Oracle has announced that it will acquire networking solutions provider Tekelec in order to broaden its networking monetisation solutions portfolio.
Tekelec provides networking signalling, policy control and subscriber data management solutions for communications networks.
Of particular interest to Oracle is its Diameter and SS7 network signalling products, together with policy control and subscriber data management solutions.
Oracle said it wants to use Tekelec’s products together with its existing mission-critical operation support systems, service delivery and business support systems, as well as products from Oracle’s other recent acquisition Acme Packet, in order to help operators effectively allocate and monetise network resources.
“As connected devices and applications become ubiquitous, intelligent network and service control technologies are required to enable service providers to efficiently deploy all-IP networks, and deliver and monetise innovative communication services,” said Bhaskar Gorti, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Communications.
Dana Cooperson, principal analyst at Ovum, said Oracle is moving further into the heart of telecom networks with this deal.
“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.
“Expect Oracle’s telecom-focused competitors (Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei, Ericsson, etc.) and its IT-focused competitors (HP, SAP, SAS Institute) to do more strategic soul-searching and, as their financial situation allows, to 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,” she said.
Network infrastructure vendor revenues across mobile and wireline declined by 6 percent in 2012, adds Ovum principal analyst Matt Walker.
“All vendors are facing the rise of software, data centers, and the cloud, true. IT is increasingly being absorbed into communications networks, and big vendors without software/IT strengths may lose out, or be bought. While big mergers are hard to absorb, Oracle’s Acme Packet deal is a start; more telecom-IT crossover is coming, as witnessed by Oracle’s Tekelec plans.”