Apple, Oracle: Big Days Arrive

Written by The VAR Guy 1
January 27, 2010

Oracle and Apple are technology giants that have little in common. Oh, except these two items… First, today is a rather critical day for both companies. Oracle is set to discuss its Sun strategy. And Apple will allegedly unveil its Tablet computer. Second, Oracle’s CEO considered buying Apple in the mid 1990s. Here’s a look back… and a look ahead.

First, let’s stick with the facts. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison will spend most of today outlining his vision for the Sun Microsystems acquisition. At the same time, Apple’s Steve Jobs is expected to unveil a tablet device. Buzz about both news announcements has been loud.

At first glance, Oracle and Apple have nothing much in common — other than dominating today’s news cycle. Still, a closer look reveals how there’s more than one way to dominate the IT market.

Oracle has largely maintained its focus on big, comprehensive enterprise applications. And the company somehow pulled off complex buyouts of PeopleSoft and Siebel Systems, among others. Today, the Sun buyout becomes official.
Apple’s seemingly simply, elegant devices — tied to online services like iTunes — have generated record profits.

The CEO Connection

Different companies, indeed. But both are abundantly profitable. Plus, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and Apple CEO Steve Jobs share a close friendship. And back in the 1990s, when Jobs was at Next Computer and Apple was rudderless, Ellison nearly stepped in to buy Apple.

The deal, rumored multiple times from 1995 to 1997, never happened. But The VAR Guy wonders: How would Apple have evolved with Ellison as owner? Perhaps we already have the answer: Ellison’s alleged plan involved bringing back Jobs as Apple’s CEO.

History shows that would have been a wise move.

New Directions

Fast forward to the present, and Ellison has his hands full positioning Oracle to digest a big hardware company that has some intriguing software (Sun and Java). Meanwhile, Jobs appears ready to make his next move in the consumer market, with the Apple tablet potentially debuting today.

Assuming the Apple Tablets exist, they’ll likely tap some really, really big enterprise databases… …