Enterprise giant Oracle (ORCL) is finding itself among a more innovative group of software companies than in the recent past. It faces competition from many sides. Not only are small start-ups targeting specific markets that Oracle is in, but also major software players such as Amazon.com (AMZN) and Google (GOOG) threaten the company. Oracle, with its heaps of cash and assets, decided that acquisitions are the best way to remain competitive. This is likely one of the smartest moves it can make.

Following the lead of main competitor and enterprise giant SAP (SAP), Oracle purchased Vitrue, a cloud-based social-marketing company. Anybody who knows Larry Ellison can roll their eyes, as this is another acquisition of a cloud-based company. Clearly, his outbursts and dismissal of the cloud altogether are more bark than bite.

This move is reactive; Oracle is making sure it doesn’t fall behind SAP. In fact, this acquisition happened only a day after SAP made a similar acquisition. To some extent, these two companies are in an arms-race to the top, acquiring any company in the way.

Vitrue will bring new capabilities to Oracle’s line-up, as the company gives marketers a tool to manage all their social networks, such as Facebook (FB) and Twitter, centrally. According to its executive VP, Vitrue will allow Oracle to combine its sales data and analytics with the social marketing brought by Vitrue to “develop more meaningful customer engagements”.To continue reading, click here.