mValent's app configuration management technology will boost Oracle's Enterprise Manager platform Oracle is acquiring application configuration management vendor mValent, with the goal of enhancing the Oracle Enterprise Manager platform, Oracle said this week.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.[ Oracle has made many acquisitions in recent years; the biggest was its acquisition of BEA, and its PeopleSoft buy was a major one as well. ] MValent technology is expected to enhance Enterprise Manager application management software with extensive capabilities for managing applications across IT environments, Oracle said. Customers are expected to benefit from increased operational productivity through automation, enhanced audit, and governance as well as improved application runtime, according to Oracle’s brief statement on the acquisition.“Effective application configuration management is increasingly important as businesses look to improve operating efficiencies,” said Richard Sarwal, senior vice president for Oracle Applications and Systems Management, in Oracle’s statement. “With the addition of mValent, Oracle expects to be able to address this need by providing customers with the ability to collect, compare and reconcile deep configuration information of complex systems.”The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2009. Meanwhile, a Phurnace Software representative said the Oracle acquisition leaves Phurnace as the only vendor-neutral application configuration and deployment management vendor. The company automates Web application deployment. Software Development