In the database world, the clear winner is Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL). But there are other big competitors, such as IBM (NYSE: IBM), and upstarts like MySQL.

But what about Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN)? Keep in mind that -- over the years -- the company has built lots of proprietary database systems to manage enormous transaction volumes.

Well, now Amazon.com has its own database offering, which is called SimpleDB. As the name implies, it's not going to be a threat to Oracle (which is focused on big-time customers). Yet, it's still important.

After all, why should a smaller company spend lots of money for racks of servers? Might as well outsource this stuff to a solid player like Amazon.com, right?

But, with SimpleDB, Amazon.com is making a big jump, allowing its customers to essentially build robust applications.

Funny enough, these may ultimately complete against Amazon.com services. Even if so, at least Amazon will get a fee.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

Amazon.com: A software company, too originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 15 Dec 2007 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.