Peter
Zaitsev

Founder | Open-Source Advocate | Technologist | Boards Member, Advisor & Mentor

MySQL Rockstar 2022 Award Highload++ Award 2019

State of Open Con'23 Speaker

Introduction

Technology has an amazing ability to impact lives, and I've been drawn to it for as long as I can remember. Since my earliest days, my passion has been to understand how things work, build them, and make them better.

Now, as a published author, speaker, board member of several organizations, and ex-CEO of the globally recognized open-source company Percona, that same vision of making things work better underscores all I do.

Whenever I speak at an industry event, mentor board members, or advise customers, I share best practices, use cases, and industry trends that deliver smarter alternatives for everyone. That's the promise of open source.

/* Peter Zaitsev */

I can help you

How? you might ask. Simple. By introducing you to the wide world of open source and databases. Something else in addition to open source and databases? I will show you ways to grow your business using leading tech trends. These are my fields of expertise, where I have excelled for more than 20 years.

You will learn from my talks, keynotes, articles, interviews. Whether your business is long established or a startup, I will provide you with valuable information on how to improve your operations and bottom line. I have a successful track record in doing so for my businesses. I can do the same for yours.


Talks and Keynotes

Public speaking is my passion. Open source, databases, growing business with tech trends are all my areas of expertise. I tailor my talks to your needs.

Listen to a sampling
Articles, Interviews, Expert Comments

For all journalists out there, make me your go-to expert on technology (open source, databases, Linux, etc.) and entrepreneurship. I will fill you in on what’s happening now in these fields and what’s to come. Expect on-point quotes and even story ideas that will make your editors happy.

Contact me here
Investor, Mentor,
Advisor

Sometimes the hardest part of advising, mentoring and investing is finding profitable ventures and worthwhile projects. I’ve done that repeatedly. I am currently serving on the advisory boards of several tech startups and am ready to help your tech business grow, too.

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In the media

High performance MySQL: Optimization, Backups, and Replication, 3rd Edition

By Baron Schwartz, Peter Zaitsev, Vadim Tkachenko | Released first March 2012

#5 in Computer Performance Optimization category on Amazon

› Buy on Amazon › Buy from O’Reilly

Upcoming events

4 March

Percona University Hyderabad, Hyderabad, India

State of Open Source Databases What Developers Should Know About Observability
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5-7 March

PGConf India, Bangalore, India

PostgreSQL and the Future of Open Source Databases
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18 March

DevOpsDays Chicago, Chicago, USA

Zero-instrumentation observability based on eBPF
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18-21 March

Postgres Conference 2025, Orlando, USA

Chaos testing of a Postgres cluster on Kubernetes
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16-17 April

DevOpsDays Raleigh, Raleigh, USA

Using Coroot as an open source OpenTelemetry backend
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19-20 May

Open Source Founders Summit, Paris, France

Workshop
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9-11 July

We Are Developers World Congress, Berlin. Germany

What Makes Open Source Work: Licensing and Beyond
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My Recent Blogs

Climbing Mt Washington in Winter
02/25/2025
Mid-January 2025  we attempted to climb Mt Washington. We did not get to the top but it was an awesome experience anyway.  For those who do not know it – Mt Washington is a relatively low mountain in the White Mountains range in New Hampshire (some 3h away from Boston).  Despite its low altitude, it […]
How I Fly
02/21/2025
I fly a fair amount – both for business and for pleasure, domestically (in the US) and internationally.  This document outlines some “best practices” which I found working well for me. I am a frugal value-seeking traveller – I do not pay for “Business Class” unless it is some very cheap last-minute paid upgrade, though […]
How come not everyone is an Angel Investor?
02/03/2025
Personally, I love Angel Investing! Not only does it provide an opportunity for outsized returns (if you’re making good choices) but also, compared to being LP in the early-stage Venture Fund it often allows you to have a direct line to founders, which tends to be awesome, and an opportunity to contribute to business success.  […]
Thoughts on ScyllaDB License Change
12/26/2024
As you may have heard, ScyllaDB is moving to a Source Available License. Seeing this move from so many companies from MongoDB to Redis should not surprise everyone. This is what happens to “corporate-owned” Open Source Software these days. Yet it is interesting to explore ScyllaDB’s situation in more detail. First, I think ScyllaDB’s license […]

Work hard.
Play hard.
That’s my credo.

When it comes to playing, you’ll find me running more than six miles a day. That is when I’m not climbing Mount Everest or Pakistan’s K2.

Sports and adventures are the sources of my energy and physical wellness. I encourage people to find their source of energy in activities they like. That’s why I’ve founded the Percona Adventure Team for Perconians and am an ambassador of the Run with Percona Club, open to everyone.

Get in Touch

I don’t believe in living a static life, staying in a rut, doing the same things over and over. I am constantly seeking new opportunities with the challenges they bring. I look for endeavors that provide win-win cooperation.

Contact me if you would like to work with me. If you have the right project, I definitely want to work with you.

Get in Touch