Software moguls end Silicon Valley8217;s most bitter feuds,jump into deal

8220;Hopefully it will be the end to us getting a little too revved up at times,but the vast majority of those 27 years have been epic,8221; Benioff said.

Ellison said they would 8220;try to continue to be entertaining while making sure that the entertainment never distracts from our commitment to working together. 8220;Oracle is the world8217;s No. 3 software maker but it has fallen behind emerging players like Salesforce.com in providing Web-based software,or cloud computing,a fast-growing trend that Ellison had been slow to tap into.

Ellison and Benioff8217;s reconciliation is the latest example of how technology alliances can quickly shift as businesses evolve,turning friends into foes,and vice versa. 8220;By Larry and I coming together,a door has opened that lets us go through into the future,and we8217;re not going to be held back by how the industry was,8221; Benioff said. In the new partnership,which was announced earlier this week,Oracle will integrate some of its cloud-based software programs with Salesforce products. Salesforce will also expand its own use of Oracle products and standardize Oracle products with its own offerings.

Their cooperation should help the two companies sell more cloud-based software. Benioff formed Salesforce with the blessing of his former boss,who contributed 2 million in seed money. But they quickly became rivals after Oracle started selling software that competed with Salesforce products,and Benioff fired Ellison from his board of directors. Oracle and longtime rival Microsoft Corp have also cozied up to each other,saying this week they would support each other8217;s cloud platforms and increase sales opportunities. On Wednesday,Oracle announced a tie-up with cloud-company NetSuite,which is partly owned by Ellison.