97% of US Database Administrators Are Running Obsolete Programs
ZDNET, Friday, September 11th, 2026
Percona survey finds 97% of US DBAs run end-of-life database versions, citing upgrade risk and cost pressures.
Percona's 2026 State of Open Source Database Management Report found that 97% of US-based DBAs still run database versions past official end-of-life.
Upgrades are treated as risky cross-stack migrations involving legacy dependencies, deprecated features, client compatibility, and changed defaults, such as MySQL 8.0's authentication changes.
Cost pressures were the top obstacle, with cloud consumption costs (31%) ahead of licensing (23%), while 54% said vendor lock-in hampers regulatory adaptation.
For AI readiness, fragmented data architecture and skills shortages tied as top barriers at 23% each, and unsupported software raises growing security concerns.