Oracle took advantage of IBM’s failed efforts to acquire Sun Microsystems and swooped in with a more lucrative bid today which could reap greater rewards for the company’s rapidly expanding cloud computing strategy.

Oracle’s acquisition of Sun could recast the entire computer industry by giving Oracle control of Sun’s Java software and access to its vast developer community, plus Sun’s Solaris-based server technology. These elements could bolster Oracle’s database systems and serve as a powerful web delivery engine for the company’s widening array of business applications and third-party developers.

Oracle had to be sweating bullets during the IBM/Sun negotiations because, “The Sun Solaris operating system is the leading platform for the Oracle database, Oracle’s largest business…”, according to Oracle’s press release today.

Don’t let Larry Ellison’s past pronouncements that the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and cloud computing trends are just over-hyped ideas. Folks within Oracle have been working hard to make sure that the company can benefit from the rapid evolution of the on-demand movement. Now, they have the ability to not only expand their software development arsenal, but add to their computing platform as well.

These assets will not only come in handy for third-party developers and enterprise users who want to acquire them, they will also fortify Oracle’s hosting business and help Oracle quickly convert its hosting capabilities into a true cloud computing environment.

According to Oracle’s President Charles Phillips, “Our largest customers have been asking us to step up to a broader role to reduce complexity, risk and cost by delivering a highly optimized stack based on standards.”

I may be looking at the world through cloud-colored glasses, but this sounds like the preview of a new round of cloud computing initiatives to me.

cloud computing IBM Oracle SaaS Software-as-a-Service Sun Microsystems