Richard Davies wrote: The UK has a good crop of technology pioneers in cloud computing - for example ElasticHosts, FlexiScale, Flexiant, OnApp - and also some strong government initiatives such as G-Cloud.
We will have to see whether this kind of technical leadership converts into swift mass-market adoption or not.
In the course of its antitrust trial back in June, when the US Justice department was still trying to block any merger between his company and PeopleSoft, Oracle chairman Jeff Henley was happy to reveal to anyone who asked that Oracle's board had compiled a list of potential "Plan B" takeover targets. The list included Siebel Systems, Lawson Software, and BEA Systems.
So, five months from that revelation, is Oracle about to walk from the PeopleSoft deal and go instead after BEA?
This time it is not Henley but Oracle president Charles Philips who has been telling the world - via Reuters - that Oracle is "talking with other companies as we speak."
Philips said yesterday that "We have said all along that there are multiple acquisition possibilities. We have multiple ideas." So its $9.2BN hostile bid might yet prove to be just the beginning of Oracle
s expansionist efforts, not the end.
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.. too interesting .. what next for 2005! The saga continues I guess :(
#11
Bob Smith commented on 10 Dec 2004
<>I found this article quite fascinating.
#10
stock_fool_2 commented on 6 Dec 2004
I have been out there reading some industry mags and I am reading that a number of customers have an exit plan if Oracle takes over PeopleSoft.
The plan goes something like this:
1. Cut off Maintenance to Oracle and take it in-house.
2. Wait 2-3 years to see how Oracle supports the PeopleSoft applications and then reevaluate.
In the meantime since this is a hostile takeover Oracle will get no one to sign non-compete agreements.
It would be very possible for Dave Duffield to start up new PRIVATE company, taking key personnel for the purpose of providing ongoing maintenance.
I just really think the customer run rate will be higher than Oracle and analysts have calculated for providing future cash flow.
So the real question for Oracle is: Is $4-6 billion (net) a good price to pay to just kill a competitor?
Maybe it is...I think it is rather foolish though.
#9
in the meantime... commented on 6 Dec 2004
...Since Dave Duffield is up for reelection, if a new Board of Directors is elected at PeopleSoft, he can just cash in and resign. No non-compete is signed.
He can buy a 3rd party maintenance firm. Take key people and then compete. THAT IS IF HE WANTED TO. He could just re-retire or be a venture cap person, by joining up with Aneel.
#8
fishinsreelgood commented on 3 Dec 2004
Yeah, you're dreaming. . . .Michael Dell is smart. He's focusing on what he does best - quality, low cost personal computers. He could also *lose* exponentially by taking on PeopleSoft.
#7
Peak_N_Valley commented on 3 Dec 2004
Where is Michael Dell when you need him?? Dell needs to get into the software business in order to grow exponentially, thus become more of an IBM/HPQ company....or am I just dreaming?
#6
pagasus3000 commented on 3 Dec 2004
I think people keep forgetting the PeopleSoft board of directors are already very successful people (eg Dave Duffield is a billionaire) and do not need to entrench, nor "keep their jobs."
They obviously feel the company is worth a certain price- and am sure they know what that is- (but are not obliged to disclose it, given they are not trying to sell the company, nor should they disclose their price)
#5
kunphewzd commented on 3 Dec 2004
To Oracle it is probably obvious they are not going to get PeopleSoft for $24 (at least not in the near future). It is also obvious that they would be fools to pay more than $24. To offer more would finacially irresponsible and would taint thier reputation even more. How many times have they said $24 was "Best and Final"?
#4
eaglewarriorisme commented on 3 Dec 2004
Oracle will walk away now. With another acquisition in hand, they can call it a victory and end the PeopleSoft one--for now, saying they could always be back.
#3
peoplesoft update commented on 3 Dec 2004
any onwe seen this article suggesting Duffield, the PeopleSoft CEO, has a Plan B of his own...to start a new PeopleSoft inc?!
#2
archy1024 commented on 3 Dec 2004
On the contrary Oracle is sitting on a pile of cash and can go on a buying spree without hurting its bottom line
#1
NoWay commented on 3 Dec 2004
Surely even Oracle can't afford in all seriousness to pursue two deals at the same time?
stock_fool_2 wrote: I have been out there reading some industry mags and I am reading that a number of customers have an exit plan if Oracle takes over PeopleSoft.
The plan goes something like this:
1. Cut off Maintenance to Oracle and take it in-house.
2. Wait 2-3 years to see how Oracle supports the PeopleSoft applications and then reevaluate.
In the meantime since this is a hostile takeover Oracle will get no one to sign non-compete agreements.
It would be very possible for Dave Duffield to start up new PRIVATE company, taking key personnel for the purpose of providing ongoing maintenance.
I just really think the customer run rate will be higher than Oracle and analysts have calculated for providing future cash flow.
So the real question for Oracle is: Is $4-6 billion (net) a good price to pay to just kill a competitor?
Maybe it is...I think it is rather foolish though.
in the meantime... wrote: ...Since Dave Duffield is up for reelection, if a new Board of Directors is elected at PeopleSoft, he can just cash in and resign. No non-compete is signed.
He can buy a 3rd party maintenance firm. Take key people and then compete. THAT IS IF HE WANTED TO. He could just re-retire or be a venture cap person, by joining up with Aneel.
fishinsreelgood wrote: Yeah, you're dreaming. . . .Michael Dell is smart. He's focusing on what he does best - quality, low cost personal computers. He could also *lose* exponentially by taking on PeopleSoft.
Peak_N_Valley wrote: Where is Michael Dell when you need him?? Dell needs to get into the software business in order to grow exponentially, thus become more of an IBM/HPQ company....or am I just dreaming?
pagasus3000 wrote: I think people keep forgetting the PeopleSoft board of directors are already very successful people (eg Dave Duffield is a billionaire) and do not need to entrench, nor "keep their jobs."
They obviously feel the company is worth a certain price- and am sure they know what that is- (but are not obliged to disclose it, given they are not trying to sell the company, nor should they disclose their price)
kunphewzd wrote: To Oracle it is probably obvious they are not going to get PeopleSoft for $24 (at least not in the near future). It is also obvious that they would be fools to pay more than $24. To offer more would finacially irresponsible and would taint thier reputation even more. How many times have they said $24 was "Best and Final"?
eaglewarriorisme wrote: Oracle will walk away now. With another acquisition in hand, they can call it a victory and end the PeopleSoft one--for now, saying they could always be back.
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Swisscom, the Swiss telecom, is going into the cloud business.
Its subsidiary Swisscom IT Services AG has signed up with Red Hat as a Certified Cloud Provider and launched a public cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) cloud targeting enterprise-class customers primarily in ...
Apache Deltacloud, the Red Hat-contributed ReSTful API that abstracts differences between clouds so services on any cloud can be managed – provided of course there’s a driver – has graduated from the Apache Foundation’s incubator and is now a full-fledged Top-Level Project (TLP)....
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That’s the one it said in October would be ready sometime in the first half. Only nobody believed it meant early in the first half. Heck, it’s not even clear anybody thought Oracle could make ...
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