Open Source Blog

AMR is a research firm that focuses on enterprise applications and business processes, and its reasoning behind the potential acquisition is based on the machinations of the enterprise applications market, rather than open source, but it makes for interesting reading in the light of Oracle's ongoing battle with IBM at the database/app server layer.

According to Richardson:

"One industry luminary said he believed everything Oracle does is an attempt to hurt IBM Software Group. He argued that the acquisitions of PeopleSoft (and JD Edwards by proxy) and Seibel was an attempt to reduce the oxygen to WebSphere and DB2 by eliminating its largest software partners. All that was missing was film of the man with the umbrella on the grassy knoll."

What does this have to do with Ingres? It's recent partnership with Infor makes it an important partner for Oracle's application rival. Richardson adds:

"Infor has 70,000 customers using software the company acquired via Baan, MAPICS, Marcam, and SSA. While the relationship with Infor is with the much smaller Adage customer base, Oracle would love to lure all of Infor’s ERP infrastructure business away from IBM."

Acquiring Infor is presumably out of the question, so why not just remove the middleman.

It's an interesting idea, although it should be noted that Richardson's speculation was titled "Five Predictions: From Obvious, to Out There, to Outrageous". It's not clear where this one sits on that spectrum.