Oracle (ORCL): The Perfect BlackBerry (BBRY) Buyer
So BlackBerry (BBRY) has put itself up for sale while also considering a private equity move. Some pundits wonder if the Z10 smartphone maker will break itself up into a mobile service provider and mobile device company. But The VAR Guy wonders: Does a more surprising fate await BlackBerry — at the hands of Oracle (ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison? Before you dismiss Oracle potentially buying BlackBerry, consider this history lesson.
Once upon a time, Sun Microsystems was left for dead. The company’s niche hardware (SPARC) and niche operating system (Solaris) couldn’t keep pace with x86 servers running Linux and Windows. Then along came Oracle and Ellison in a shocking move, buying Sun and eventually launching Engineered Systems that combine hardware, system software, databases, middleware and applications from one company.
Admittedly, Sun (overall) isn’t exactly a growth business for Oracle. But Ellison and President Mark Hurd know how to cut costs while focusing on the enterprise market. Hurd has insisted the Sun acquisition has absolutely paid for itself. And the Engineered Systems business has been growing.
This Sounds Familiar
Now, fast forward to BlackBerry’s current plight. Most skeptics have left the mobile company for dead, assuming BlackBerry will never, ever recover vs. Apple iOS and Google Android in the mobile consumer market.
But perhaps that’s exactly the point. It’s time for BlackBerry to retreat to enterprise and business computing. BlackBerry must get far smaller in order to become profitable. BlackBerry needs somebody who has the guts to gut the company.
Will Larry Ellison (and Oracle’s war chest) answer that call for help? Hmmm… Oracle remains a powerhouse in the enterprise software market. And Oracle Cloud now ranks among the world’s Top 100 Cloud Services Providers, according to Talkin’ Cloud. But Oracle isn’t known as a mobile powerhouse just yet.
BlackBerry could give Larry Ellison a fresh start in mobile — and BlackBerry a second chance on life in the enterprise.
BlackBerry’s market cap was $5.56 billion when U.S. markets completed trading on Aug. 12, 2013. By the way: Oracle paid about $5.6 billion for Sun back in 2009 (net of Sun’s cash and debt).
PS: Oracle potentially buying BlackBerry is purely speculation on The VAR Guy’s part.
Wishful thinking. I don’t
Wishful thinking. I don’t think there’s anything in it for Oracle. Besides, I don’t think they’re looking to enter into competition with Apple
Anonymous: Larry Ellison
Anonymous: Larry Ellison essentially this week essentially said Apple is hosed without Steve Jobs. I don’t think Ellison worries about Apple competition at all — if Oracle can keep the focus on enterprise and data center solutions extended out to mobile.
-jp
Totally agree with you. There
Totally agree with you. There are more potential buyers out there than all These nay sayers and analysts can imagine. They only take the hardware division as a reason for no interest in BBRY, but they forget the services and security solutions that are really valuable for the enterprise market.
Thanks anonymous. The value
Thanks anonymous. The value of those services and security solutions drops every week as more customers move to rival services. But there’s still SOME value. The question: At what price?
-jp
You are way off base here.
You are way off base here. Who would best benefit by supporting/buying BlackBerry is a good starting point. Dell might be a good fit to fill-out it’s enterprise offerings and os needs for tablet aspirations.
Anonymous: Dell is battling
Anonymous: Dell is battling to go private. Earnings coming next week I believe. I doubt the company is looking to spend $5.5 billion or more on BlackBerry.
-jp
This is a perfect opportunity
This is a perfect opportunity for Oracle to buy some more patents and sue.
While we prefer to focus on
While we prefer to focus on the potential positive outcomes, we’ll keep the patent angle in mind as we prep more coverage of BlackBerry’s potential fate/ownership.
-jp
I’m thinking Microsoft would
I’m thinking Microsoft would be more in line to purchase Blackberry… Just saying…
YASPIR — Yet Another
YASPIR — Yet Another Software Platform in Redmond? Hmmm…
-jp
Include government with the
Include government with the large enterprise focus – BBRY already has a large installed base in gov. It’s the way BBRY should go with or without ORCL. It can license its good new OS to some OEM that might want it for consumer devices, but should cut staff and abandon its own retail consumer projects. BBRY has a shot at being the enterprise device of choice where BYOD is too much of an administrative and security headache.
Albin: Generally speaking I
Albin: Generally speaking I agree. But BBRY needs to move really, really fast on this. The only other — more extreme — fall back would be to just offer mobile device management services/security services for all mobile devices. Time is short. Run, Blackberry, Run back to the enterprise.
-jp
Agree, Oracle is logical
Agree, Oracle is logical suitor due to enterprise focus. Not that I’m saying there’s a good chance. But to overtly say Oracle is a bad fit makes not sense.
Anonymous: Thanks for
Anonymous: Thanks for reinforcing The VAR Guy’s spin. I was shocked when Oracle acquired Sun. I assumed Oracle would never want a contracting hardware business. Ellison proved me wrong… Curious to see if Oracle ever does make a bid for Blackberry. We’re watching…
-jp
Acquiring BB is lot less
Acquiring BB is lot less risky than acquiring HP (and further weakens HP)
Um… did somebody just start
Um… did somebody just start an HP acquisition rumor? (Not I.)