Oracle buys Sun microsostyems for $7.4 billion. They’re acquiring a number of powerful technologies including Java and Solaris. But what I find interesting is the acquisition of  MySQL.

MySQL, the free open-source database, was purchased by Sun for $1 billion back in 2008 .  MySQL is a textbook example of what Clayton Christensen dubs a  “Disruptive Technology”. In The Innovator’s Dilemma Christensen talks at length of how lesser technologies, in low-return markets, have kept a steady upward trajectory eventually intersecting the major players (Oracle). This often times catches big firms off guard, only responding once it’s too late. MySQL is being deployed in more sophisticated situations, and could conceivably start to intrude on Oracle’s high end market. (Facebook is currently the largest deployment of MySQL).

Obviously the aquisition of Solaris and Java, at a bargain, was Oracle’s primary motivation. But MySQL was icing on the cake.