Simon Mudd has worked with databases for decades, including years helping scale Booking.com's MySQL infrastructure, and has recently moved back to focusing on MariaDB. In this episode of JOIN TABLES he talks with Kaj Arnö, Executive Chairman of the MariaDB Foundation, about where MariaDB and MySQL have drifted apart, why your muscle memory as a DBA can work against you, and why most of the skill comes from failure.
Recorded at Percona Live Amsterdam, September 2026.
JOIN TABLES is the MariaDB Foundation's interview series with people from the wider open source database community.
MariaDB Foundation: https://mariadb.org
Newsletter: https://mariadb.org/newsletter
Ecosystem Hub: https://ecohub.mariadb.org
Recorded at Percona Live Amsterdam, September 2026.
JOIN TABLES is the MariaDB Foundation's interview series with people from the wider open source database community.
MariaDB Foundation: https://mariadb.org
Newsletter: https://mariadb.org/newsletter
Ecosystem Hub: https://ecohub.mariadb.org