Virtualization War: Oracle/Sun & VI Acquisition vs. VMware & Microsoft (ORCL, JAVA, MSFT, VMW, EMC)

Apps & Software

Published: May 13, 2009 4:30 pm

Last Updated: April 28, 2020 9:20 am

Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) is already in the process of acquiring Sun Microsystems Inc. (NASDAQ: JAVA). This morning came an announcement that Oracle was buying a private company called VirtualIron. Normally private company buyouts are tiny, but this is a solid and established virtualization player for undisclosed terms. It will allow Larry Ellison and friends to be a lower cost provider against virtualization leader VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW) and may allow Oracle to compete against Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) in one more arena.

So now Oracle will be able to go after VMware, which is still majority-owned by EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC). VMware has been hit by the recession, and this probably allowed Oracle to grab VirtualIron on the cheap. Oracle is already getting MySQL via Sun Microsystems, so there is more to this than meets the eye. This is obvious when you consider that Sun already wanted deeper virtualization. It makes sense for its higher-end servers.

Microsoft did go further into the virtualization space as well and it was hard to tell if this was VMware Vs. Microsoft, OR VMware & Microsoft.

We got a brief interview with VirtualIron’s CEO as this sector was just starting to really explode for investors. Unfortunately, our inquiries into addressing a rumor that VirtualIron was going to be taken was not responded to by the company back on March 2, 2009. Don’t think this was the first word that Oracle or another company might want to or need to acquire Virtual Iron.

VMware closed down almost 4% at $27.76 today and Oracle closed down less than 2% at $18.07.

JON C. OGG

Are You Still Paying With a Debit Card?

The average American spends $17,274 on debit cards a year, and it’s a HUGE mistake. First, debit cards don’t have the same fraud protections as credit cards. Once your money is gone, it’s gone. But more importantly you can actually get something back from this spending every time you swipe.

Issuers are handing out wild bonuses right now. With some you can earn up to 5% back on every purchase. That’s like getting a 5% discount on everything you buy!

Our top pick is kind of hard to imagine. Not only does it pay up to 5% back, it also includes a $200 cash back reward in the first six months, a 0% intro APR, and…. $0 annual fee. It’s quite literally free money for any one that uses a card regularly. Click here to learn more!

Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings to provide coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.