Forbes Take on Oracle’s Acquisition of Sun
For a management consultant’s view of the prospects for the new Oracle/Sun entity, readers may wish to have a look at “More Than the Sum of Its Parts” by Reshmi Paul on Forbes.com. The author analyzes the Oracle-Sun acquisition from the perspective of both parties and offers suggestions designed to facilitate a smooth, fruitful integration.
Ellison Reaffirms His Belief in Sun’s Rapid Profitability
After accepting keys to the city of San Francisco in tribute to him and his racing team BMW Oracle for winning the 33rd America’s cup match this February, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said he expects Sun’s formerly unprofitable operations to become profitable “right away” as part of Oracle. Following the Feb. 20th celebration, Ellison basically reiterated what he said during the Jan. 27 Oracle + Sun Strategy teleconference: “And how soon will [Sun’s profitability] occur? How long do investors have to wait? Not at all; not at all. We’ll be profitable this - in February. We’ll be profitable in March. We’ll be profitable in April - and when I say ‘we’: the Sun business. We’ll be profitable in May.”
Streamlined Product Delivery, Long-deserved Emphasis on Sun Ray, Among Other Changes
It’s safe to say that only Larry Ellison and a few of his top level Oracle executives really know “what’s next for customers at Sun,” but there is plenty of room for intelligent speculation on this score, and that is what Paul Murphy provides in his brief blog post on that topic. By and large, what Murphy sees will be welcomed by Sun customers.
Learn the What, Why, and How of Cloud Computing
Oracle’s Cloud Computing Forum will kick-off its North American leg of the tour on Feb. 23, in L.A., while simultaneously continuing its Europe, Middle East, and Africa tour and Asia Pacific tour on the topic with events in London, Munich, and Seoul on the same day. The event stands in contrast to CEO Larry Ellison’s well-publicized mocking of cloud computing, which he has deemed a rebranding and conflation of existing technologies.
What Its Buy of Sun Means for the IT Industry
Industry analysts say Oracle’s purchase of Sun is the most game-changing corporate technology play made during the economic downturn, reported the NY Times, with it now being able to provide all the parts needed to be an end-to-end service provider. “It’s the most significant deal of the decade,” said Dan Olds, an analyst with Gabriel Consulting. “Oracle has a shot here to change the rules of the industry and usher in a new era.”
Oracle Launches Exadata Partner Program
Oracle OpenWorld 2009 brought Sun executives and technologies to the center stage during the five-day event held in San Francisco’s Moscone Center. Sun co-founder Scott McNealy made the final keynote on day one of the conference to a packed Hall D Moscone North. He reflected on the top 10 innovations from Sun, and the technologies that will get even more funding from Oracle following the acquisition. Following McNealy on stage, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said combining Oracle and Sun’s technology would let Oracle “do things neither company would be able to do by themselves.”
The Ed Zander Interview at the Churchill Club
Anyone interested in the Sun-Oracle merger should take an hour and a half to watch the replay of former Motorola and Sun executive Ed Zander’s interview of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, which took place September 21 before a gathering of industry dignitaries at the Churchill Club in San Jose, Calif. Ellison discusses his plans for Oracle and the various Sun technologies soon to be acquired when, or if, the European Union approves the buyout.
Discusses Acquistion Delay, Financials, Competition in Interview 
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said he has no plans to spin off MySQL and expressed the urgent need to complete the $7.4 billion merger with Sun. Ellison made these remarks during an interview conducted by former Motorola and Sun executive Ed Zander before a gathering of industry dignitaries in San Jose, Calif., on September 21, reported InfoWorld’s Paul Krill. Ellison did say that Sun is losing about $100 million a month with the delay from European regulators on the buyout of Sun.
First Database Machine for OLTP 
Sun and Oracle introduced the first database machine for online transaction processing (OLTP) called the Sun Oracle Database Machine or Oracle Exadata Version 2. It is based on Sun hardware, including FlashFire technology, along with Oracle Database 11g Release 2 and Oracle Exadata Storage Server Software Release 11.2. Designed to significantly speed up OLTP, data warehousing, and mixed database workloads, the companies claim this latest version is twice as fast as Version 1 for data warehousing.
Strongly Commits to App Development in Java and JavaFX
Expanded investment in the Java programming language is one of the strategies Oracle has planned when it completes the $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun this summer, said Oracle CEO Larry Ellison when he took the stage at the 2009 JavaOne Conference. He mentioned developing programs for netbooks, mobile devices, and office productivity, and pledged a commitment to Java technologies, including the Java rich media extension JavaFX.
