1. In what ways is Oracle seeking to create value from its acquisitions?
2. Based upon the ways it is seeking to increase the value it creates, what is its corporate- level strategy?

Oracle Corp., based in Redwood City California, is the world’s largest maker of database software and the third largest global software company in terms of sales after Microsoft and IBM. This commanding position is not enough for Oracle, however, which has set its sights on becoming the global leader in the corporate applications software market. Here, Germany’s SAP which has 45% of the market is the acknowledged leader and Oracle, with only 19%, is a distant second.38 Corporate applications is a fast growing and highly profitable market, however, and Oracle has been snapping up leading companies in this segment at a fast pace. Its goal is to quickly build the distinctive competencies it needs to expand the range of products that it can offer to its existing customers and to attract new customers to compete with SAP. Beginning in 2005, Oracle’s CEO Larry Ellison spent $19 billion to acquire 14 leading suppliers of corporate software including two of the top five companies: PeopleSoft, a leading Human Resource Management (HRM) software supplier it bought for $10 billion, and Siebel Systems, a leader in customer relationship management (CRM) software which cost Oracle $5.8 billion.