired them instead, for $1 billion".

The Leverage of Open Source

TechCrunch reported that "MySQL had raised a total of $39 million from Benchmark, Index, IVP, Intel, and SAP".

Both figures were reported; what they say about each other is left open here. Software sold through licenses usually needs money for sales and marketing. Free distribution offers a different route, in which a product can spread through use before anyone pays for it.

Infrastructure as a Strategic Asset

In general terms, a widely used database sits underneath many applications. A company that owns one may look for ways to earn from the people who already use it.

A free tool can be easier to try than a paid one. If many people come to rely on it, some of them may want support and be willing to pay for it. Whether that adds up to a lasting business is a separate question that this article does not try to answer.

One reading is that giving away a product can be a way to distribute it, and that the people who use it may matter as much as the code.

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