Virgin upgrades to manage text messages

Virgin Mobile has upgraded the database it uses to track and manage SMS text messages.

The telecommunications company will use MySQL's platinum enterprise support system in conjunction with its extant MySQL open source database. The new support package provides enterprise-level software, monitoring tools and production assistance and will be used with all SMS/mobile applications as well as all CRM applications and the billing and management of Virgin Mobile orders.

Virgin Mobile offers unlimited outgoing text messages to all carriers, and each text message can generate more than 100 database queries, including analysis, response processing and annual statistics. Because of these operational statistics, Virgin opted to develop its MySQL database internally to fit its needs. The company also developed multiple open source applications to work with the data, basing them on a LAMP (Linux, Apach, MySQL, PHP/Perl/Python) platform.

With the upgrade, Virgin Mobile employees using the database are now guaranteed 24-hour support from MySQL, with a promised expert response time of 30 minutes or less.

MySQL provides database software and support to Yahoo, Alcatel-Lucent, Google and Nokia, among others. Its flagship product is MySQL Enterprise software.

Virgin Mobile could not be reached for comment by press time.