Cloud Computing: Ellison touts Oracle’s hardware business
December 19, 2012
Grazed from GigaOM. Author: Barb Darrow.
Despite the hype around its high-end engineered “Exa” systems, Oracle hardware revenue continued to swoon in the second quarter when it was off 23 percent year over year. But, CEO Larry Ellison said that the company has just about turned the corner.
Oracle must be really worried about its hardware business. In its second quarter earnings release, the company trotted out a canned quote from CEO Larry Ellison to defend hardware’s honor. Said Ellison: Sun has proven to be “one of the most strategic and profitable acquisitions we have ever made.” Oracle bought Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion three years ago…
But given that hardware revenue fell 23 percent to $734 million from $954 million for the year-ago quarter, that optimism seems a tad forced. Oracle’s hardware business revolves around its high-end Exadata, Exalogic and Exalytics “engineered systems” and Sun T-4 systems. The decline in that business, as Nomura Securities Analyst Rick Sherlund pointed out, was “worse than the low end of guidance.” Last quarter, Oracle saw a similar sickly performance, with hardware revenue off 24 percent year over year…
Read more from the source @ http://gigaom.com/cloud/ellison-guys-hardwares-a-great-business-really/