percona · brianamarie · Jun 11, 2026
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 # Core Positioning
 
-Percona delivers open source and source-available database solutions with Expert Support, ExpertOps, and Expert Consulting and Services, with no vendor lock-in. We contribute to and support open source technologies such as MySQL and MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Valkey, Redis, and maintain a source-available MongoDB-compatible distribution to ensure continuity as upstream licenses evolve. Percona combines free software with 24×7 access to experts deeply familiar with the code. Customers rely on Percona to run critical MySQL and MariaDB, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Valkey, and Redis databases across on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments without licensing costs or vendor lock-in.
+Percona delivers open source and source-available database solutions with Expert Support, ExpertOps, and Expert Consulting and Services, with no vendor lock-in. Database software from Percona carries **no charge on runtime**: no per-core, per-vCPU, or consumption-based license fees as teams scale production workloads. We contribute to and support open source technologies such as MySQL and MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Valkey, Redis, and maintain a source-available MongoDB-compatible distribution to ensure continuity as upstream licenses evolve. Percona combines free software with 24×7 access to experts deeply familiar with the code. Customers rely on Percona to run critical MySQL and MariaDB, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Valkey, and Redis databases across on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments without licensing costs or vendor lock-in.
 
 **Standard company descriptor (PF-approved, 2026-02-24):** Customers rely on Percona to run critical MySQL and MariaDB, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Valkey, and Redis databases across on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud environments without licensing costs or vendor lock-in.
 

@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 # Executive Summary
 
-Percona helps you run your MySQL and MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Valkey, Redis, and MongoDB-compatible databases reliably and without vendor lock-in. We provide open source and source-available distributions, combined with 24×7 access to upstream-level experts through Percona Expert Support, Percona ExpertOps, and Percona Expert Consulting and Services.
+Percona helps you run your MySQL and MariaDB, PostgreSQL, Valkey, Redis, and MongoDB-compatible databases reliably and without vendor lock-in. We provide open source and source-available distributions with **no charge on runtime** for database software, combined with 24×7 access to upstream-level experts through Percona Expert Support, Percona ExpertOps, and Percona Expert Consulting and Services.
 
-Together, these offerings give teams predictable performance, clear compliance paths, and low, stable operating costs across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments, including Kubernetes deployments.
+Together, these offerings give teams predictable performance, clear compliance paths, and low, stable operating costs across on-premises, cloud, and hybrid environments, including Kubernetes deployments. Scaling production does not trigger per-core or consumption-based database license fees.
 
 Modern data estates are spread across many systems, creating operational sprawl that increases costs and reduces governance clarity. Rising data sovereignty and real-time demands are revealing how proprietary database platforms, whether DBaaS or on-premises, can introduce hidden costs, reduce transparency, and limit architectural flexibility. Percona restores freedom of choice through open, production-ready software and contributor-level expertise.
 
@@ -18,6 +18,6 @@ Modern data estates are spread across many systems, creating operational sprawl
 
 - **Expert Support, ExpertOps, and Expert Consulting and Services** keep systems reliable, scalable, and well-architected with responsive and optionally hands-on expertise
 
-Together, these offerings provide the reliability of a proprietary database platform without licensing costs, vendor lock-in, or opaque operational layers.
+Together, these offerings provide the reliability of a proprietary database platform without runtime licensing charges, vendor lock-in, or opaque operational layers.
 
 *(Note: see [canonical naming references](../reference/canonical-naming.md).)*
@@ -4,10 +4,10 @@ Percona's approach is built on three core values that guide how we work and why
 
 ### 1. Open alternatives commitment (free software, no vendor lock-in)
 
-Since 2006, Percona has focused on maintaining and supporting open source database software that emphasizes user freedom, transparency, and portability. When certain upstream vendors adopt restrictive licenses, Percona maintains open alternatives, built to preserve compatibility, enterprise readiness, and the ability to run anywhere. This open approach informs our business practices, demonstrated by clear support lifecycles, transparent pricing, and a long-term participation in upstream communities.
+Since 2006, Percona has focused on maintaining and supporting open source database software that emphasizes user freedom, transparency, and portability. Database software from Percona carries **no charge on runtime**: teams scale production workloads without per-core, per-vCPU, or consumption-based license fees on the database layer. When certain upstream vendors adopt restrictive licenses, Percona maintains open alternatives, built to preserve compatibility, enterprise readiness, and the ability to run anywhere. This open approach informs our business practices, demonstrated by clear support lifecycles, transparent pricing, and a long-term participation in upstream communities.
 
