Oracle targets Tekelec in acquisition spree

Continuing its telco-centric spending spree, US IT solutions provider Oracle announced on Monday its intention to acquire network signalling and policy control specialist Tekelec.

The proposed purchase is for an undisclosed sum and the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and approvals, until which time it is business as usual for both firms.

Oracle plans to make Tekelec’s network signaling, policy control and subscriber data management offerings a part of its own Communications portfolio to help service providers efficiently allocate network resources and monetise personalised communications services.

The move follows Oracle’s February acquisition of Acme Packet, a network session delivery specialist which will also become a core offering in the Oracle lineup.

With IT firm Cisco also making similar forays, the race between IT-centric and Telecom-centric vendors is hotting up as the two sectors converge.

“Both are trying to help communications service provider (CSP) customers better manage and monetise their networks and the data they generate,” said Dana Cooperson, principal analyst at Ovum.

“This acquisition further extends Oracle’s move into the heart of telecom networks. Tekelec will extend Oracle Communication’s network control capabilities, which it also bolstered with its February announcement to acquire Acme Packet. Tekelec also focuses on extending its service control solutions, adding policy control and subscriber data management to its list of capabilities. Oracle has in the past partnered to provide these capabilities, but by bringing them in-house it will have more opportunity to shape the roadmap and combine the capabilities in a more tightly-coupled solution.”

According to Cooperson, the move provides further evidence of key trends such as the continued blending of telecom and IT and software as the key driver of network capabilities.

As a result, the analyst expects Oracle’s telecom-focused competitors (Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, Ericsson, etc.) and its IT-focused competitors (HP, SAP, SAS Institute) will be doing more strategic soul-searching and, as their financial situation allows, pursue acquisitions of their own. Key areas for strategic shoring-up include customer experience management, applications enablement, big data analytics, subscriber data management, and network and service control intelligence.