Launch of Azure Database for PostgreSQL and MySQL
Customer: Microsoft, Azure Data
Case
Maciek, Principal Group Engineering Manager, brought to life a new Azure Data service from a vision statement to a successful general availability milestone.
The challenge
During the mid-2010s, Microsoft Azure experienced rapid growth and attracted significant interest from potential customers. However, after their initial exploration period, many of these prospects ultimately chose competitors’ platforms. Those decisions were primarily due to Azure’s limited portfolio of diverse data services. While Microsoft offered its robust native SQL Server as a managed database solution, the platform lacked popular open-source database alternatives. Many customers were hesitant to commit to a proprietary database service, preferring to avoid vendor lock-in. Recognizing this critical gap in their offering, Microsoft faced the urgent challenge of developing a comprehensive suite of new database services to remain competitive in the cloud market.
The project
Maciek spearheaded an initiative to expand Azure Data’s portfolio by launching open-source databases - specifically, Azure Database for PostgreSQL and Azure Database for MySQL. He effectively guided this effort through rapid team growth to full capacity, resulting in the successful launch of the services and the achievement of general availability. This service has emerged as one of the fastest-growing offerings in Azure’s history and stands as an example of integrating open-source technologies within the Azure ecosystem.
- New Product Launch: Launched a set of services from the ground up, unlocking new revenue streams for Microsoft Azure and significantly increasing the customer base.
- Team Building: Built a team from two engineers to approximately 30 within a year. Cultivated an engineering culture that emphasizes extreme ownership and accountability.
- Technical Leadership: Delivered a robust technical blueprint for the new service, securing project approval and funding. Took charge of execution based on this strategic framework.
- Strategic Vision: Formulated a compelling engineering strategy for engaging and partnering with the open-source community - an innovative move for Microsoft at the time. This strategy differentiated Microsoft from key competitors and attracted numerous partners on board.
Read the original launch press release.
What people are saying
Maciek is a great leader and an engaged manager who is committed to developing his teams, organizations and himself. Team members admire his open and honest leadership style. He provides the vision for projects as well as excellent technical feedback, both essential to long term success.
It was a pleasure and a privilege to serve on the same team and deliver great business value with Maciek on Azure SQL Database and on Azure SQL Database for PostgreSQL services. I witnessed Maciek building and maintaining effective teams able to achieve challenging goals.
Michal Primke, VP of Software Engineering