It was basically a matter of when, not if: Oracle is buying CRM specialist Siebel Systems for $5.83 billion. Unlike the $10 billion deal for PeopleSoft in 2004, which was contested by PeopleSoft's leadership, today's move was welcomed by Siebel's commanders, including Tom Siebel himself, the largest shareholder and a former Oracle executive. Will federal, state and foreign governments approve the deal? How can Oracle integrate all these different technologies? What about the humongous issue of customer support? Will Microsoft now go and buy SAP? All we can do is wait and see.

For more on the deal:
- check out this AP article

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