Oracle Ups Commitment to Linux, Details Roadmap

Computergram International, August 13, 1999

Oracle Corp this week upped its commitment to Linux by setting up a division dedicated to the platform and detailing a roadmap through which the company plans to port all its products to the free OS. The Redwood Shores, California database and applications giant has already moved a number of its key software products to Linux, including its flagship Oracle 8i database and application server. And this week, at the LinuxWorld Expo trade show in San Mateo, California, the company added its Web DB development tools and a series of its XML development tools to that list.

WebDB is a browser-based tool designed to let users build, manage and monitor web sites that provide dynamic access to information in a database. The product can help cut IT costs by allowing employees to publish their own documents on the web, and update the content using a browser, Oracle says. The company's XML tools consist of XML Parser, XML Class Generator, XML SQL Utilities and XSQL Servlet. Both WebDB for Linux and the XML development tools are available now for free download at the Oracle Technology Network web site.

Dom Lindars, a director within Oracle's internet platform marketing group said that since the company released the Linux version of Oracle 8 last year, there have been about 70,000 to 80,000 downloads of the software from the company's web site. And in the two weeks that 8i's been available on Linux, some 35,000 copies of the database have been downloaded. "And we expect that to double within the next two weeks," Lindars said. He admits that not all the downloads represent enterprises actually using the software, but he says that Oracle knows of at least 800 customers that are doing so, and others are currently deploying the software for use six to 12 months from now.

He said Oracle's new business unit consisted of about 10 to 15 people, but added that the company was in the process of increasing that number. The group will be responsible for the development and porting of all Oracle products to Linux, while marketing and sales will still be carried out by Oracle at large, where the company has around 20 to 30 individuals dedicated to the free OS. Within the next few months, it plans to port the rest of its development tools - Oracle Developer and J Developer - to Linux and that will be followed by its entire set of applications, both ERP and front office, at the beginning of 2000.

Also under yesterday's announcement, Oracle said it had partnered with the Indianapolis-based publishing house, Macmillan USA, to sell a starter pack of the Linux version of Oracle 8i to customers which want to build database-driven web sites. The software will be sold through the publisher's retail channels, including CompUSA, Fry's Electronics as well as being sold online via sites such as egghead.com. Oracle said the final details of the package have not yet been finalized, nor has the price, but it will also include books and online reference materials from Macmillan.