Customer Success Testimonial: Recovery is Everything

MySQL creator Michael “Monty” Widenius has finally left Sun Microsystems following a long-drawn-out disagreement over what he saw as the firm’s “premature” release of MySQL 5.1.

As we reported in September, the MySQL daddy was understood to have quit the company, less than seven months after Sun paid $1bn for the free database outfit. And it turns out the rumours were – sort of – true.

He handed his resignation to Sun some seven months ago, but agreed to stay on at the company to assist the MySQL developer team. However, the relationship between Sun management and Monty didn’t really improve during that time.

“Sun and I concluded in the end that I have much higher chances of achieving my goals outside of Sun, so it's just better to swallow the bitter apple, go out and get things going," he wrote. “We parted in good terms and we both expect to continue to do business and work together.”

Monty went on a noisy rant in December last year about Sun’s release of MySQL 5.1 because he felt the company had unleashed the “bug-ridden” database too soon.

Few, then, will be surprised to learn of his departure. Monty is the latest in a series of big name MySQL bosses to walk away from Sun. Co-founder David Axmark quit in October grumbling that he "hated" all the rules he had to follow at the firm.

Monty has named his new venture Monty Program Ab, which he described as “a true open source company, with the additional goal of being a smaller family oriented company (10-30 employees) where everyone can be owners of the company, where we care about our employees and strive to have fun together and share the profit we create.”

Meanwhile, he’s keeping schtum on what will be on the menu at his new restaurant, but Monty plans to use databases “to achieve a better customer experience”, apparently. ®

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