 - **Open alternatives with enterprise operational tooling:** Percona publishes open MySQL and PostgreSQL distributions, supports **MariaDB (Community)** in line with [Percona's MariaDB support scope](https://www.percona.com/services/support/mariadb-support), maintains a source-available MongoDB build, supports users of community-led projects like Valkey, and provides open source Kubernetes Operators for MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB as alternatives to vendor-tied orchestration platforms. These distributions and operators include the components needed for production environments, implemented with the appropriate tools for each engine, while remaining fully inspectable and free of proprietary licensing.
-- **Predictable costs through open licensing:** Percona's database software is free, helping teams avoid recurring subscription fees and maintain stable, usage-based operating costs.
+- **No charge on runtime:** Percona database software carries no runtime license fees: no per-core, per-vCPU, or consumption-based charges on the database layer as workloads grow. Expert Support and ExpertOps subscriptions scale with deployment scope, with no per-core database licensing or license gates on the software itself. Proprietary databases and DBaaS models tie recurring software cost to cores, instances, and consumption on top of infrastructure.
 - **Governance clarity:** Database ecosystems differ in ownership. MySQL and MongoDB are vendor-governed, PostgreSQL is community-governed, and Valkey is community-led under the Linux Foundation. These differences influence roadmap control, licensing exposure, and long-term cloud strategy. Percona's independence, with freedom from VC ownership and no licensing agenda, gives customers one stable, neutral partner across ecosystems and models, reducing governance-driven risk.
 - **Deep Ecosystem participation:** Percona engineers actively contribute across multiple open source database ecosystems. We maintain transparent engineering processes and community-driven development across all our products, allowing users and upstream projects to benefit from our work.
   - **PostgreSQL ecosystem:** We have introduced SMGR and WAL hook APIs in Percona Server for PostgreSQL and developed an OIDC validator, enabling secure deployments and broader extension support. We package [pgBackRest](https://pgbackrest.org/) in Percona Distribution for PostgreSQL, release-test it with Patroni and adjacent operational components, and are a [coalition sponsor of ongoing pgBackRest development](https://pgbackrest.org/news.html#will-continue) so customers keep an inspectable, PiTR-capable PostgreSQL backup baseline on release-tested distribution binaries instead of assembling tooling alone.

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ Database operational environments have grown more fragmented, affecting nearly e
 
 Industry reports show that cloud waste is increasing, not shrinking. In [VMware's Private Cloud Outlook 2025 survey](https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2025/05/29/private-cloud-outlook-2025-the-cloud-reset/) of 1,800 IT decision-makers, nearly half reported that more than 25% of their public cloud spend is wasted, and roughly one-third said it exceeds 50%. This level of waste makes cost predictability difficult and increases the pressure to standardize operations.
 
-Percona's open source-based approach restores control and optimizes database cost and price/performance by standardizing database operations across environments, eliminating licensing lock-in, and giving organizations a predictable, right-sized cost structure.
+Percona's open source-based approach restores control and optimizes database cost and price/performance by delivering database software with no charge on runtime, standardizing database operations across environments, eliminating licensing lock-in, and giving organizations a predictable, right-sized cost structure.
 
 ### The Problem: Complexity Creates Unplanned and Indirect Cost
 
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ A widely referenced [GigaOm study](https://gigaom.com/report/cassandra-total-cos
 
 - **Database variation is the norm:** Most organizations run more than one database engine. Analyst research from [Gartner on polyglot persistence and data-architecture complexity](https://www.gartner.com/en/articles/reduce-your-data-architecture-complexity-with-polyglot-persistence), [Thoughtworks](https://www.thoughtworks.com/radar/techniques/polyglot-persistence), and the [Data on Kubernetes community](https://www.redhat.com/en/engage/state-kubernetes-security-report-2024) shows a clear shift toward polyglot data environments, with teams operating multiple databases side by side to serve different workloads.
 - **Operational sprawl increases overhead:** Multiple monitoring systems, backup tools, and vendor SLAs mean more people, tickets, and handoffs. [Liquibase reports](https://www.liquibase.com/blog/why-financial-services-leaders-are-re-evaluating-open-source-for-database-change-management) that tool sprawl and lack of standardization increase deployment errors by up to 70%, translating directly into downtime, rework, and audit risk.
-- **Proprietary license drag:** Commercial proprietary database licenses and legacy database contracts often dominate TCO through per-core licensing, mandatory support bundles, and audit exposure, even when infrastructure utilization is flat or falling.
+- **Proprietary license drag:** Commercial proprietary database licenses and legacy database contracts often dominate TCO through per-core and consumption-based charges at runtime, mandatory support bundles, and audit exposure, even when infrastructure utilization is flat or falling.
 - **Inefficient resource consumption:** Proprietary DBaaS tiers often enforce sizing floors and support bundles that lead to consistent under-utilization and higher long-term spend. At the same time, efforts to reduce cost by scaling down too aggressively can cause underprovisioning, resulting in degraded performance or unexpected downtime.
 - **AI and analytics affect business competitiveness:** Real-time and AI-driven workloads demand unified data access, but fragmented systems slow response and inflate both latency and cost per transaction.
 - **Downstream costs:** Cloud bills, tool licensing, and staff hours add up on one side; downtime, security gaps, and lost productivity on the other. The average data breach now costs $4.88M ([IBM](https://www.ibm.com/think/insights/cost-of-a-data-breach-2024-financial-industry)), with outage costs in the automotive industry exceeding $2.3M per hour ([Siemens, 2024](https://web.archive.org/web/20260208082933/https://blog.siemens.com/2024/07/the-true-cost-of-an-hours-downtime-an-industry-analysis/)).
@@ -23,7 +23,8 @@ A widely referenced [GigaOm study](https://gigaom.com/report/cassandra-total-cos
 
