Oracle Fights Back as EU Tries to Tilt Database Market Playing Field

This is the battle I have been waiting for (at least until November 15 when New England takes on Indy).

I must admit part of my lust is just for the sport of it… to see Ellison do what Ballmer should have done. But it’s deeper than that. The statement of objections reportedly filed by the EU Competition Commissioner against the Oracle (ORCL)/Sun (JAVA) merger pits the statism of the 50-year European Union (EU) attempt to nationalize industries and markets, including a score of failed attempts to spawn an EU information technology (IT) industry and various EU IT markets, against a future world order totally tilted to the western part of North America and the rest of the Pacific Rim in all things economic and political, not just IT.

I’d really like to dig deeper into it but I cannot find the actual statement of objections being raised by the EU. This makes it hard to comment but the paragraphs below summarize what Oracle says in rebuttal. I am clearly not going to be disappointed because Oracle’s bombast is as usual seriously misleading and yet cuts to the quick. For example:

Oracle's acquisition of Sun is essential for competition in the high end server market, for revitalizing Sparc and Solaris…

Well, that’s clearly not true, because Sun has been a nonentity in the server market for some time, so there is no essential competition. I guess you could say it might be important to “revitalizing Sparc and Solaris……and for strengthening the Java development platform” but the IT market has already said it doesn’t care.

The transaction does not threaten to reduce competition in the slightest, including in the database market.

This is apparently the heart of the matter and is true because no merger or acquisition reduces competition; bad products decrease competition. As usual, a bunch of European guys with an apparently bad database management product called Maria (forked out of MySQL but see paragraph below) - unable to compete on a level playing field, the worldwide IT market - are trying to tilt the EU database software playing field in their favor.

It is well understood by those knowledgeable about open source software that because MySQL is open source, it cannot be controlled by anyone. That is the whole point of open source.

This is a side issue, or at least it should be, but the statement is true. Apparently the EU marches on because of the EU losers who were not able to take over the world with their low-functionality EU database software. It’s the same meme as the loser Norwegians that screwed up Windows 7 because no one used their Opera browser.

Oracle and MySQL are very different database products.

Well, that’s not true. Why would these EU losers who are marketing Maria start this battle if it was a different product than Oracle's database software? The whiners know that it’s just that Maria is 30 years behind Oracle’s relational database research and development. In theory, Maria could catch up if the EU tilts the playing field enough.

The U.S. Department of Justice carefully reviewed the proposed acquisition during the normal Hart-Scott-Rodino review and considered it again when the European Commission initiated a second phase review.

Well Larry, that's not a winning argument. Don't you know that nothing makes the EU feel more comfortable than telling them the American government thinks it’s OK. Look how well the EU is coming through in Afghanistan. I hope Ellison has already made the threat Ballmer should have:

"Approve this or Oracle is out of Europe. Who needs your dying statist economy anyways?"

Comments

[dw57:]

The transaction does not threaten to reduce competition in the slightest, including in the database market.

not really sure thats true. if Oracle were to drop MYSQL it would reduce competition. and they both run on the same platforms don't they? while bad produces reduce the amount of competition its not quite so drastic as a competitor dropping out all together


"Approve this or Oracle is out of Europe. Who needs your dying statist economy anyways?"

I suspect the last argument would only get them kicked out of Europe. one of the 7 largest economies on the planet.

Nov 10 04:00 PM

[BeachRider:]

Apart from being slightly inflammatory, there is one key issue: Can Oracle kill MySQL in an attempt to have Oracle reign supreme? The answer is "not-really". The nature of an Open Source System is MUCH more than simply being a standards-based Open System. If Maria (or any database provider) wants to alter MySQL to it needs, they can do it without "MySQL's Owner's" consent. If ORCL tried to kill-off MySQL they would essentially write-off the $1Bn investment and become a by-line for future Maria releases.

What is scaring the EC here? It is important to note that the EC is KILLIN MySQL with this delay.

Nov 10 04:51 PM

[Tesa:]

Oracle is so insanely overprice that small or lower user applications can not use it. If Oracle tries to kill MySQl, the free data bases will replace it. Oracle can not rule a market that can not afford its price list.

Nov 10 05:07 PM

[RK:]

If Oracle drops MySQL, I am pretty sure another company will pop up to support MySQL. The source code of MySQL is after all public.


On Nov 10 04:00 PM dw57 wrote:

> The transaction does not threaten to reduce competition in the slightest,
> including in the database market.
>
> not really sure thats true. if Oracle were to drop MYSQL it would
> reduce competition. and they both run on the same platforms don't
> they? while bad produces reduce the amount of competition its not
> quite so drastic as a competitor dropping out all together
>
>
> "Approve this or Oracle is out of Europe. Who needs your dying statist
> economy anyways?"
>
> I suspect the last argument would only get them kicked out of Europe.
> one of the 7 largest economies on the planet.

Nov 10 08:16 PM

[dw57:]

why would they? if the source is open, they make no money from doing so. after all, the code is in the public domain. they have no incentive to do so. Oracle on the other hand does. if they drop it, they can provide a path to get customers to run Oracle. and charge money for it too


On Nov 10 08:16 PM RK wrote:

> If Oracle drops MySQL, I am pretty sure another company will pop
> up to support MySQL. The source code of MySQL is after all public.
>

Nov 11 01:36 PM

[dw57:]

maybe. maybe not. if they give customers a path to migrate their data to Oracle, they can try to sell it. but others might not offer that, especially if they have no money to make from it


On Nov 10 04:51 PM BeachRider wrote:

> Apart from being slightly inflammatory, there is one key issue: Can
> Oracle kill MySQL in an attempt to have Oracle reign supreme? The
> answer is "not-really". The nature of an Open Source System is MUCH
> more than simply being a standards-based Open System. If Maria (or
> any database provider) wants to alter MySQL to it needs, they can
> do it without "MySQL's Owner's" consent. If ORCL tried to kill-off
> MySQL they would essentially write-off the $1Bn investment and become
> a by-line for future Maria releases.
>
> What is scaring the EC here? It is important to note that the EC
> is KILLIN MySQL with this delay.

Nov 11 01:37 PM

[philprism:]

Getting out of Europe would be music to the ears of Happy Larry's competitors. Its hard to think of a strategy which would destroy Oracle in an interconnected world more quickly. Oracle is global thats what makes it sell to Fortune 500 companies.

MySQL is a respected entry level RDBMS which is free, very appealing to individuals and small businesses who don't shit thousand dollar bills when they go to the toilet.

Happy Larry knows when the time is right these individuals and small businesses will switch to a high end RDBMS and he wants to make sure its Oracle. He is creating an upgrade path pointed in Oracle's direction. He tried to compete with MySQL with Oracle XE a free entry level RDBMS.

Mr Byron this may be a new concept for you its called 'a long term strategy'

Your arrogant, xenophobic, isolationist remarks do two things:

1. They feed Europeans stereotypical view of an arrogant loudmouth Yank.
2. They associate your arrogance with American products and don't buy them.

I think I would go with Happy Larry's strategy.

Nov 13 03:15 PM