With the fate of its proposed US$7.4 billion takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc uncertain amid antitrust scrutiny, Oracle Corp is moving ahead with a new product incorporating both companies’ technology, and snubbing Hewlett-Packard Co (HP) in the process.
Sun and Oracle unveiled a new database machine on Tuesday built from Sun hardware and Oracle software.
The companies claim the Exadata machine works twice as fast as the previous generation of the device. The earlier version of the machine was built by Oracle and HP and when it was introduced last year marked the first time in Oracle’s history that the company sold computer hardware.
The machines are a combination of servers, which carry out heavy computing chores, and database software, which companies use to store and retrieve information they have stored, such as payroll data.
Oracle is the world’s No. 1 database software company.
Oracle confirmed it was no longer making database machines with HP.
HP declined to comment.
Oracle’s proposed takeover of Sun, which is being held up by EU regulators, has touched off a fight for Sun’s computer-server customers. Sun rivals HP and IBM Corp have sought to lure business from Sun by raising concerns among customers about the future of Sun’s hardware products under Oracle.
The tactics have been working. Sun’s worldwide market share in servers stood at 10 percent in the latest quarter, down more than a percentage point from last year, market researcher IDC said.
Oracle has fought back with advertisements promising to invest more deeply in Sun’s products than Sun, which has struggled with financial problems for nearly a decade, could do. Oracle has also said it will “dramatically improve” the performance of Sun’s hardware by designing it to run better with Oracle’s software.
The US Justice Department has already approved the Oracle-Sun deal.
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