Oracle-BEA deal gets the green light

The Oracle-BEA Systems Inc. merger was effectively approved by the federal government yesterday when the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission opted to terminate their antitrust review of the proposed deal early.

It's now up to the BEA stockholders, who on Friday morning will vote on Oracle's $17 per share offer for the middleware giant -- an offer that was initially rejected but ultimately accepted by BEA's board of directors under pressure from Carl Icahn, a major technology investor and BEA's biggest stockholder.

SearchOracle.com recently spoke with Dennis Callaghan, an analyst with the New York City-based 451 Group, to find out what a finalized merger would mean for BEA and Oracle customers, and how the merger would affect Oracle's product portfolio. Here's what Callaghan had to say:

What will Oracle Fusion Middleware look like if BEA is brought into the Oracle fold?

Dennis Callaghan: Oracle would be wise to put [BEA WebLogic] at the center of Fusion Middleware, rather than their own application server. In terms of how the market has voted, there's really no comparison [between the two]. I would expect BEA's [Business Process Management] stuff to supersede anything Oracle's got. The portal product that emerges will most likely closely resemble that which BEA acquired when it bought Plumtree. I don't consider either Oracle or BEA to be that strong in the [enterprise service bus (ESB)] realm, but probably would give the edge to the BEA AquaLogic ESB here. It's a slightly more established product that seems to be getting traction in the market. And if [Oracle leads] with WebLogic as their app server, it stands to reason that AquaLogic ESB would win out. All this being said, it should be fairly easy for Oracle to fill in and enhance these technologies with things it has elsewhere in its portfolio, such as the [Business Process Execution Language] engine it got when it bought Collaxa in 2004, which has always been a pretty strong product.

Should BEA users be worried?

Callaghan: Oracle, despite its 'evil empire' image, has by most accounts done a pretty good job of developing and supporting PeopleSoft, J.D. Edwards and Siebel applications and [the company is] not forcing customers into a new and different application suite. I would expect they would do the same thing with BEA, given how prevalent WebLogic is vs. Oracle's own application server. The company also has tremendous [research and development] resources to put into these products. Oracle generated about $5.5 billion in cash last year, compared to about $100 million for BEA. The fact that this ended up being a friendly takeover should bode well for the BEA product set as well.

What does increased consolidation in IT marketplace mean for potential middleware buyers?

Callaghan: Consolidation always creates opportunities to look at new vendors. [IBM's WebSphere] passed WebLogic long ago as number one in application servers, it has a comprehensive middleware/SOA infrastructure around it and no one is going to acquire IBM. Red Hat-JBoss is becoming a much more mature and capable middleware offering/SOA backbone [and] by the very nature of open source is very responsive to customer needs, [although] I'm still concerned about the speed of their product development cycles. So, it never hurts to consider alternatives when there is any uncertainty about future product development plans.

Author: Mark Brunelli and Jon Franke @ SearchOracle.com

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Oracle contractor shortage predicted

If you have Oracle skills 2008 could be something of a jackpot year with contractors in short supply as demand ramps up over the next 12 months, says IT recruitment company Technojobs.

The enterprise software giant has built up a head of steam over many years via its acquisition strategy. Most famously it acquired software giant PeopleSoft for $10.3bn, back in 2004, but it also has plenty of smaller buys under its belt - a strategy that has led it to ranking as the second largest software company in the world after Microsoft.

Oracle's success in growing its software business last year is now translating into a rise in jobs requiring Oracle skills being advertised and Oracle is already the second most in-demand skill for contract jobs in 2008, according to the recruitment company.

The average annual salary for the last three months for a permanent Oracle job was £46,244, according to ITJobsWatch.co.uk. The average Oracle contractor daily rate for the past three months was £418.

Continued investment in corporate and public sector strategy ERP projects - as well as the general IT skills shortage - means demand for Oracle skills is likely to rise this year, said the recruiter.

Job seekers who gain experience in different areas and implementations of Oracle - for instance via contracting - will be in the strongest position, said Technojobs. Those who also have consulting and project management skills will have an advantage too.

Author: Natasha Lomas @ management.silicon.com

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Oracle contractor jobs market expected to grow in 2008

Oracle finished with a crescendo in 2007 with record profits and substantial growth, however the benefits for Oracle IT contractors have yet to materialise so far in 2008.

Oracle's success in 2007 was primarily due to their acquisitions strategy incorporating selling industry-specific applications to their existing database, middleware, ERP and CRM customers.

As a result of this strategy, Oracle experienced an impressive reported growth over rival competitor SAP.

In addition to selling applications to their existing customers, Oracle for 2008 are now selling industry-specific solutions to banking, telecommunications, retail, Government, utilities and health care industries.

It is no surprise that the strategy for the year ahead is further growth and by selling to their existing customers it is likely to allow Oracle to leverage relationships, leverage support and leverage existing products.

For many Oracle IT contractors this increase in market growth has yet to materialise in increased vacancies nor has it meant an increase in pay. Oracle professionals in permanent positions have also not benefited financially.

Due to the growth of Oracle software, the continued investment in key corporate and public sector strategic ERP projects and the general skills shortage across the IT market, the demand for Oracle skills is likely to start showing levels of growth in 2008. It is already the second highest demanded IT Skill for Contract Jobs in 2008.

Highlights from the latest Oracle salary information, show the following (source: ITJobsWatch):

- Average annual salary for the last 3 months for a permanent Oracle job was: £46,244

- This has remained relatively static over the last 12 months

- The average Oracle contractor daily rate for the past three months was £418. This is comparable to the amount it was in the same period last year

- The exception is Oracle EBS - Permanent Oracle EBS consultants have enjoyed a healthy 12.57% rise in their salary to £58,243 whilst contractors have seen a rise of 4.59% to £439 per day.

Anthony Sherick, from Technojobs told us:

"Over the past 12 months the Oracle jobs market has remained relatively static in terms of remuneration. However, with the growth in demand, we at Technojobs have started to see the number of Oracle jobs advertised increasing."

"The candidates in an even stronger position are those that gain experience in different areas and implementations of Oracle, which can often be done through contracting. Additionally it is worth considering evolving Oracle experience with consulting skills and project manager skills, which will open more job opportunities and in parallel a higher salary in 2008".

Source: www.contracteye.co.uk

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