CNETAnalysis: Oracle is bounding further into the cloud thanks to the acquisition Monday of Xsigo Systems, Inc., a network virtualization technology provider. According to an Oracle press release, the combination of Xsigo’s network virtualization and Oracle VM for server virtualization is expected to deliver a complete set of virtualization capabilities for cloud environments. The purchase comes at a time when Oracle is warming up to cloud computing , something CEO Larry Ellison once referred to as “complete gibberish.” The brash Ellison even went so far as to say, “We are now announcing the most comprehensive Cloud on the planet Earth.” The purchase of Xsigo seems part of the game plan. “The proliferation of virtualized servers in the last few years has made the virtualization of the supporting network connections essential,” said John Fowler, Oracle Executive Vice President of Systems, in the press release. “With Xsigo, customers can reduce the complexity and simplify management of their clouds by delivering compute, storage and network resources that can be dynamically reallocated on-demand.” Buying bonanza Oracle also recently picked up RightNow Technologies, Inc., a cloud-based customer service company, for $1.43 billion and Taleo Corp., a human-resources software manufacturer, for $1.9 billion. According to press release, the purchase of Xsigo “extends Oracle’s virtualization capabilities with leading software-defined networking technology.” Xsigo, headquartered in San Jose, Calif., was founded in 2004 and is privately held. Its products have been deployed at enterprise companies including eBay, Verizon and British Telecom. The acquisition is expected to close this fall.
