Date -2006-03-20
Leading Online Games Company Builds Scalable Infrastructure
with Open Source Database, Makes Equity Investment in EnterpriseDB
SAN DIEGO and ISELIN, N.J., Mar. 20, 2006 – Strengthening its best-in-class infrastructure, Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), a global leader in the online games industry, and EnterpriseDB, the world’s leading enterprise-class, open source database company, today announced that SOE has selected EnterpriseDB Advanced Server 8.1 as a database solution for its blockbuster online games and services. The companies also announced that Sony Online Entertainment has made an equity investment in EnterpriseDB.
Through the investment, SOE joins venture capitalists Charles River Ventures and Valhalla Partners in EnterpriseDB’s Series A financing. The new funds will be used to enhance EnterpriseDB’s development, sales, marketing, and support capabilities.
“Sony Online Entertainment is an ideal partner in many ways,“ said Andy Astor, chief executive officer at EnterpriseDB.“They are a visionary organization that appreciates the many benefits of open source software, and they recognized in EnterpriseDB an affordable opportunity to upgrade their IT infrastructure and to benefit from our great customer service and technical support. We’re delighted to have them on board, both as customers and as investors.“
SOE selected EnterpriseDB Advanced Server 8.1 to enhance its infrastructure and to lower its total cost of database ownership, resulting in a more powerful games and services platform. SOE will also benefit from EnterpriseDB’s world-class customer service and technical support. EnterpriseDB’s compatibility with other database applications, such as Oracle, will enable seamless migration of legacy applications to EnterpriseDB.
“EnterpriseDB Advanced Server is the clear open source database choice because of its PostgreSQL foundation, compatibility with Oracle and the support of the EnterpriseDB team,“ said Christopher Yates, vice president of technology at Sony Online Entertainment. “We look forward to deploying EnterpriseDB as a solution for our massively multiplayer games and platform services. EnterpriseDB is a scalable, cost-effective solution for our needs and is key to driving down the cost of operating our services moving forward.“
“We believe that EnterpriseDB is uniquely positioned to address the needs of a significant market segment: businesses seeking to leverage their existing IT assets while benefiting from the new breed of enterprise-class, open source software,“ said Rick Herman, vice president of business and legal affairs at Sony Online Entertainment. “As investors, we're confident in EnterpriseDB’s ability to capitalize on this market opportunity.“
About Sony Online Entertainment
Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Digital Inc., is a recognized worldwide leader in massively multiplayer online games, with hundreds of thousands of subscribers around the globe. SOE creates, develops and provides compelling entertainment for the personal computer, online, game console and wireless markets. Known for its blockbuster franchises and hit titles including EverQuest(r), EverQuest(r) II, Champions of Norrath(r), Untold Legends(tm), and PlanetSide(r), as well as for developing Star Wars Galaxies(tm): An Empire Divided(tm), SOE continues to redefine the business of online gaming and the creation of active player communities while introducing new genres on various entertainment platforms. Headquartered in San Diego, with additional development studios in Austin, Seattle and Taiwan, SOE has an array of cutting-edge online games in development.
EverQuest is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. SOE, the SOE logo and PlanetSide are registered trademarks of Sony Online Entertainment Inc. Untold Legends is a trademark of Sony Online Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are properties of their respective owners.
About EnterpriseDB Corporation
EnterpriseDB provides and supports an enterprise-class relational database management system (RDBMS) that is built on PostgreSQL, the world’s most advanced open source database. EnterpriseDB Advanced Server is compatible with most Oracle applications, reliable and scalable enough for high-volume, mission-critical enterprise use, and surprisingly affordable. EnterpriseDB was founded in March, 2004, and is headquartered in Iselin, N.J. For more information, please contact +1-732-331-1300 or visit www.enterprisedb.com.
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