Database industry: The Rise and Rise of PostgreSQL

For many years, the database industry has been dominated by large technology corporations that have held a monopoly on their clients' critical applications and data. These corporations have developed their go-to-market strategies in such a way that customers are increasingly frustrated with the lack of flexibility and control over their core infrastructure.

Over the past 30 years, an open community has come together to create PostgreSQL. The ethos of this technology is based on an open-source model, and the community that has developed Postgres has been laser-focused on creating the best possible technology for the database market. Because the principle of this technology is based on an open-source approach, no single dominant corporation is allowed to control the development of the software. This means decisions on the development of the software will never favor one corporation but will be focused on improvements to the technology. These new benefits and upgrades to Postgres are released to the community, and with each new release, the code just gets better.

Database industry today

Where we find ourselves today is that Postgres 17 is due to be released, although there have been many other iterations of the code due to a change in the numbering convention. The code indeed keeps getting better, but open-source technology as a pure play strategy is, for some customers, difficult to bring into their enterprise, especially when they have core business applications running on this technology. Regulated industries, in particular, require a level of governance and support for these business-critical applications, leading to the emergence of several commercial Postgres support companies.

On a personal level, I am relatively new to this wonderful community and extremely exciting technology, but I have had the fortune to work for two of the major commercial players in the space. I am delighted to be working with CYBERTEC today, which, in reaching its 25th birthday in 2025, makes it the longest-serving Postgres support company in the market.

CYBERTEC and PostgreSQL

CYBERTEC provides PostgreSQL services and support. We have been key contributors to the open-source Postgres community project throughout our nearly 25 years of trading and have focused heavily on ensuring that our position in the market is one where we pay the greatest attention to the technology of PostgreSQL and the supporting tools and extensions.

Highlights of our contributions include:

• High Availability Open-Source Tool (Patroni): Our consultants are among the leading contributors to Patroni, the industry-leading high availability open-source tool for Postgres. CYBERTEC is widely regarded as the most qualified commercial business involved in the Patroni project, which provides a five 9's uptime SLA for our customers. CYBERTEC is highly active in the Patroni community.
• Transparent Data Encryption (TDE): CYBERTEC is credited as the author of the industry-leading TDE security extension for PostgreSQL. We package TDE as a component of our Postgres Enterprise Edition (PGEE) subscription, providing users with the most secure version of Postgres possible and an open-source database that is truly enterprise-ready.
• 24x7 Support: As contributors to the open-source Postgres project, we provide our customers with around-the-clock support, ensuring that the individuals who contribute to the code also support our customers' environments.

We are in a "perfect storm" moment with PostgreSQL:

• Punitive Contracts: The incumbent commercial suppliers of database technology have reached a point where their contracts are punitive, and their pricing models are unattractive.
• Technological Advancements: PostgreSQL has been through many development cycles and is now at a technological level that is breaking new ground in what is possible.
• Enterprise Readiness: CYBERTEC provides customers with access to this open-source technology, along with the governance and support needed to make this option truly enterprise-ready.

If you are wrestling with:

• Expensive renewals from your incumbent database vendor.
• The need for assurance that the "free open-source" database option could be suitable for your enterprise.
• Assistance with support and enterprise extensions as you begin your Postgres journey.

Then CYBERTEC has the answer 🙂
Please feel free to contact me directly.