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User Community Speaks Out Against Oracle Decision on Itanium Architecture


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New video series highlights partners’ concerns for their customers

PALO ALTO, Calif.,

Partners and clients running Oracle software on Itanium-based HP Integrity servers are actively voicing their concerns about Oracle’s decision to end software development for the Itanium processor architecture, HP today announced.

HP hardware holds the No. 2 position in the UNIX market, ahead of Oracle’s Sun hardware, with thousands of customers who have invested billions in HP Integrity systems running HP-UX and Oracle software. Oracle’s decision to halt future development for Itanium-based platforms will cost these customers millions in lost productivity while blocking fair competition and stifling innovation in the industry.(1)

Connect, the world’s largest independent HP user community with 52,000 members, announced it will continue to support and advocate for HP and Oracle customers running Itanium-based systems. Connect is urging its members to speak out in an effort to persuade Oracle to reconsider its decision.

The group encourages its members to submit feedback on the impact of this situation to their organizations directly to the Connect Advocacy Committee, where hundreds of customers already have voiced their concerns.

HP partners to Oracle: “What happened to ‘customer first’?”

In a new series of videos, several leading resellers and system integrators discuss Oracle’s decision and its potential to negatively impact their customers, their business opportunities and the industry at large.

Partner testimonials describe how Oracle’s decision limits the number of options in the market, forcing enterprises into a locked-in environment that will drive up costs while hindering their ability to innovate for their businesses.

HP remains committed to supporting its customers running existing versions of Oracle software on HP Integrity servers as well as its network of joint HP and Oracle partners. Customers and partners who wish to preserve a fair and competitive marketplace have many options available.

Customer, partner and executive quotes

“We recently made significant investments in an HP infrastructure that best supports our mission-critical computing needs with Oracle software on Integrity servers. Forcing customers into changing platforms impacts our business strategy and partnerships. We rely on both HP and Oracle as significant business partners in running our business. Having one partner dictate platform strategy is unthinkable. We urge Oracle to reconsider its decision.” – Carol Skarlat, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Stuller Inc.

“I am concerned about the thousands of customers which HP and Oracle share and the effect this rather abrupt and uncoordinated decision by Oracle has on the future of the applications used by these customers. As a small software consulting and development company, I am currently working on porting an application to OpenVMS I64 V8.4, which uses Oracle 10g2R. With Oracle’s announcement, our organization is exploring other database options.” – Bill Pedersen, systems consultant, Computer Consulting System Services.

“We see this as perhaps the poorest example in a number of less than stellar decisions made by Oracle over the years. Clearly an attempt to shore up a hardware platform that cannot stand on its own merits.” – Hayden Stewart, vice president of IT for a SaaS software vendor.

“If I could tell Oracle something right now it would be that competition is what drives innovation. Don’t be afraid of the competition – embrace that – and let’s do what’s right for our end-user customers.” – John Vigliecca, vice president, Dasher Technologies.

“You shouldn’t use coercion to try to move your clients off a robust, proven platform.” – John Pietro, director, business development, Gibraltar Solutions, Inc.

“We believe in fair and spirited competition and the customer’s right to choose the best technology for their organizations. In their most recent quarterly earnings, Oracle missed their hardware revenue target on Sun servers. By speaking out, the industry is voicing its concerns about the dubious business practices Oracle is conducting as a way to revive its failing hardware business.” – Martin Fink, senior vice president and general manager, Business Critical Systems, HP.

About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure at the convergence of the cloud and connectivity, creating seamless, secure, context-aware experiences for a connected world. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

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(1) Based on HP internal analysis.



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