Hanselminutes with Scott Hanselman Why Postgres? and why now? with Claire Giordano
22 snips
Nov 13, 2025 
Claire Giordano, a long-time Postgres advocate and engineer at Microsoft, shares her journey into the world of PostgreSQL. She discusses the database's unexpected rise from academia to a leading choice for startups and global enterprises. Claire highlights Postgres' extensibility, the importance of its open-source community, and its adaptability in the era of AI. She also sheds light on its welcoming community culture and how managed services have boosted its adoption. Discover the secrets behind Postgres' enduring popularity and innovative spirit!
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Permissive License Fueled Wide Adoption
- Postgres's permissive PostgreSQL license made it easy for universities and developers to adopt and learn it.
- That early openness seeded a large community of users and contributors worldwide.
No Single Owner, Collective Stewardship
- No single company owns Postgres, so development reflects many companies' needs rather than one vendor's agenda.
- That distributed stewardship helped Postgres become the 'people's database' with global collaboration.
JSONB Bridged SQL And NoSQL Worlds
- Postgres added JSON and JSONB support (around 2012 and later) to offer flexible schemas alongside relational features.
- That hybrid capability helped Postgres compete with NoSQL and broaden its appeal for modern applications.