MySQL AB, developer of the world’s most popular open source database, today announced that mysinglefriend.com has selected the MySQL database server for its fast-growing Web 2.0 site.
mysinglefriend.com has rapidly become one of the most popular dating websites in the UK, with over 150,000 current users and a further 10,000 joining each month. At peak hours, there may be as many as 16,000 concurrent users in the system. Launched by TV personality Sarah Beeny and business partner Amanda Christie in September 2005, the site has been described as ‘more addictive than lemmings’.
The viral community growth of the site has been a challenge for its technical staff to keep up with. mysinglefriend.com needed a fast, flexible and reliable database that would scale to support its growth. The database had to be cost-effective and backed by a high level of customer support to ensure availability at all times.
“After analysing the various solutions on the market, MySQL was the clear winner. We decided to design the site from the ground up with MySQL and PHP as the foundation in a classical scaled-out LAMP environment,” explains Matt Bridges, mysinglefriend.com’s Technical Director. “I am extremely pleased with the technical support we have received from MySQL AB. We always get a quick response from someone who knows what they’re talking about. It’s the best customer service I’ve experienced from any software company.”
Matt Bridges and his team have found the MySQL database extremely well suited for the needs of a fast growing Web 2.0 site. “The speed of MySQL always impresses me and is the biggest benefit for us. We can squeeze in a surprisingly large amount of queries and concurrent users per second using low cost commodity hardware,” says Bridges. “We also leverage the flexibility to use specific storage engines for different needs.”
Managing Director, Amanda Christie, is enthusiastic about the continuing relationship with MySQL AB. “mysinglefriend.com changes people’s lives – we get reports of weddings every week here. If we are the maid of honour, then MySQL is the best man!”
Bertrand Matthelié, MySQL AB’s EMEA marketing director, said: “mysinglefriend.com is yet another demonstration of a fast-growing online company that has been able to jumpstart its business using MySQL. Using our high-performance database on lower-cost commodity hardware, companies can cost-effectively scale their infrastructure. We’re certainly delighted to contribute to so many happy couples in the UK!”
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