Oracle Buys Sun

After Big Blue’s bid for Sun Microsystems failed, Oracle has stepped up to the oche with a $7.4billion deal, according to The Guardian and countless other sources.

Sun is responsible for many of the tools and systems that run websites the world over including the Java software platform, Sparc chips, the Solaris operating system and the MySQL open source database system that underpins millions of Wordpress and other blogs and sites.

This latest acquisition by Larry Ellison could have major implications for the IT industry, with Oracle bidding only slightly higher than IBM did just two weeks ago. The Sun board supports the Oracle takeover. Oracle and Sun have, of course, collaborated over the last 20 years.

The Guardian reports that:

Ellison said the deal would allow Oracle to “engineer an integrated system – applications to disk – where all the pieces fit and work together so customers do not have to do it themselves”. This, he claimed, would cut costs while improving performance and security.

Of course, Cnet points out that there are regulatory hurdles to get over before the deal is finalised, but it’s likely to happen this summer, if all goes smoothly.

Oracle has posted a FAQ on its acquisition of Sun. (PDF)

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