Oracle buys compliance vendor LogicalApps

Oracle Corp. plans to expand its governance and compliance offering with the acquisition of LogicalApps, announced on Tuesday.

LogicalApps' software helps companies manage compliance with complex regulations. Its technology enables real-time detection, prevention, monitoring and reporting of financial and operational risk. The software is embedded in enterprise applications and can prevent the misuse of customer data or financial fraud by, for example, preventing employees from processing unsigned requisitions or ensuring they don't inappropriately change financial information.

According to Oracle, a growing range of companies must comply with an increasing number of regulations, in addition to the financial requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley, creating demand for compliance products.

LogialApps' software is already optimized for use with Oracle applications and the company has made "hundreds" of deployments of the software, it said.

The companies did not disclose financial details of the deal, which is expected to close next month.

Oracle will continue to support LogicalApps' customers after the acquisition and plans to continue to invest in development of the software, Oracle said.

The acquisition is in line with a strategy Oracle discussed when it released financial results in September. At the time, Oracle's CEO Larry Ellison said the company plans to look for continued growth in its applications business by selling a wider array of products mainly to existing large customers. The strategy is different than that of some of Oracle's competitors which instead appear to be chasing smaller businesses with scaled-down versions of existing products, he said.