Submitted by Fox First at Ten on June 6th
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. (AP) - Oracle CEO Larry Ellison will outline his company's strategy for selling more business software services over the Internet, a rapidly growing concept pioneered by Salesforce.com.
Wednesday afternoon's presentation at Oracle Corp.'s Redwood Shores, Calif., headquarters is the latest sign of the intensifying battle in "cloud computing" - the technology industry's catchphrase for software that can be accessed on any Internet-connected device that subscribes to the service. The approach is a departure from the traditional method of licensing and installing business applications on individual machines, a sales system that has helped established Oracle as one of the world's most successful software companies.
Ellison, a flamboyant leader known for his acerbic remarks, publicly ridiculed cloud computing as a passing fad for years even though he invested some of his personal fortune in Salesforce.com Inc. and another similar company, NetSuite Inc.
Now that Salesforce has grown into a company on track for $3 billion in annual revenue, Ellison is trying to ensure that Oracle gets a share of the business. So far this year, Oracle has agreed to pay more than $3.5 billion to buy several cloud computing rivals. Another rival, SAP, also has been snapping up cloud computing services to expand into the field, too.
Earlier this week, Salesforce.com announced that it's paying $689 million to buy Buddy Media to help its customers manage their marketing campaigns on Facebook and other social networking elements. Those offerings run on the cloud computing model. A day later, Oracle said it's buying Collective Intellect Inc. for an undisclosed sum as it also expands its social media tracking services.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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