[ Thanks to Mark
Brunelli for this link. ]
“Oracle Corp.’s recent $5.85 billion purchase of CRM giant
Siebel Systems Inc. and the greater trend toward consolidation in
the proprietary business applications market could translate to
attractive deals on software support packages for chief information
officers willing to consider the open source alternatives.“Michael Goulde, an analyst with Cambridge, Mass.-based
Forrester Research Inc., said those possible savings stem from the
fact that open source applications vendors like SugarCRM and
Compiere ERP tend to view mergers among proprietary competitors as
an opportunity to woo potential new clients–clients who might be
unhappy or uncertain about the direction their current supplier has
taken…”