The ruminations continue over Oracle Corp.'s (NASDAQ:ORCL)
plans for MySQL, the open-source database management software business that is nestled inside of Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ:JAVA).
A
new report from the 451 Group argues that the asset is a valuable part of Oracle's pending $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun, despite the fact that Oracle already has a flagship database management offering of its own.
Analyst Matt Aslett argues that MySQL's 11 million installations and 10,000 paying customers could provide access for Oracle to accounts that avoided the huge software company's products in the past. The software could also function as a new weapon against Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and its own SQL Server database management product.
Then there's the fact that MySQL is targeted at Web applications and distributed architectures, and would make a solid side offering alongside Oracle's database products.
Regardless of where Oracle goes with MySQL, one thing seems clear -- CEO Larry Ellison has an asset in his hands that he wouldn't want to see in anyone else's. Aslett argues that MySQL would have been an excellent addition for Red Hat Inc. (NYSE:RHT), had Sun not snapped it up last year for $1 billion, as the open-source software developer is sorely missing a database offering. And, assuming Oracle holds on to Sun's server and storage offerings, hardware-oriented rivals Hewlett-Packard Co. (NASDAQ:HPQ) and EMC Corp. (NYSE:EMC) could take an interest in keeping up by looking for a database vendor to acquire. With MySQL off the table, Ingres Corp. and Sybase Inc. (NYSE:SY) could be viable alternative database targets, Aslett writes.
- Olaf de Senerpont Domis
Continue reading below
