http://www.directionsmag.com/editorials.php?article_id=725

I suggest that it won't be too long before we see other geospatial technology mergers and acquisitions take place in a stepwise progression that may eventually involve the major enterprise software companies. Who might that be? A merger between Intergraph and MapInfo makes sense to me. Intergraph has cash in the bank but has only a marginally profitable GIS division; MapInfo is making all the right moves to embed their technology in business intelligence solutions and had a great year financially. Would such a merger cause Oracle to gobble up that combination? It would if it represented a significant customer base that Oracle wants to acquire. And with a large cache of customers in the federal arena like Intergraph has, and a significant installed based in business GIS like MapInfo has, it is a scenario that could very easily make a big splash.