[PeterZaitsev]

This highlights the challenge of smaller proprietary SaaS offerings - they can shut down abruptly leaving you in the bind.

It is great to see Fauna making a commitment to Open Source the project, which will be great option to have for their customers

I wish they would have started with Open Source project to begin with, perhaps future would be different

[Alifatisk]

> they can shut down abruptly leaving you in the bind

"We understand that this is going to be a disruptive change to many and are fully committed to working with you to help you migrate off the service over the next several months."

[PeterZaitsev]

Yes. We will work with you to help you, does not mean it is not going to be disruptive.

Changing database technology is hard. Moving off from cloud to self serviced option is also hard.

[victorbjorklund]

It is 2 months to switch to a totally different database with a totally different query language. That is not easy even if you get some "help" from a company shutting down.

[Alifatisk]

Yeah I agree, 2 months is absurd.

[biker142541]

I honestly don't understand the path of creating a fully proprietary SaaS these days if you cannot offer a fundamentally unique capability. Speed and scalability are conveniences more than a real business moat, I suspect.

[traceroute66]

> This highlights the challenge of smaller proprietary SaaS offerings

A large multinational like, say, Google would never do such a thing.... [1]

Give me a break !

[1] https://killedbygoogle.com/

[PeterZaitsev]

Yes. The keyword is "Proprietary" whenever it is offered by large company or small, Open Source solution you can chose to migrate to is what really offers you safety. This also tends to ensure multiple DBaaS vendors are available.

If AWS would chose to kill MySQL RDS... there are number of other solutions for MySQL DBaaS... even on AWS cloud.

[sowbug]

Your argument would be more effective if you had linked to a source showing that Google had discontinued at least one GCP product. I count zero on that page.

(If you think "Google Cloud IoT Core" or "Google Cloud Prediction API" count, then I'm afraid you've made the opposite point you were trying to make.)

[Illniyar]

Google is the exception that proves the rule. Companies are fearful of using GCP exactly because of their terrible reputation of unreliability (and lack of even basic support).

No one fears AWS or Azure is going to shut down services they rely on (even if it happens in some rare cases).

[traceroute66]

> AWS or Azure is going to shut down services they rely on

If we give the benefit of the doubt to a quick internet search, e.g. AWS: S3 Select, CloudSearch, Cloud9, SimpleDB, Forecast, Data Pipeline, and CodeCommit.

All closed to new business, closure pending for existing customers.

I'm sure if you read the small print, neither AWS or Azure make you any promises about the longevity of their services.

Infact, if you believe in the cloud mantra, then you should treat all cloud services as a commodity that can undergo substancial changes or removal at any time.

[chrisandchris]

Not knowing the facts for those specific services but I assume it's more than a 2 months period for migration:

> The Fauna service will be ending on May 30, 2025

E.g. Microsoft shut down (is still shutting down) Classic Admin Roles for Azure subscriptions for close to 9 months now.also, closed for new business also means there's no reason to migrate away if you've never got onto it - and you can still use it if you're already on it.

2.5 months to migrate off a service is way to short, especially in a time where no support from the supplier (Fauna) can be expected as employees will leave to (if they can).

[ncruces]

Google's GCP Discontinuation of Services policy requires 1 year advance notice for generally available services; this includes any significant backwards incompatible changes.

I don't think they went against that policy for the past 16 years. I've certainly had services running there non-stop, with little to no maintenance, for about a decade.

[Illniyar]

No new customers is not shutting down services you rely on. It's the exact opposite. It's making sure things you rely on continue to work until you are ok leaving it.

And SimpleDB has been deprecated for years. I don't know think there's a single service you could have picked to better highlight the point.

AWS does close services, from time to time, all companies do, but the services they choose and the way they do it instill confidence in customers. The way GCP does it instills fear