Byrne Tony Byrne

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Oracle to buy Stellent

3-Nov-2006

Tags: Web Content Management, Marketplace at Large, Selecting Technology, , Universal Content Management

A bit of a surprise, as Oracle picks up a well-regarded "ECM" player (release) for a relatively small sum. As with other acquisitions, this one will play out over years rather than months. And as usual, the two product families are not neatly compatible. For example, although Stellent has been working to separate its content management services from its underlying repository, longtime Oracle shops may be surprised to discover that said repository is based on the file system and text search engine, rather than a database. Stellent licensees can probably expect life as usual, although those few of them using MS SQL Server for metadata storage may become a bit discomfited, along with those encouraged by Stellent to integrate with IBM WebSphere Portal. I think the longer term risk for Stellent customers lies in corporate culture clash: even in a software industry beset with very strong corporate personas, Stellent and Oracle have extraordinarily different cultures... [Update: Charlie Wood nails it.]

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