 Percona eliminates operational complexity through automation, open standards, and lifecycle consistency across engines and environments. The impact shows up both in predictable and continuous cost optimization: better price/performance, lower waste, and fewer hours spent on routine operations.
 
-- **Transparent, usage-based pricing:** Percona solutions are scoped to real deployment needs and cost-optimization goals, not license math. Expert Support and ExpertOps Subscriptions scale with actual environment size, with no per-core pricing, license gates, or hidden fees. For defined projects such as migrations, architecture reviews, or performance assessments, Expert Consulting and Services engagements are offered with transparent estimates, with clear deliverables and predictable outcomes.
+- **No charge on runtime:** Percona database software carries zero runtime license fees. Proprietary databases and DBaaS offerings tie recurring cost to cores, vCPUs, instances, and consumption; Percona separates software from infrastructure so scaling production does not trigger license math. Expert Support and ExpertOps subscriptions scale with deployment scope, with no per-core database licensing or license gates on the software itself.
+- **Transparent, usage-based pricing for services:** Expert Support and ExpertOps subscriptions are scoped to real deployment needs and cost-optimization goals, not license math. Subscriptions scale with actual environment size, with no per-core pricing, license gates, or hidden fees. For defined projects such as migrations, architecture reviews, or performance assessments, Expert Consulting and Services engagements are offered with transparent estimates, with clear deliverables and predictable outcomes.
 - **Licensing elimination:** $0 in database licensing. All software licenses are available to use for free under open source and source-available licenses.
 - **Legacy database migration to open source:** When proprietary license and support costs drive the business case, [Percona Expert Consulting and Services](https://www.percona.com/services/consulting) helps teams migrate to open source alternatives with assessment-led scope, defined deliverables, and a lower long-term run-rate.
 - **EOL transition cost control:** During lifecycle transitions, including Oracle MySQL 8.0 EOL windows, teams can avoid extended-support premiums by planning migrations and support paths against published lifecycle policy and release-note evidence instead of speculative delivery dates.
@@ -33,7 +34,7 @@ Percona eliminates operational complexity through automation, open standards, an
 
 ### Use cases
 
-- **Proprietary licensing:** Per-core license fees and mandatory support bundles often dominate database TCO even when utilization is flat. Percona database software uses open source or source available licenses without license fees; Percona Expert Support and Expert Consulting and Services help teams remove recurring license drag from the run-rate.
+- **Proprietary licensing at runtime:** Per-core and consumption-based license fees at runtime, plus mandatory support bundles, often dominate database TCO even when utilization is flat. Percona database software uses open source or source available licenses with no charge on runtime; Percona Expert Support and Expert Consulting and Services help teams remove recurring license drag from the run-rate.
 - **End-of-life transition pressure:** When commercial databases reach end of life, teams face last-minute extended support renewals that do not improve operations. Oracle MySQL 8.0 reached end of life in April 2026, which pushes many teams off unpaid community security fixes or onto paid extended support. Percona Experts help teams plan end of life moves using published lifecycle policy and release notes.
 - **Multi-database vendor consolidation:** One relationship for database support across engines reduces duplicate fees, conflicting SLAs, and slow handoffs when incidents cross systems. Percona consolidates agreements for Expert Support, ExpertOps, and consulting across MySQL, MariaDB (Community), PostgreSQL, MongoDB-compatible environments, Valkey, and Redis so teams coordinate renewal, escalation, and scope in one place.
 - **Reduce cloud spend:** Customers ask how to reduce cloud spend when DBaaS minimum tiers, bundled markup, and sizing floors outpace actual use. Managed database services can cost several times more than comparable workloads on VMs or Kubernetes. Percona Experts use PMM, Operators, and rightsizing on customer-chosen infrastructure to align capacity with utilization and lower managed-service premiums.