The VAR Guy

Lofty oil prices. Sub-prime mortgage woes. Financial companies (Citigroup, Etrade) stumbling badly. Ouch. Ouch. And Ouch. Whispers of a potential recession ahead continue. That made The VAR Guy wonder: If the U.S. heads into a recession soon, are open source companies better positioned to weather the storm than their closed source counterparts? Let’s take a look.

What a difference a decade makes. In the 1990s, database partners rallied around Microsoft SQL Server because of the software giant’s channel-friendly pricing and partner strategy. Fast forward to 2007, and Oracle has somehow managed to remain king of the database market — despite gains from Microsoft and MySQL. What changed at Oracle? CEO Larry Ellison finally surrounded himself with channel-friendly executives. Oracle’s latest partner initiatives will take center stage during a major event set for November 11.

Okay, folks. The VAR Guy finally had some time to think about Oracle’s proposed $6.7 billion takeover of BEA Systems. Here are 10 reasons why BEA Systems should say yes to the deal.

Another business intelligence specialist has been acquired, and this time Oracle wasn’t the company opening its wallet. It’s time for Business Objects to say goodbye to its independence. The buyer is SAP AG. The big question: What does the deal mean for Cognos, MicroStrategy and SAS — three of the larger business intelligence companies that remain independent.