PostgreSQL Migration

PostgreSQL is extremely easy to setup and configure. “Ease of use” was the second-most expected benefit by our pre-migration respondents (after cost reduction) and it retained its spot as a realized benefit from our post-migration responses, indicating that PostgreSQL truly lived up to its reputation of being easy to use. 

With the rise of DevOps, there is a demand for agile options for continuous deployment. PostgreSQL provides a variety of deployment options on multiple cloud and on-prem platforms, and supports scaling up for heavy workloads at no additional cost. The benefit of different options for deployment was cited by 29% of those planning to migrate to PostgreSQL, and confirmed by 32% of those who had already migrated.

PostgreSQL has had a vibrant user and developer community for the past three decades. What this means is that if you are facing an issue, it is very likely that a solution has been documented and possibly even has an extension built to resolve it. PostgreSQL’s rich extension library, detailed documentation, and real-world support, with no ulterior motives, resonates more-or-less equally with both the pre-migration and post-migration respondents of our Oracle to PostgreSQL Migration Report.

Moving to an OSDBMS like PostgreSQL not only saves licensing costs, but also saves the hassle of license management. Oracle’s licensing contract, the Software Investment Guide, can be complex and non-transparent to navigate through, often stymieing SMBs with confusing fine-print. Nearly one-third of the organizations surveyed for the report cited a reduction in licensing complexity after migrating to PostgreSQL; slightly more than the number that expected it. 

Oracle’s audits inspire fear and dread with its aggressive tactics and draconian fines. It is infamous for its Audit Bargain Close model where it permits the download of any/all of its tools, after which the client is subject to strict auditing and violations are used as leverage to push clients to sign new deals, in particular for Oracle Cloud. PostgreSQL, with its open-source model, does away with audits of any kind – a benefit expected and met by a quarter of our survey respondents.

Oracle releases updates every couple of years, but as with any large enterprise solution, the product roadmap is driven by its profitability to a single vendor, and the demands of a few lucrative clients. This leads to a product with myopic updates that play it safe rather than push innovation. PostgreSQL, on the other hand, benefits from committed and collaborative developer inputs, that have continued for decades. Thus PostgreSQL not only has the solid foundation of a comprehensive extension library, but it is also regularly updated with new features that keep up with the latest market and tech demands. Based on our survey responses, the expectation of benefiting from a feature-rich and relevant platform was met by those having already migrated to PostgreSQL.