{
  "id": 7539193,
  "title": "Obsolete programs are powering 97% of US database systems — and the reason why won't surprise anyone",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/obsolete-programs-are-powering-97-of-us-database-systems-and-the",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-09-15T10:15:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechRadar",
    "slug": "techradar",
    "url": "https://www.techradar.com/pro/obsolete-programs-are-powering-97-percent-of-us-database-systems-and-the-reason-why-wont-surprise-anyone"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The majority (97%) of US database administrators are still using obsolete software, according to a new report by Percona. Despite this, businesses are hesitant to upgrade due to the perceived risks and costs involved. Percona warns that upgrading production databases can actually be a risky project, potentially introducing more operational issues than running unsupported software. The biggest barriers to upgrading include cost, complexity, cloud costs, licensing fees, tool sprawl, and vendor lock-in. MySQL serves as a prime example, with its major architectural changes posing a significant challenge for users trying to update from version 5.7. While upgrading can be costly, it also poses security risks due to the sensitive information databases often hold. However, 42% of Percona's respondents cited inefficiency as a current drawback, with downtime and latency further slowing them down. To address this, organizations must begin planning their migrations, starting the process of consolidation and improving operational efficiency and costs.",
  "summary": "Nearly all US database administrators say they're running at least some outdated software as the security risks rise.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}