In its first acquisition of 2009, Oracle purchases mValent, a company whose configuration management solutions can promote efficiencies within Oracle Enterprise Manager. Even as it envelops smaller companies, Oracle may also be looking toward a future where cloud computing dominates the enterprise IT scene.
Despite the economic doldrums seizing most of the IT industry, the Oracle
acquisition machine is alive and well. The company's purchase of mValent, a
provider of application configuration management solutions, is designed to
enhance Oracle Enterprise Manager's configuration management capabilities
across IT environments.
Announced Feb. 4, the complete transaction is expected to close in the first
half of 2009, according to a statement released by Oracle. As to be expected,
financial details were not disclosed.
The move represents Oracle's first acquisition of 2009. In 2008, Oracle took
more than 11 companies, including Lodestar and Interlace Systems.
With mValent technology in place, enterprise users should be able to collect
and harmonize data from even the most complex of systems. Ensuring consistent
configurations across IT environments would also lead to both improved
productivity and application uptime.
Oracle Enterprise Manager enhanced with mValent will also simplify systems'
root-cause analysis and automate remediation of issues caused by configuration
changes. mValent's customer base before the acquisition included Direct TV,
Blue Cross Blue Shield Michigan
and Kohl's.
"Effective application configuration management is increasingly important as
businesses look to improve operating efficiencies," Richard Sarwal, senior vice
president of Oracle Applications and Systems Management, said in a statement.
"This acquisition is consistent with Oracle's strategy for delivering
cost-effective solutions for managing applications that enable customers to
adopt new, innovative technology with reduced risk."
In addition to its focus on enhancing its own product line through
acquisition, Oracle has been casting an eye toward paradigm shifts within
enterprise IT. Even as CEO Larry Ellison
denounced cloud computing as "gibberish" in September 2008, Oracle
has perhaps begun to embrace the model as a means of ensuring future
survival.
Nicholas Kolakowski is a staff editor at eWEEK, covering Microsoft and other companies in the enterprise space, as well as evolving technology such as tablet PCs. His work has appeared in The Washington Post, Playboy, WebMD, AARP the Magazine, AutoWeek, Washington City Paper, Trader Monthly, and Private Air. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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