Technology companies are looking to the cloud. Oracle recently bought cloud-based software company Taleo for US$1.9b, marking the tech giant’s second major purchase of a cloud-based company. The Taleo deal follows closely behind another cloud-focused purchase, with Germany’s SAP announcing at the end of 2011 that it would buy SuccessFactors, a US cloud-based company, for US$3.3b. These and other cloud-based targets showcase the sector’s rapid consolidation, which could fuel competition and boost valuations for such businesses in the coming year.