Oracle Completes Stage One Of Operation Open Source Buyout

from the open-source-database?--check dept

In what may have been one of Silicon Valley’s worst-kept secrets, Oracle has now officially completed its buyout of Sleepycat, makers of a somewhat well regarded open source database. If you’ve been reading the rumors, this is only the smallest open source buyout of the triumvirate the company is working on (with Zend and JBoss being the other two). It’s no secret that Oracle is looking for growth-through-rollup, but the open source part of the strategy is still making some wonder what the company’s strategy really will be. It’s smart in that the company recognizes that open source technologies really do impact its market — but it’s not clear how Oracle will deal with a very different type of business model, which could directly cannibalize some of its own existing sales. It’s easy to talk a good game about how the two can co-exist, but having your salesforce actually live it is a different story. If it goes well, however, it could be a case study for companies facing disruptive upstarts who recognize that “free” can often represent a realistic business model. Update: In other news, Om Malik points out that Oracle has also bought VoIP provider HotSiP. Must be a fun time to be working in M&A at Oracle…


Rate this comment as insightful
Rate this comment as funny
You have rated this comment as insightful
You have rated this comment as funny
Flag this comment as abusive/trolling/spam
You have flagged this comment
The first word has already been claimed
The last word has already been claimed
Insightful Lightbulb icon Funny Laughing icon Abusive/trolling/spam Flag icon Insightful badge Lightbulb icon Funny badge Laughing icon Comments icon

Comments on “Oracle Completes Stage One Of Operation Open Source Buyout”

Subscribe: RSS Leave a comment
8 Comments
Chris says:

Re: Ummmmm

“I’m wondering why Oracle couldn’t just kill the Sleepycat db. Why have the internal competition at all. Buy and kill the competitor. They’ve effectively done it with PeopleSoft and Seibel, why not Sleepycat.”

They probably will. They just don’t want to scare the SleepyCat people into jumping ship before they have a chance to assimilate them…. or at least close out their books and payables.

Rex Wang (user link) says:

Re: Re: Ummmmm

I just wanted to reassure you that Oracle has no plans to discontinue any of the Berkeley DB products or change dual license business model. All of Sleepycat’s employees have joined Oracle and will continue to develop, support, and promote the products. Both open source licensees and commercial licensees will be supported. Oracle will continue the business with minimal disruption.

Rex Wang
VP Marketing
Sleepycat Software

Add Your Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Have a Techdirt Account? Sign in now. Want one? Register here

Comment Options:

Make this the or (get credits or sign in to see balance) what's this?

What's this?

Techdirt community members with Techdirt Credits can spotlight a comment as either the "First Word" or "Last Word" on a particular comment thread. Credits can be purchased at the Techdirt Insider Shop »

Follow Techdirt

Techdirt Daily Newsletter

Ctrl-Alt-Speech

A weekly news podcast from
Mike Masnick & Ben Whitelaw

Subscribe now to Ctrl-Alt-Speech »
Techdirt Deals
Techdirt Insider Discord
The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...
Loading...