EnterpriseDB opens for business in EMEA

The EMEA operations will be based in the UK, with new offices opening in London, and the company has recruited former Oracle and BEA Systems senior executive, Steve Bale, as general manager, EMEA.

EnterpriseDB is already disrupting the $13 billion enterprise database market by offering a database that can run applications written for Oracle at a small fraction of the price. In 2006, the company exceeded its sales plan, booking millions of dollars of license revenue. To build on the firm's growth, Steve Bale will be responsible for building a "direct-leveraged" sales model, consisting of both a direct sales force and an indirect channel to market.

Steve Bale, general manager, EMEA, EnterpriseDB, said,

"I am delighted to have joined EnterpriseDB at such an exciting time. To date, large businesses have had limited options in selecting a database to meet their mission-critical needs, and many have defaulted to Oracle, despite its extraordinarily high total cost of ownership (TCO). EnterpriseDB enables these businesses to leverage their previous investments in Oracle software and Oracle-trained personnel while significantly lowering their TCO."

During 2006, the company closed a $20 million financing led by Fidelity Ventures, and leading companies, such as Sony Online Entertainment and Vonage, selected the EnterpriseDB Advanced Server relational database management system (RDBMS) for its enterprise-class performance and stability. Other critical selection factors cited by EnterpriseDB's customers were the database's ability to run applications written for Oracle, its suitability for replacing MySQL, and its affordability.

Andy Astor, president and chief executive officer, EnterpriseDB said, "Steve is an excellent addition to our team. His proven track record of driving sustained growth across Europe and his sharp execution will allow us to significantly expand our European operations. The 'Database Renaissance', fuelled by the open source economy, is now upon us, and we are uniquely positioned to help enterprises - particularly Oracle users - enjoy the many benefits of open source, such as low cost and high quality."