Traditionally, Oracle has sold databases and business application software, partnering with hardware makers like Sun, Hewlett-Packard and Dell.
The merger will bolster Oracle's effort to topple SAP, its German rival, as the leading seller of business application software for large corporations.
Oracle used the testimony of Christy Bass, a partner at the consulting firm Accenture, to show that many large customers choose SAP, the largest provider of business application software, hire outside vendors to process financial and human resources systems or design their own software.
Lawson Software provides business application software, maintenance and consulting to customers primarily in specific services, trade and manufacturing/distribution industries.
Database design is just one part of the analysis and design phase of creating effective business application software, but it is often the part that is the most challenging and the most critical to perform.
A radical shift is underway with respect to business application software -- its technical language and architecture, development methodology, deployment and business model.
The commission said that it would investigate the impact of the proposed merger on the market for business applications software, which is used by large multinational companies.
Infor, the third-largest maker of business applications software, after SAP and Oracle, fields about a million customer-support calls and online inquires a year.
Its business was to offer cut-rate maintenance and support fees for business software, by focusing only on support instead of investing in research and development for future versions of the business applications software.
