Oracle puts up Linux cash

Database giant Oracle is to give up to $150m in cash incentives to software developers who build applications to run on Oracle/Linux platforms. Called the Unbreakable Linux Partner Initiative, the move may help Oracle partner Dell to steer buyers of volume servers away from Microsoft software, and it may also attract buyers away from the Sun platform on which many of Oracle's biggest deployments currently run.

Developers signing up to the scheme get two pounds for every pound they invest, and will also receive help with application optimisation and support programmes.

"An Oracle 9i cluster on Intel servers provides high levels of availability at lower cost than proprietary [Unix or mainframe] platforms," said Tim Payne, senior director of 9i marketing at Oracle Europe. "People are fed up with paying a Microsoft tax," he added, referring to licensing charges.

These developments suggest that Oracle may be bending to the widely held opinion that Sun's Sparc/Solaris platform may not survive in the long term. Intel's Itanium and the forthcoming AMD Opteron chip promise to bring robust 64bit capabilities at significantly lower prices.

Oracle is reluctant to back 64bit Windows because it sees Microsoft as a rival. Oracle is one of the few enterprise software vendors not to submit products for Windows 2000 Datacenter Server certification, for example. This leaves Linux as the obvious choice for Oracle's mainstream servers.

A survey by Goldman Sachs in November found that 39 percent of IT departments have already deployed Linux. Another study, by Trend Consulting, found 36 percent of a sample of 60 large organisations were using open source technology- one percent down on last year's study. But the research also showed that these firms are using it for a growing number of applications.

"Investment has been in quick projects because of the economic situation, but over the next year there will be a pick-up in strategic projects," said Mauro Mortali, senior consultant at Trend. Twenty-one percent of directors believe Linux's main advantage is lower licensing costs, according to the survey.

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See also:

Linux frenzy sweeps Oracle user conference

Half of users now interested in running mission-critical Oracle databases on Linux  09 May 2003

Penguin cracks Windows servers

Leading software vendors ensure the future of Linux  29 Apr 2003

Choose the Penguin, Oracle tells ISVs

Company recommends Linux operating environment over Windows and Unix  11 Apr 2003

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