Highly integrated and optimized packages of hardware and software, engineered to outperform any generic combinations on the market.

That's the key, I think, behind all big deals Oracle will make in the next couple of years: how will Ellison seek to flesh out his optimized-systems model? And that's why my top two votes for his next M&A targets go to EMC and Netezza.

EMC would give Oracle some of the world's most-advanced storage technologies as well as enormous advances in its own virtualization capabilities via VMware and security via RSA. While Ellison has lavished praise on Sun's server technology, EMC is the global leader at a time when the widely heralded "information explosion" is forcing businesses to rethink their storage strategies to handle the unprecedented volumes of data and information that today's intensely wired world is creating.

We've also seen how VMware is looking to move beyond virtualization and into the broader areas of enterprise architecture and infrastructure management, both of which could be ideal extensions for Oracle, which bills itself the "information company."

Then there's Netezza, the data-appliance specialist fresh off a blowout quarter in which it not only continued to grow rapidly (revenue up 45% to $63.8 million) but also showed it could do so profitably, as its net income more than quadrupled to $3.2 million from $700,000 in the year-earlier quarter.

That provides three primary attributes Ellison would demand:

(a) Presence in a strategic market: from its inception, Netezza's been in the optimized-systems business.

(b) The ability to grow: The 45% growth rate is appealing but beyond that is the strategic positioning behind that growth, as described by CEO Jim Baum in the company's earnings announcement late last week: "Our customers and partners continue to embrace our value proposition and technology. We are excited about our opportunities as we continue to help organizations maximize their use of high-performance data analytics to make critical time-sensitive decisions, predict future events, and dramatically enhance the way they do business."

(c) The ability to generate increasing levels of profit out of that growth: CFO Patrick Scannell said Netezza's raising its guidance for the year to 30% annual growth and that while "we will continue to invest across the organization during the second half of the year," the company also expects to see "operating-margin improvement year over year."

And finally, here's one more guess at Oracle's next target, but this one's from out on the fringes: RIM, the maker of the Blackberry smartphones. Oracle's got a fairly serious hole in its product line when it comes to mobility-specific tools and technologies, and with arch-rival SAP's recent purchase of Sybase, SAP is now better-equipped to help customers create highly mobile enterprises.

While RIM certainly has its challenges, it would provide Oracle with immediate credibility, resources, and technologies in the hugely important mobile market.

Don't forget to check out Jannise's complete list of poll results regarding possible future Oracle acquisitions and his graphical representation of Oracle's past acquisitions here.

RECOMMENDED READING: Global CIO: The CEO Of The Year Is SAP's Bill McDermott Global CIO: IBM Doubles Down On Red-Hot Optimized Systems Global CIO: Oracle's Top 10 Retail-Industry Insights Global CIO: In Database Wars, Oracle Blasts Microsoft And IBM Global CIO: Microsoft Joins Oracle & IBM In Rise Of The Machines Global CIO: Oracle Reveals Strategy & Customers For White-Hot Exadata Global CIO: Larry Ellison's Hardware Boasts Are Nonsense, Says IBM Global CIO: Larry Ellison's IBM-Slayer Is Oracle Exadata Machine Global CIO: Oracle Layoffs Threaten Larry Ellison's Credibility Global CIO: How SAP Is Leading The Mobile-Enterprise Revolution Global CIO: SAP's Top 10 Priorities To Become Undisputed #1 Global CIO: Oracle's Larry Ellison Declares War On IBM And SAP Global CIO: Why Oracle's Earnings Will Improve With Sun Global CIO: IBM Claims Hardware Supremacy And Calls Out HP's Hurd Global CIO: Oracle Needs More Than Talk To Beat IBM's Systems Global CIO: Oracle CEO Larry Ellison's Top 10 Reasons For Buying Sun Global CIO: Oracle CEO Larry Ellison On The Future Of IT Global CIO: Oracle-Sun A Bad Deal? Only A Fool Would Say That Oracle Sees Unconditional EU Approval For Sun Global CIO: Why Oracle's Larry Ellison Will Tell The EU To Pound Sand IBM CEO Sam Palmisano Talks With Global CIO Global CIO: An Open Letter To Oracle CEO Larry Ellison Global CIO: Where Do Oracle's Profits Come From? Global CIO: Oracle Dumps HP After Co-Creating 'Most Successful Introduction Ever' Global CIO: Sam Palmisano's Grand Strategy For IBM Global CIO: In Oracle Vs. SAP, IBM Could Tip Balance Bob Evans is senior VP and director of InformationWeek's Global CIO unit.

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