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Strategic Migration from Oracle to PostgreSQL: Technical Foundations, Cost Implications, and Operational Frameworks for Reliable Enterprise Databases

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Dr. Matteo Alvarez 1 ,
4 Department of Computer Science, University of Barcelona, Spain

Abstract

This article presents a comprehensive, publication-ready examination of migrating enterprise database systems from Oracle to PostgreSQL. It synthesizes theoretical foundations, practical migration techniques, cost analyses, reliability considerations, and operational frameworks derived from contemporary documentation, migration tooling, cloud provider materials, and technical whitepapers. The study begins by establishing the technical equivalence and divergences between Oracle and PostgreSQL in areas critical to enterprise systems: transactional guarantees, concurrency control, data types, stored procedure ecosystems, and replication and high-availability mechanisms (Database Reliability Review, 2023; PostgreSQL, 2023). It then develops a structured methodology for planning and executing migration projects, combining schema conversion, code translation, performance tuning, data validation, and cutover strategies informed by migration tools such as Ora2Pg and established cloud migration practices (Ora2Pg, 2023; Database Technology Trends, 2022). The article evaluates cost and operational impacts, contrasting proprietary licensing and maintenance costs with open-source licensing and cloud-managed service models, with particular attention to AWS RDS and comparative cloud offerings (Cloud Database Solutions: A Comparison of PostgreSQL and Oracle RDS, 2023; AWS, 2023). Using both theoretical models and synthesized empirical observations from existing migration reports and whitepapers, the results section describes expected cost savings, performance risks, and typical time-to-stabilization trajectories following migration (Natti, 2023; Oloruntoba & Omolayo, 2024). The discussion provides deep interpretation of trade-offs—technical, economic, and organizational—while outlining limitations of current tools and future research directions including formal verification of translated PL/SQL, automated performance regression detection, and tighter operational integration with cloud-native service meshes (Nuijten & Barel, 2023; Ravikumar et al., 2017). The conclusion offers a practical decision framework and a prescriptive checklist for enterprises considering an Oracle-to-PostgreSQL migration, emphasizing rigorous testing, staged rollouts, and continuous performance governance. Keywords: database migration, PostgreSQL, Oracle, cost reduction, Ora2Pg, cloud RDS, ACID compliance.

Keywords

database migration, PostgreSQL, Oracle, Ora2Pg

References

📄 “Understanding PostgreSQL’s ACID Compliance and Its Impact on Database Reliability,” Database Reliability Review, 2023.
📄 “PostgreSQL Official Documentation,” 2023. https://www.postgresql.org/docs/
📄 “Reducing Database Costs: Migrating from Oracle to Open-Source Alternatives,” Database Technology Trends, 2022.
📄 “Ora2Pg: A Database Migration Tool,” 2023. https://ora2pg.darold.net/
📄 “Cloud Database Solutions: A Comparison of PostgreSQL and Oracle RDS,” Cloud Database Solutions Magazine, 2023.
📄 “AWS RDS PostgreSQL,” 2023. https://aws.amazon.com/rds/postgresql/
📄 Oloruntoba, Oluwafemi, and Olasehinde Omolayo. Unlocking Performance and Uptime: A Strategic Approach to Oracle 12c to 19c Migration for Maximizing ROI. Technical whitepaper, March 2024.
📄 Natti, M. Migrating from Oracle to PostgreSQL: Leveraging Open-Source to Reduce Database Costs and Enhance Flexibility. The Eastasouth Journal of Information System and Computer Science, 2023.
📄 Laszewski, Tom, and Prakash Nauduri. Migrating to the Cloud: Oracle Client/Server Modernization. Elsevier, 2011.
📄 Nuijten, Alex, and Patrick Barel. “Upgrade Your Application with Zero Downtime.” In Modern Oracle Database Programming: Level Up Your Skill Set to Oracle's Latest and Most Powerful Features in SQL, PL/SQL, and JSON, Apress, 2023.
📄 Ravikumar, Y. V., K. M. Krishnakumar, and Nassyam Basha. Oracle Database Upgrade and Migration Methods. Apress, 2017.
📄 Atluri, Anusha. “Data Migration in Oracle HCM: Overcoming Challenges and Ensuring Seamless Transitions.” Journal of Recent Trends in Computer Science and Engineering (JRTCSE), 2019.
📄 Jacot, Michael. Advanced Tuning for JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Implementations. McGraw Hill Education, 2013.

How to Cite

Dr. Matteo Alvarez. (2025). Strategic Migration from Oracle to PostgreSQL: Technical Foundations, Cost Implications, and Operational Frameworks for Reliable Enterprise Databases. Global Multidisciplinary Journal, 4(11), 69-77. https://www.grpublishing.org/journals/index.php/gmj/article/view/219

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