Oracle-Sun deal: Snoracle v The World?

The first thing to say about the news that that Oracle is buying Sun is to wonder whether the deal will go through. IBM was widely expected to come back in for Sun after the pair couldn’t close well-publicised merger discussions. It’s possible now that IBM’s hand will be forced and a higher price could yet see a combination gp through.

The second thing to say is that if Oracle does get Sun, then the snoozing, once-mighty beast that was Snoracle could be reborn. Snoracle was of course the soubriquet given to the alliance between the pair that saw vast numbers of Oracle database licences sold to run on Sun hardware. Sun has been under severe pressure in core accounts for a long time — maybe a formal pairing could help keep them in there.

Third, there is going to be lots of scope for mess here. Oracle will have a difficult-to-impossible job convincing other hardware partners — notably Dell — that the playing field has not suddenly become a hill. And that’s before you start to count the potential causalties from crossover in respective database and middleware offerings.

On the other hand, Oracle making a big hardware bet will shake up the status quo. Larry Ellison and Scott McNealy on the same payroll? It’s going to be wild ride…