Valkey Emerges as Leading Open Source Alternative to Redis After Relicensing Row

Percona, a global leader in enterprise-grade open source database software and services, today announced the release of a new research report, “Key Value Stores: Adoption Trends Through a Valkey Lens.” The report reveals a number of industry-first insights into customer sentiment regarding Redis’s decision to revoke the open source status of its popular key-value data store software — forcing its extensive customer base into an unplanned revamp of their business operations. The report also gauges how this decision has affected customers’ awareness of, interest in, and adoption of Redis alternatives—most notably, the Linux-Foundation-led, open source Valkey Project.

Redis has been the dominant key-value store, deployed by 67% of study respondents. Earlier this year, Redis formally announced its intent to abandon the open source, three-clause Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) license in favor of much more restrictive, “source available” licenses. This move away from unrestricted and no-cost use of the Redis software places a heavy financial burden on organizations with a large Redis database footprint. The new study by Percona examines how companies of all sizes are reacting to the change.

The reclassification of the Redis licensing imposes a significant dilemma on executive leaders: start paying licensing fees for the use of software that was long-promised to be free and unrestricted; or commit to a transformation of database operations away from the industry standard key-value store to alternative options. This debacle for enterprise leadership emerges during a time of broader discussion over the role of open source software, especially in the high-stakes realm of model development for traditional and generative AI.

Key Findings and Takeaways

Over 70% of respondents with Redis deployments said that the shift in Redis’ licensing has motivated them to seek alternatives. And although there are several options already available in the marketplace—including DragonflyDB, KeyDB, and Skytable—it appears that the most likely usurper of Redis’s former market dominance is Valkey. Announced in March of 2024, the Valkey Project is a Redis fork being developed with the expressed aim of providing Redis users ongoing access to an open source alternative to the popular, in-memory, key-value store. The study finds a significant majority of Redis users surveyed (75%) are either testing, considering, or have already adopted Valkey.

While the open source status of Redis alternatives is a driver for organizations seeking cost-free options, interest in the Valkey Project may also be attributable to its impressive roster of supporting organizations. In addition to being led by The Linux Foundation, Valkey has received endorsements and commitments from such major industry players as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud, Oracle, Ericsson, and Percona. As a result, awareness of Valkey has grown dramatically since its inception, with over 63% of respondents saying they have been aware of the project since its debut earlier this year.

When analyzing the interest and adoption of Valkey based on enterprise size, a clear trend emerged. While companies of all sizes have embraced or are investigating a transition to Valkey, organizations with larger data footprints were significantly more likely than their smaller counterparts to have already begun the shift: 83% of large enterprises have adopted or are actively exploring Valkey. More modestly sized companies are following suit, albeit to a lesser degree: 70% of mid-market players and 77% of small businesses have also switched to Valkey or are considering doing so.

The study also finds that operational support is a critical consideration when adopting open source projects like Valkey. More than three-quarters (76%) of organizations plan to rely on third-party enterprise support, underscoring the importance of robust support infrastructure for the success of open source alternatives in production environments.

Lessons Learned and What’s Ahead for Valkey

The licensing landscape is complex, with a nearly infinite variety of licenses available, each of which falls in a unique location along the continuum of open source and proprietary distribution models. Redis is not the first company to be accused of practicing a “bait and switch,” wherein software vendors either actively mislead or are intentionally opaque about their long-term goals, plans, and intentions for their company and open source projects, but it is the latest to revoke its commitment to the public.

“We don’t take issue with any organization that chooses to distribute its software using proprietary licenses,” said Ann Schlemmer, CEO at open source champion Percona. “However, the Redis problem isn’t open source versus proprietary; it’s a matter of transparency versus deception. If the Redis and Valkey saga teaches young tech entrepreneurs anything, I hope they remember that transparency, honesty, and consistency are invaluable to your customers. So, tread wisely and make openness a virtue, irrespective of whether that includes open source licensing.”

This sentiment is also taken very seriously by the Linux Foundation, which has already explicitly articulated plans for the project and how it will be distributed in perpetuity.

“To continue improving on this important technology and allow for unfettered distribution of the project, the community created Valkey, an open source, high-performance key-value store,” the Foundation wrote in its formal announcement of the project. “Valkey supports the Linux, macOS, OpenBSD, NetBSD, and FreeBSD platforms… At The Linux Foundation, Valkey will follow an open governance model, remaining community-driven and welcoming of all users and contributors. The project has already assembled a technical leadership committee of several former Redis contributors, and hundreds more community members have voiced their intent to support Valkey.”

For a closer look at the complete report, please visit Percona here.

To learn more about Valkey, please visit the project on GitHub.