This Monday, news rocked the tech world . Consider me “your Oracle”, though I don’t need a crystal ball, just your attention as I tell you what really means..
What Oracle Buying Sun Means To You
Well folks, when my Monday started with a 12 hour “journey” fromToronto to Newark – yes, what is normally a 2 hour event turned outdifferently; I knew “someting had to be either very much in alignmentor out of alignment with the universe. It wasn’t until early Tuesdaymorning that I had the chance to digest the news that Oracle hadpurchased sun. Why is that? Well, the Business Intelligence area isan “arena” I have some experience in, and it’s taken me some time to“digest” this news. I’m ready to give you my “industry insider”perspective on what, as the dust settles, will be the questions thatneed to be answered, and potential fallout we might expect from thisdeal having occurred.
I’ll start off by saying, that my disappointment with the way thiswent was second only to the news in this “space” a couple of years agowhen SAP bought Business Objects and IBM ended up getting Cognos. Thiswas bad for both BI giants, and their customers. In the SAP-BO world,SAP is more interested in how to integrate B.O into it’srobust Dreamweaver Business Warehouse application stack than actually improvingBusiness Objects for existing customers. SAP bought BusinessObjects also as a means of acquiring access to the customer base thatcame along with it – IBM also has done little to add additional valueinto Cognos, worried more about assimilating Cognos into the “IBMFamily” and schooling Cognos associates on what is one of IBM’s corecompetency – increasing ARPC (Average Revenue Per Customer).
IBM – What Is Wrong With You???!
Shock and Awe. The big shock here was not that Oracle bought Sun – but more that IBM Let Them Do It!! IBMhad been negotiating this deal for some time – and had IBM pulled thetrigger on this deal, the IBM-SUN union would have controlled over 60% of the high end Unix server market. Wow, Wow, Wow. Strike 1 IBM.
IBM knew they were going to miss the quarter from a revenueperspective. The analysts were not happy when IBM announced this onTuesday, one day after the Oracle-Sun announcement came out. IBM saysthe acquistion doesn’t change the market – that they have been winningagainst Sun and Oracle. Sun and their customers should see this dealas a free ticket into the “ICU” where, with Oracle’s nurturing (read:slash and hack) ways will meanincreased revenue for Oracleandnow give them access to the high end Sun Solaris Servers – Oracle cannow offer the entire stack, from the cold iron to the database andapplications - the company’s acquisition statement said: “Oracle willbe the only company that can engineer an integrated system —applications to disk — where all the pieces fit and work together socustomers do not have to do it themselves”. This is not true of course- IBM does this as well. But now they both can. Strike 2 IBM.
Oracle now owns Java. I’ll say it again. Oracle now owns Java. Oracle now has access to “cloud computing” technology platforms. Withall the talk aboutprivate cloud networks these days,you have to think Larry Ellison will build his own now. With access tosun’s hardware as well, Oracle can really engineer and tune thehardware to make the Oracle applications “sing” as angelically as Susan Boyle did onthe British version of American Idol. Oracle now owns Java. IBM isheavily invested and reliant on Java. Oracle now owns Java. Strike 3 IBM.
Microsoft – What Is Wrong With You???!
Ballmer said on Monday, get this, that he was:
“very surprised’ by Oracle Corp’s (ORCL.O) plans to buy Sun Microsystems Inc (JAVA.O). “I just learnt it … I need to think about it. I am very surprised”
Nowwhat the &*^!! is that all about? Well, I’ll tell you why Microsoftdoesn’t like this. Because Larry Ellison probably does. Larry has hadthe hate on for Microsoft for some time. Larry wants to grow hisempire and become the largest software company on the planet, whichwould bump Microsoft out of their throne. Considering Oracle has donewhat have from a market share/sales perspect from a disadvantagedposition – of course Microsoft is not just about the apps but alsoabout the OS.
Sun – What Is Wrong With You???!
The bottom line is that the IBMdeal would have been better for Sun. Oracle is not a hardware company,nor does it want to be a hardware company. Hardware is a means to anend for Oracle – that being world software dominator.
There is really nothinng ‘wrong’with Sun. Remember, everyone has been trying to buy them. It’s goodto be wanted. Sun would have been better off with IBM as a step-father,and IBM would have been better to have “completed” the adoptionpaperwork, because now IBM is on the outside looking in. What “player”to buy now? There is none. The playing ground is emty now.
IBM will regret this, mark mywords (if they don’t already). Remember how that “other softwarecompany” shafted IBM with OS/2 and Basic? Think Oracle will go down inhistory as the “other software company” that got them “under the Sun”.
Glass “Half-Full” Perspectives For Your Reading Pleasure
Oracle’s Purchase Of Sun To Reshape Industry
Oracle/Sun Deal Will Change Competitive Landscape in IT
Oracle-Sun Good News For Linux
Glass “Half-Empty” Perspectives For Your Reading Pleasure
Fate of Sun’s Software Is Uncertain
GoodBye, Larry - Oracle Could Slash 50% of Sun’s staff
Ex Microsoft Strategist Dissects Oracle-Sun deal