Oracle, the database-software behemoth, is buying Sun Microsystems, which sells big computers as well as software ranging from Java tools to open-source databases.

FORBES: Magazine Article

But Soni is looking for companies that develop open source applications and databases.

FORBES: Magazine Article

If a person's DNA is not found in national DNA databases, a source for comparison must be found, he said.

CNN: How authorities identify a burned body

Open-source firms are flourishing in databases (Ingres, for instance), business intelligence (JasperSoft), customer-relationship management and other business applications (SugarCRM, Alfresco).

ECONOMIST: Open-source software in the recession: Born free | The

Those folders were home to some 126 billion files that contain everything from personal data hosted by a social networking service, sales records, video game source code and even unencrypted backups of databases.

ENGADGET: Thousands of Amazon S3 data stores left unsecured due to misconfiguration

If Oracle's acquisition of Sun Microsystems goes through, it will have an even bigger open-source portfolio including MySQL, a popular program for databases.

ECONOMIST: Open-source software in the recession: Born free | The

At the low-price end, open-source upstarts MySQL and Enterprisedb have hawked cheaper, nimbler databases for a few years, possibly squeezing Ingres out.

FORBES: Terry Versus Larry