Oracle Bags Sleepycat
The software giant buys an open-source database company. — Oracle said Tuesday it bought open-source database company Sleepycat for an undisclosed sum, marking another step by the company known for its proprietary database software to expand its open-source offerings, which are typically lower cost.
Context & Ripple Effects
Oracle had already answered pressure from low-end open-source databases with a free beta of Oracle 10g Express Edition in 2005. The Sleepycat purchase extends that response from pricing into product ownership, adding Berkeley DB for embedded applications.
Coverage days earlier characterized Oracle's moves as an open-source shopping spree, while reports on the transaction identified Berkeley DB as a complement to Oracle's existing database range. The acquisition gives Oracle a direct role in distributing and developing an open-source database component rather than merely competing against the category.
First-order effects
- Oracle gains Sleepycat and Berkeley DB, which Oracle says will complement its database offerings for embedded applications.
- Sleepycat's open-source database becomes part of Oracle's portfolio of lower-cost database offerings.
Second-order effects
- Oracle can pair its free 10g Express Edition with an owned embedded-database component, broadening its response to competitive pressure from low-end open-source databases.
- Sleepycat users and embedded-application developers must look to Oracle for the product's commercial stewardship and portfolio positioning.
Third-order effects
- The deal points toward governed open-source distribution: proprietary database vendors can use ownership of open-source projects to serve lower-cost and embedded segments without abandoning their broader product portfolios.
The trend: Database incumbents are responding to open-source competition by combining free offerings with ownership of open-source components in adjacent deployment segments.