PostgreSQL
PostgreSQL has no licence fees, but it still needs looking after: updates, backups, performance, replication. We provide that as an outsourced service or alongside your IT team. And we handle the migration from Oracle to PostgreSQL when it genuinely makes sense, after testing it on a copy.
01 · copy the link to this sectionThe situation
An international community develops the software. The fixes arrive, but applying them is up to whoever runs it.
PostgreSQL is an open-source database: you use it without paying for licences. It is developed by a community, the PostgreSQL Global Development Group, which releases a new major version about once a year and fixes at least every three months.
Nobody installs them for you, though. Nobody checks that the backups can be restored or that the database keeps up as the data grows. That work has to be handed to someone, inside or outside the company.
DBA
They need testing and applying.
DBA
They need setting up and testing.
DBA
Without it, the database grows and slows down.
02 · copy the link to this sectionReference box
Updated 7 November 2026
In short: each major version of PostgreSQL receives fixes for five years. PostgreSQL 14 stops receiving them on 12 November 2026. Version 13 is already out of support.
| Version | First release | Final fixes |
|---|---|---|
| PostgreSQL 13 | September 2020 | November 2025: out of support |
| PostgreSQL 14 | September 2021 | 12 November 2026 |
| PostgreSQL 15 | October 2022 | November 2027 |
| PostgreSQL 16 | September 2023 | November 2028 |
| PostgreSQL 17 | September 2024 | November 2029 |
| PostgreSQL 18 | September 2025 | November 2030 |
Minor and major upgrades. A minor upgrade, for example from 16.14 to 16.15, is installed by stopping the service briefly, after reading the release notes. Moving to a new major version, for example from 14 to 17, needs a dump and reload of the data, or the pg_upgrade tool. Version 19 is on its way: the release candidate came out on 15 October 2026.
03 · copy the link to this sectionWhat we do
You can hand over everything or just part of it: routine management, a version upgrade, a migration.
04 · copy the link to this sectionFrom Oracle to PostgreSQL
The first question always goes to the ERP vendor.
In short: it makes sense when your ERP allows it and when the licence savings outweigh the conversion and testing work. If the ERP runs only on Oracle, it usually does not.
To stay on Oracle with costs under control, see the Oracle databases page.
05 · copy the link to this sectionFor IT
Conversion tools help, but they do not do everything. These items usually take the most work.
| In Oracle | In PostgreSQL | What we do |
|---|---|---|
| PL/SQL code organised in packages | PL/pgSQL code, without packages | The code is converted, reorganised and tested |
| An empty string counts as NULL | An empty string and NULL are different | We check the queries that depend on it |
| NUMBER, and DATE that also holds the time | Different types, such as numeric, date and timestamp | We choose the right type for each column |
| Names in upper case, unless quoted | Names in lower case, unless quoted | Names are made consistent before the move |
| Synonyms and optimiser hints | Not available in the same way | They are replaced and slow queries are reviewed |
The work that matters most is testing with the people who use the application, including month-end closing.
06 · copy the link to this sectionHow we work
Five steps. Until the checks pass, Oracle stays ready.
Schemas, volumes, code in the database, connected applications, Oracle features in use.
If the ERP is not yours, you need confirmation that it runs on PostgreSQL.
Structure, data and code move to a copy. The results of the main queries are compared.
The functions that matter are tested with real data, including month-end closing.
In the agreed window, with the way back to Oracle ready until the checks pass.
07 · copy the link to this sectionPrinciples
08 · copy the link to this sectionFrequently asked questions
09 · copy the link to this sectionObservatory
Analysis and guides from the Strategic editorial team.
Moving to the new Oracle release is a management project before it is a technical one: inventory, budget, ERP vendors, acceptance criteria, the downtime window and who gives the go-ahead on the night of the switch.
22 September 2026Backup, replication and restore protect against different failures. What each one covers in an Oracle database, what stays exposed and which choices fall to management before they are needed.
20 October 2026Claude and ChatGPT help DBAs write and explain SQL, read execution plans, and prepare scripts and documentation. What to hand over to AI, what to keep, and the rules that make it work.
5 November 2026The essential parts of this page print as a short summary of a few pages, without images or invitations to get in touch.
10 · copy the link to this sectionContact
A few lines: the version if you know it, the applications that run on it, what is wrong or what you would like to change. We reply by email, usually within two working days.
We work on site in San Marino, Romagna, the Marche and Emilia, and remotely across Italy. Where we work
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