In spite of recent criticisms hurled at MySQL, there is a lot of industry talk taking place regarding Open Source databases. This could be perfect timing with major updates to MySQL and PostgreSQL scheduled for release this month.

Sun, recently jumping into the Open Source world with its latest release of Solaris, is apparently flirting with the idea. Chief Executive Scott McNealy won’t get into specifics of Sun DB but simply advises the curious to “stay tuned.”

Database powerhouses like IBM will almost certainly feel the impact of such a venture, though Big Blue appears confident. IBM database department head Jon Prial said, “We have not seen any real, full-time deployments,” in regards to the software of Open Source competitors.

One of the most fascinating results of Sun going this direction would be the strain it might put on the Sun/Oracle relationship. Not having its own database software, Sun has long depended on its Oracle partnership. But grabbing a slice of the $13.5 Billion database pie could encourage Sun to reconsider, even if that means facing Oracle CEO and headhunter Larry Ellison.