Oracle says NetApp acquistion possible

September 24, 2010 2:20 PM EDT

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, after trumpeting its all-in-one-box vision at the Oracle OpenWorld 2010, has also hinted that storage firm NetApp could be a good company to acquire.

Oracle is looking to boost its server and storage capacity and NetApp will complement its Sun Microsystems acquisition.

According to The Register Larry Ellison said that some 60 percent of NetApp's business is in the area of storing Oracle database data. He said: "We [Oracle] love that business. We would love to have that 60 per cent. Do we need to acquire? I think there are some interesting technologies we'd like to acquire ... I think it is possible."

In the scheme of things whereby Oracle believes that server, storage and network will no longer function in silos, NetApp buy could augment its all-in-one-box approach. Also the acquisition will boost its cloud plans with most buyers ideally choosing to have the logic and data close to each other.

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Oracle launched the Sun ZFS Storage 7120, 7320, 7420 and 7720 alongside four new Sun Storage packages at the Oracle OpenWorld 2010.

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NetApp and Sun Microsystems - acquired by Oracle - had entered in to a lawsuit over patent infringement over the ZFS file system in 2007; however they ended their dispute amicably this month. Thus having NetApp could also allay any future patent disputes.

Also NetApp is a major player in network-attached storage market which would sit well with Oracle's strategy to break the storage and network silos.

Currently NetApp is valued at $17.83 billion and is thus with the reach of Oracle, which has a market capitalization of $137 billion.

Recently UBS announced a list of potential targets for acquisitions and had mentioned NetApp as a possible target.

This article is copyrighted by International Business Times, the business news leader