In its acquisition of Sun Microsystems, Oracle sees a technology company that is a software gem, skillful in computer design and ripe for cost-cutting.

The big database software company’s agreement Monday to buy Sun for $7.4 billion, analysts say, also promises to make Oracle a more formidable competitor in the lucrative market for corporate computing, especially against I.B.M., Sun’s previous suitor.

The Oracle-Sun deal came little more than two weeks after I.B.M. ended its talks with Sun. The Sun board balked after I.B.M. lowered its offer to $9.40 a share from $10. The Oracle bid, at $9.50 a share, will have a net cost to Oracle of $5.6 billion, after accounting for the value of Sun’s cash and debt.

Lawrence J. Ellison, Oracle’s chief executive, said in a conference call Monday morning that Sun’s Java programming language and its Solaris operating system were the main attractions. He said Java, the language used in most computer science schools and a technology used daily by millions of software developers, was “the single most important software asset we have ever acquired.”