Oracle Corp.’s $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems — the latest in a long line of takeovers for the software giant — puts the eccentric Larry Ellison in control of the largest tech employer in Colorado.
While he didn’t invent Windows or the iPod, the Oracle founder and chief executive wields as much technology muscle as his counterparts at Microsoft and Apple. Everything from airline reservations to Facebook friend requests rely on the database software that turned Ellison into one of the world’s richest and made Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle an industry stalwart.
Ellison is also among the most feared executives in corporate America, well-known for his aggressive style and hardball tactics.
“He’s pretty cutthroat,” said Sloane Stricker, chief technology officer for Broomfield-based Datavail, which provides database support services. “And if you asked somebody, they’d rather work for Warren Buffett or Bill Gates.”
That said, the completion of the Oracle-Sun merger in January provided relief for thousands of Sun employees, including about 2,000 in Broomfield. Their futures had been unsettled since last March when reports surfaced about IBM’s interest in Sun.
While about 130 Sun workers in Colorado lost their jobs last month, the cuts weren’t as deep as some had projected for an IBM-Sun merger, which would have featured more overlap.
The somewhat loose corporate cultures at Sun and Oracle also may mesh better, as IBM is perceived to have more of a buttoned-down, business mind-set.
“It’s absolutely a massive weight off of our backs,” said a Sun IT manager in Broomfield who made the cut to Oracle. “Some of those people that were laid off, now they actually know what’s happening and they can move on with their lives.”
He said local layoffs included employees who had many years of service with Sun. It’s not clear that the cuts are done.
Oracle spokeswoman Kimberly Pineda declined to comment for this story.
3,500 workers in state
Oracle employs an estimated 3,500 in Colorado, concentrated at three primary locations in metro Denver and Colorado Springs.
The company’s workforce at Sun’s 1.1-million-square-foot campus in Broomfield has been whittled to about 1,900. The office provides consulting and support services for Sun’s products.
An estimated 900 workers are based in the Denver Technology Center at the former headquarters of J.D. Edwards & Co. Oracle’s takeover of that space is another example of Ellison’s ruthless maneuvering.
In 2003, four days after competitor PeopleSoft announced a friendly merger with J.D. Edwards, Ellison launched a hostile takeover bid for PeopleSoft. The move created unease for J.D. Edwards employees for several weeks.
Though the hostile bid failed, less than two years later Oracle swallowed PeopleSoft — and the remains of J.D. Edwards — for $10.3 billion.
If Oracle’s handling of the J.D. Edwards product is any indication, it’s likely that Sun’s brand identity will remain. Oracle continues to support J.D. Edwards software, which businesses use to manage back-office operations, a move that was “pleasantly surprising,” said J.D. Edwards co-founder Ed McVaney.
“I thought that was going to go poorly,” McVaney said. “They’ve essentially left J.D. Edwards alone. They left the employees in place. . . . They didn’t kill the product like you would expect they would have.”
Oracle employs more than 500 in Colorado Springs.
Company a magnet
Like its founder, Oracle is not recognized for its philanthropic support.
Nonetheless, city and economic development officials praise the company, largely because its presence attracts business.
“Having a significant IT company like Oracle in our community creates significant job opportunities for suppliers,” said Mike Kazmierski, president of the Colorado Springs Regional Economic Development Corp. “They also generate a lot of other jobs in our community through their normal business activity.”
The company’s vast footprint in the state helps small businesses such as Datavail, which exist to support customers of Oracle’s and Sun’s database software.
“Denver and the Front Range will continually be recognized as one of the national hotbeds of database experts,” said Datavail’s Stricker.
Beyond that, Oracle’s acquisition of Sun could provide focus, as top Sun officials such as Scott McNealy were enamored with big concepts rather than executing on a clear strategy, experts say.
“Sun wasn’t always the most practical company. They had grand visions for certain things . . . but in recent years, they didn’t always follow through or execute,” said Gordon Haff, principal IT adviser at Illuminata in New Hampshire. “Oracle is more practical and more focused.”
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com
