Not even the holidays can stop the analytics train. Last week saw Oracle kick its expansion strategy into high gear with the purchase of Datalogix Inc., a leading provider of consumer spending information that tracks more than $2 trillion in buying activity across some 110 million households.

That massive treasure trove of data has attracted 650 customers to the firm’s platform, including Facebook and Twitter as well big name corporate brands like Ford Motor Corp. But it’s the information itself that will provide the biggest boost for the database company, moving it toward a goal of helping customers identify big-picture trends influencing the bottom line.

Oracle said it intends to integrate Datalogix with Bluekai, Inc., another consumer information aggregator it acquired earlier this year for a reported $400 million. The combined whole will become part of the company’s cloud suite, which it promises will enable marketers and other professionals from different parts of the organization to tap into a unified view of consumers across channels.

HP can’t shake Autonomy

While Oracle is making big plans for its latest acquisition, Hewlett-Packard Co. is still trying to shake off the legal trauma from its diasterous purchase of Autonomy Corp. in 2011. The company received a holiday disappointment after a U.S. District Judge nixed a proposed settlement with shareholders for the second time on the grounds that it frees management from too much liability.

According to the ruling, the agreement would have insulated HP’s leadership from a wide range of misconduct complaints pertaining not only to the Autonomy deal but also to other past and future matters, thereby diminishing the ability of shareholders to hold executives accountable. The decision leaves the company with only one more chance to sort out the lawsuit before going to court.

Cloudera wins deal with hot legal startup

Cloudera Inc. also made waves in the legal sphere last week, although on a much more positive note. It announced a data analytics deal with Avvo Inc. to help the legal advisory service handle user questions faster and more accurately.

Avvo said it would use the integrated capabilities of Impala and Apache Spark to help it to better handle legal queries from more than 7 million monthly visitors and to manage its database of more than six million questions and answers. Additionally, the fast-growing startup is leveraging its Hadoop distribution to scan traffic for behavioral patterns that can shed light on engagement and pinpoint opportunities for improvement.