Oracle buys realtime analytics assets

Oracle has bought real-time analytics technology from Sigma Dynamics to boost its own capabilities in online sales, marketing and call-center analysis.

The database giant said Thursday it would integrate Sigma's Real-Time Decision software into its business intelligence suite and middleware. The deal extends Oracle's use of Sigma in its Siebel software. Financial terms of the deal were not revealed.

Oracle said integration would improve profitability of customer interactions, and help customer retention and cross selling by allowing organizations to quickly adapt their business processes by leveraging real-time analysis. All wonderful stuff.

Sigma is a partner of IBM that, in a parallel universe, could easily have proved a suitable buyer to help improve IBM's information on demand strategy. IBM has made six acquisitions since January 2005 to complement that attack.

Sigma Dynamics has the vertical sector experience that would have suited IBM, in financial services, communications, manufacturing, retail and technology. The company's applications also use Java, XML and web services to integrate quickly with databases and applications, and are complementary with Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP, Siebel, client/server, mainframe and web-based architectures, according to Sigma.®