For many years in my career, SQL Server was the runner up. Both Oracle and DB2 were in much wider use and more popular among all sizes of companies. Serious applications used one of those platforms, according to many technologists, the DBAs on those platforms made more money, and most companies were willing to pay for the software. That changed, and over the years I've seen SQL Server grow close to Oracle, while DB2 has declined (and MySQL has grown). Here's the 2014 chart from Gartner, on of all places, the MySQL site. 

I see other charts and reports, showing various percentages, so it's hard to be sure where things stand. Many of them agree that for total market share, it's still Oracle and DB2 (mostly on larger hardware), but SQL Server rounds out the big 3. However is that the case for jobs and opportunities? I read a piece from Thomas Kejser that pointed out that the popularity of SQL Server may be declining (there's also an update).

I see lots of jobs posted, and so many companies using SQL Server. SQL Saturdays continue to have great attendance, so I wanted to ask you this week:

Is SQL Server being used less, or are other platforms being implemented, in your experience?

Are you seeing a trend away from new, or additional, SQL Servers in your organization? I haven't heard of any large trends, though I certainly do know that some organizations are considering other relational platforms. I think that's healthy and expected. The technology for managing transactions is well known, and I think that all three major platforms, as well as MySQL and PostgreSQL are maturing to the point that any of them can handle the load for most applications out there. 

I think it's only natural that other platforms will be used to solve problems that they are well suited for. However just as I don't think SQL Server will grow to dominate the RDBMS space, I don't think that NoSQL platforms will dominate over RDBMSes in many applications.