Oracle Corp.'s acquisition of software maker StackEngine Inc. and its plans to build a massive campus along Lady Bird Lake now appear to be part of a larger strategy.
Oracle (NYSE: ORCL) plans to fold Austin’s StackEngine into a cloud computing business the company calls Oracle Public Cloud. The acquisition, which was completed without any accompanying announcement, is expected to bolster Oracle’s cloud services provided by software designed to enable a computer to run multiple applications, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Such technology is important for large enterprise companies building their own private clouds, said Paul Teich, principal analyst for Arizona-based Tirias Research LLC.
“I think it’s a forward-looking play,” he said, “and a good one at that.”
StackEngine, which employed five workers last year, develops software that enable users to manage the virtualized applications in the "containerization" tool made by California-based Docker Inc.
Financial terms of the Oracle deal were not disclosed.
Scott Armour, senior vice president of Oracle Direct, didn’t mention the StackEngine acquisition when discussing the company’s plans in Austin last week.
StackEngine was co-founded by CEO Bob Quillin and Eric Anderson. Quillin, a tech sector marketing veteran, was previously CEO of CopperEgg Corp., an Austin company acquired in mid-2013 by Houston-based Idera Inc. for an undisclosed amount.
Last week, Oracle announced its intention to build a 560,000-square-foot campus along Lady Bird Lake in East Austin to focus on cloud computing technology. It has also acquired a 295-unit apartment building nearby to house some of its workers who would mostly be sales and marketing specialists.
