New Oracle Pilot Program Pairs Telesales Group With VAR Partners

The pilot program, which began in June in Florida, is part of a renewed channel push at the database maker, said Rauline Ochs, the former BEA channel chief who took over as group vice president of North American Channels for Oracle late last month.

"It's an all-indirect model where we have the Oracle telesales guys with the partners and we are running a territory to see if we can drive the type of business we need in a partner-Oracle direct model," said Ochs in an interview at the XChange 2003 conference, held in Orlando, Fla., and sponsored by CRN parent company CMP Media. "I think that is pretty surprising."

Direct-sales-focused Oracle has been through many channel permutations in the past few years, promising partnering perks and then changing course, some observers said. Last year for example, the company promised to cut partners in on business coming from bigger accounts, but that effort foundered as IT spending continued its slump (see story).

But some Oracle partners are bullish on this latest effort. Louis Cupo, CEO of Sabre Systems, a 17-year-old Oracle-only solution provider based in Boca Raton, Fla., said the program marks the "first time Oracle actually looks like they are making a commitment to the channel."

Cupo said Sabre, which entered the pilot program on Aug. 8, has already gotten a few leads that it is hoping to close in the next quarter. "It is going very well," he said. "We are getting a lot of support from Oracle. It is an excellent program." Sabre meets regularly with Oracle's telesales group and is partnering with Oracle on a wide range of marketing activities, from breakfast and lunch seminars with clients to golf tournaments.

With Oracle's help, Sabre hopes to boost its sales by 50 percent this year, said Cupo. As to whether there is a cultural channel-centric shift taking place at Oracle, Cupo said it's too early to tell but the company is "realizing there is a whole market out there in mid-to-small-level companies that Oracle needs help supporting."

"They need feet on the street," he said. "People to go in and talk to the customers with $1 billion and less in sales. We can help them considerably. Whether or not it is going to be major change, give me a call in three months and I'll tell you how much it affected our business."

Ochs, who oversees the programs for all 2,700 Oracle partners including VARs, integrators, ISVs and MSPs, said there is no timetable for when the pilot program will be rolled out on a wider scale. "It is important [that] partners understand that we are looking at the model to work with them to drive the right opportunities," she said.

Oracle is "looking to get a lot more leverage off the partners we have," said Ochs. "We are listening [to partners]. The goal is we want to get predictable and reliable around partnering."

Ochs, who headed up BEA's channel effort for two years, said there will be changes around the Oracle channel program, including a move to engage "partners in places we haven't had before, and we might see fewer partners in other places." For example, she said, there may be geographic areas or verticals where Oracle needs coverage and will incent partners to work more closely with the company. The aim is to look at Oracle's skills and where it needs help and then put a "channel incentive and ROI for partners that reflects our needs," she said.

There is more account planning going on between Oracle's direct-sales reps and partners, said Ochs. During a recent planning session in Southern California, 10 partners and 10 direct reps shared territory lists and opportunities, she said. "It's all about planning the territory for the year and the quarter," she said. "It is that kind of stuff that is happening every day."

Ochs, a 15-year IBM veteran who was formerly vice president of North American channels at the vendor, said the changes in Oracle's partner programs will come as part of an "evolution" rather than a "revolution."