Debbie Wilson

A member of the Gartner Blog Network

Deborah R Wilson
Research Vice President
4 years at Gartner
12 years IT industry

Deborah Wilson, a Gartner research vice president, covers procurement strategies and applications. Her areas of interest include procurement transaction automation, e-marketplaces, e-sourcing, spend analysis, accounts payable automation… Read Full Bio

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The Oracle – Ariba Ballet

by Debbie Wilson  |  September 20, 2008  |  1 Comment

If I received a dime for every time I have been asked whether I thought Oracle would buy Ariba . . . well . . I wouldn’t be rich, but I sure would have a pretty, shiny pile of coins to show for it.  I might even have enough to buy a ticket to the ballet.   All kidding aside, although this match is possible, I think that has just grown less likely than ever.  Why?  Check out Oracle’s financial results, released on September 18th, which indicated that revenue from applications declined 12% while database software grew 27%.  If you were Oracle, and you had to pick in which line of business to invest a bare bones minimum of $1.5 billion dollars – the current market capitalization of Ariba – which one would you choose?

1 Comment »

Category: The Business of Software     Tags:

1 response so far ↓

  • 1 Charles Dominick, SPSM   September 22, 2008 at 9:42 am

    Hi Debbie,
    Welcome back to the blogosphere. I’m excited to see what you have in store for your readers.

    The answer to your question depends on whether Oracle’s priority is to stem its losses in one sector or roll with its momentum in another.

    Time will tell but, if the coupling hasn’t happened by now, one has to wonder if it ever will…