Oracle’s announced its plans to acquire Art Technology Group (ATG), for approximately $1 billion or $6.00 per share.  It’s a cash merger deal for Oracle, with big plans for integrating ATG’s solutions across its enterprise software.

The goal is to provide a more cohesive online experience for customers, with built-in merchandising, marketing, content personalization, automated recommendations and live-help services.

ATG’s eCommerce software is platform-based, presenting cross-channel solutions for customers and clients.  It already works in tandem with Oracle’s CRM, ERP, Retail and Supply Chain applications, as well as its portfolio of middleware and business intelligence technologies.  The acquisition is a sign of commerce’s delve into virtualized environments, and the major players are taking their role within the industry quite seriously.

"Driven by the convergence of online and traditional commerce and the need to increase revenue and improve customer loyalty, organizations across many industries are looking for a unified commerce and CRM platform to provide a seamless experience across all commerce channels," said Thomas Kurian, Executive Vice President Oracle Development.

"Bringing together the complementary technologies and products from Oracle and ATG will enable the delivery of next-generation, unified cross-channel commerce and CRM."

In all, Oracle’s latest acquisition is a big one, indicating another area in which Oracle intends to dominate.  This is the latest in a string of investments and acquisitions for Oracle, with several other big players snatching up a good portion of the competing cloud industry this year, 3PAR being among the space’s most notable purchase.  The company’s also planted itself in the middle of some heated lawsuits with SAP in particular, inadvertently striking up another conflict with rival HP.