Analysis: In The HP-Oracle Server Fight, There Are No Winners

By Joseph F. Kovar
August 30, 2012 1:00 PM ET

Page 4 of 4

"If HP’s BCS products are in play, we deliver results," Denali’s Convery said. "Much of HP’s challenge and opportunities are being played out in the press or the courts. None of this matters if the BCS products and services meet the needs of our customers we represent HP in our discussions. With that said, sometimes we try to put out the fire in the barn, when the horse has already left the building and out to pasture." Convery said Denali presents customers with choice and options and a variety of solutions.

"Based on a number of customer requests, yes, the trending is moving toward Oracle's and SAP's offerings," he said. "With that said, the BCS products and services have a long-standing customer base, and [customers] continue to require [these] solutions."

The ongoing dispute between the former partners resulted in a series of lawsuits stemming from Oracle's decision to suspend all software development on the Intel Itanium microprocessor, citing what it called indications from Intel management that it is focusing on the x86 processor line and that Itanium was nearing the end of its life.

HP's Itanium-based Integrity servers, which the company uses as the hardware platform for its HP-UX Unix operating system, was one of the primary platforms for which Oracle developed its market-leading database and other middleware.

However, that relationship started to unravel when Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems, a move that gave Oracle its own server platform. Oracle has since moved to integrate its software and server hardware into tightly integrated appliances.

HP in June 2011 filed suit against Oracle alleging breach of contract, libel, intentional interference to disrupt business relationships, and violations of business codes in relation to Oracle's decision. The two have since filed a series of suits and countersuits against each other related to that dispute.

Both HP and Oracle declined to comment for this story, citing policies that prevent them from commenting on ongoing litigation.

PUBLISHED AUG. 30, 2012

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