According to BloggingStocks, Oracle's President Charles Phillips has said that the company has the budget to spend a whopping $70 billion for deals over the next five years. Although he retracted the statement, Oracle has been shelling out big bucks on acquisitions, including the multibillion dollar deal with Sun Microsystems.
The acquisitions aren’t likely to slow down. Reuters quotes Oracle chief financial officer Jeff Epstein as saying:
“We will continue to invest heavily in internal research and development and we'll continue to make small acquisitions and large acquisitions to acquire great products, great R&D.”
We’ve compiled a list of Oracle’s 2010 acquisitions thus far.
Click through for a list of Oracle's acquisitions so far in 2010.
Who: Sun Microsystems, maker of computer servers, storage, networks, Java, MySQL database, software, and services
Amount: $7.4 billion, following extensive inquiries by the U.S. Department of Justice and the European Union
Why: In its press release, Oracle says there are two long-term strategic advantages of the acquisition – Java and Solaris:
“Oracle Fusion Middleware, Oracle’s fastest growing business, is built on top of Sun’s Java language and software. Oracle can now ensure continued innovation and investment in Java technology for the benefit of customers and the Java community.”
“The Sun Solaris operating system is the leading platform for the Oracle database, Oracle’s largest business, and has been for a long time. With the acquisition of Sun, Oracle can optimize the Oracle database for some of the unique, high-end features of Solaris.”
Who: Silver Creek, provider of data quality solutions
Amount: Undisclosed
Why: According to Oracle’s press release:
“The combination of Silver Creek and Oracle is expected to extend Oracle’s leadership in data integration with advanced data quality capabilities to manage product data across multiple industries.”
Who: Convergin, telecom service broker
Amount: $85 million
Why: The acquisition will bolster Oracle's offerings in mobile applications. Oracle says:
“The combination of Oracle and Convergin is expected to provide a single carrier-grade, standards-based IT platform allowing [communications service providers] to effectively evolve their service delivery capabilities at a lower total cost of ownership.”
Who: AmberPoint, provider of service-oriented architecture (SOA) management software
Amount: Undisclosed
Why: According to Oracle:
“AmberPoint’s SOA management products further extend Oracle Fusion Middleware’s industry-leading SOA capabilities … accelerating the resolution of application performance and business transactions issues before the business is impacted.”
Who: Phase Forward, maker of software to manage clinical trials and drug safety
Amount: $685 million
Why: Oracle says, “The acquisition of Phase Forward is consistent with Oracle’s strategy to provide mission-critical applications for key industries.” Phase Forward’s software will be folded into the Oracle Health Sciences Global Business Unit.
Who: Secerno, maker of data protection hardware and software
Amount: Undisclosed
Why: According to this press release, “Secerno’s products are expected to augment Oracle’s industry-leading portfolio of database security solutions.”
Who: Market2Lead, provider of demand generation and marketing automation software
Amount: Undisclosed
Why: According to this statement, “Oracle plans to integrate Market2Lead's technology into Oracle CRM applications.”
Who: eServGlobal, a provider of advanced IT-based, pre-paid payment solutions for the communications industry
Amount: Undisclosed
Why: This press release says the purchase of eServGlobal’s Universe Services Platform business “is expected to accelerate the shift from network- to IT-based pre-paid systems by providing the first convergent, open IT-based platform from a leading business software and hardware systems company.”
Who: Art Technology Group, e-commerce specialist
Amount: $1 billion
Why: Oracle says the purchase fits well with its CRM, ERP, retail and supply chain offerings. This press release states:
“Together Oracle and ATG expect to help businesses grow revenue, strengthen customer loyalty, improve brand value, achieve better operating results, and increase business agility across online and traditional commerce environments.”