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Technology giant Oracle used to be afraid of web-based applications. But no more. Last week, it embraced the cloud by agreeing to purchase Taleo, which manufactures online human resources software, and its second cloud-related service company acquisition to date. As Oracle succumbs to the cloud, the rest of the world can now see how important the internet is to businesses that wish to continue running their operations easily and affordably in a manner more befitting a twenty-first century company.

Analysts report how Larry Ellison, the co-founder and chief executive of Oracle, has had to change his policies to keep up with the times, as the majority of consumers prefer to use the internet for their day-to-day routines.

Oracle’s move also goes to show the evolution and growth of the industry, which came about in the late 90s as the dot.com boom began to fade. At that time, more and more start-ups began to offer business applications that were based in the Web and were there for customers on a subscription basis in comparison to software that had to be installed and was more common at the time. Web-based services don’t require their users to pay the often exorbitant licenses and fees that software does.

Meanwhile, the cloud offers its users a much easier and affordable time, which appeals to corporations who have invested because of its flexibility and the ease with which solutions could be found online. By 2011, cloud-based enterprise deals were through the roof, reaching nearly ten billion dollars, which was an increase of about sixty percent from only the year before.

Oracle is looking to continue its competition with SAP, which is also lagging behind in the cloud-related area. Late last year, SAP purchased Taleo’s rival SuccessFactors for just over three billion dollars in a deal that was considered to be quite rich, as SuccessFactors’s value was nearly ten times more than initially projected. SuccessFactor and Taleo both specialize in software that allows businesses to recruit and manage their employees online. Those interested in checking out the top online masters in human resources program would be interested in both of these businesses.

After Taleo’s shares leaped after SAP made its acquisition public in December, they seemed like the logical choice for Oracle to focus on. Taleo made just over $309 million dollars in revenue last year. Oracle will be spending $46 a share in accordance with the deal they made.

However, as might have been expected, transferring to the cloud hasn’t been easy for Oracle. They continue to make most of their money through hardware and installed software, and embracing the cloud means embracing a model that is a direct threat to the majority of their business. But last October, Ellison and company purchased RightNow Technologies which makes web-based customer service software, a bid that showed the business and technology world that Oracle was ready, willing, and able to enter the ring.

Analysts are now speculating that these two major purchased indicate that Oracle will be making future cloud-based deals.