I've been reading all the insight, feedback and political viewpoints following the declaration of Oracle leader Larry Ellison and his plans for Sun once the company's acquisition effort is successful.

One of the best takes I've caught was over at CIOZone.com, where one columnist, Tom Hoffman, brought forth several important points in the issue of where services plays when it comes to today's Oracle environment.

Hoffman goes right to the point about how services are a very key element when it comes to Oracle, whether it's deployment, integration, expansion and infrastructure stability. First he points out that Ellison has stated that Oracle isn't looking to boost its services offerings, even with the Sun acquisition, primarily because of the lower margin point services brings into the mix when compared to software and hardware. And then he notes why, financially, this might not be the best strategy for Oracle.

I'll add my own two cents as well. To be blunt, Ellison's view of services is not in the best interests of enterprises who have a Sun-Oracle environment now or planning one.

Hoffman notes that services is one of the many reasons IBM is such a successful Oracle integrator and platform player: IBM knows services are necessary to enterprises and has steadily expanded and deepened its services program with expertise and talent. And despite the lower margin aspect, it's figured out how to provide what customers need and still maintain a decent revenue channel. Hoffman notes that other tech titans have long been striving to emulate IBM's Oracle services initiative given its success.

IBM's services strategy has helped companies gain great return on Oracle investments and business rewards from the database environment.

Let's face it. It's easy to buy the hardware, and just as easy to load the software, and not too hard to get the Oracle machine turned on.

But from that point, if the goal is to get the most out of the investment, to get the most value from data, you need an experienced hand. What better move is there then to build an Oracle system on a platform that's not only stable, scalable and flexible but one that comes with guidance?

Think about it this way: a vendor that can build the database system needed, and also provide the support and knowledge to make it run smooth and efficient from the start (or pop down the road if help is needed) is a much more enticing partner than the vendor who just lugs in a bunch of boxes and scatters disks on a table.