MySQL integration going badly

Sun bought MySQL earlier this year, providing a great exit strategy for the world’s largest dual-license open source software startup.

Surprise, surprise: one of the (suddenly richer) MySQL founders, David Axmark, has jumped ship:

I have thought about my role at Sun and decided that I am better off in smaller organisations. I HATE all the rules that I need to follow, and I also HATE breaking them. It would be far better for me to “retire” from employment and work with MySQL and Sun on a less formal basis.

Official MySQL blogger remarks notes that this is a major loss for the MySQL product and division.

Of course, this problem happens with any acquisition of a little company rather than a big company. Still, the, 26-year-old Sun seems to be more hierarchical and bureaucratic than its younger and more nimble Silicon Valley rivals (like the Monster of Mountain View). And, unlike Cisco, Sun has either not mastered (or chosen not to implement) autonomy for its spinout acquisitions.