Swallowing Sun, Oracle Casts a Longer Shadow Over the Tech Industry

As the sun sets on one of the companies that created the technology industry as we know it, the landscape has changed forever

Oracle's purchase of Sun, while hardly a record-breaking deal in pure financial terms, is nevertheless among the most transformational events the technology industry has ever seen. With it, Oracle has just advanced its already-considerable credentials as a heavy-hitting titan of the technology industry.

The deal also represents a landmark move towards greater industry consolidation as IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP and the eternal wild card - Google - slug it out in their ongoing efforts to emerge as undisputed leader of the industry.

What specific developments does the deal portend for Oracle, and for the industry at large? Read my opinion here.

I can't help feeling a certain sense of loss as one of the companies that created the industry as we know it rides away into the sunset. However, as I have observed before, the tech industry is no place to be sentimental.

And so, as the technology landscape is transformed by this mammoth union, times get more interesting than ever.

The Clouds of Recession: Blowing Over?

Recovery is in sight for the world economy

Many of us have undoubtedbly wondered over the past few months as to when the world economy will shift into a decided phase of recovery from the current doldrums it is steeped in. I've certainly believed at least since late December that recovery will not be long in coming, and may even come as early as July 2009. Perplexingly, this cheery outlook has been at odds with most Gurus of economics and business, who have prophesied start dates for a definitive recovery typically in 2010. See here for a partial list of such prognostications from Dr Ben Bernanke, Steve Ballmer, the G7 Finance Ministers and the IMF.

And why have I been so filled with hope and cheer? The same post above explains five reasons.