Oracle Corp has chosen Compaq Computer Corp and its Proliant 5000 server as its mode of entry into the Windows NT-based personal computer server market. The database vendor will use the Proliant as the reference platform for the development and testing of Oracle7, Oracle8 and Oracle Parallel Server for Windows NT. This pact coincides with the lapse, from this month, of Compaq’s bundling agreement with Microsoft Corp to include SQLServer – which is in direct competition with Oracle’s database offerings – on the Proliant 5000. According to Hugh Jenkins, systems group product manager for Compaq UK, the company will no longer bundle SQLServer, or NT 4.0 which was included in a special edition of Microsoft BackOffice with the Proliant, because it is readily available elsewhere. Rather than an anti-Redmond maneuver on Compaq’s part, Jenkins explained that the decision was taken in order to alleviate logistical obstacles thrown up by disparate licensing agreements. Many of Compaq’s Proliant 5000 customers are also part of Microsoft’s Select and Open Licensing Programs where they receive software on particular terms. As such, Jenkins claims, it is easier for both Compaq – who benefit from lower costs – and such customers to get their software from Microsoft, either directly or through resellers. The changes in Compaq’s SmartStart installation tool upgrade, version 3.1a, mean that Compaq can install the software without having to distribute it. However, SmartStart 3.1a does ship with NT 3.51, as well as Oracle7 and Oracle Workgroup. Oracle UK’s NT marketing manager Rob Bruce sees opportunities for installing the company’s databases on NT systems, particularly in the areas of public service, banking and finance and retailing, where the responsibility for IT decisions within many organizations has now been passed down to line management. Oracle also announced the establishment with Compaq of a joint solution center in the UK, to exploit the growth of the NT market.
