Both Sides Released Documents They Say Support Their Cause
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In the run-up to the trial, both sides have released documents they say support their cases. Oracle this month unveiled a number of internal HP documentsprimarily emailsdating back to 2007 that show a desperate HP worried that Intel would end development of Itanium and eventually agreeing to pay the chip maker more than $488 million to continue the platform. HP released documents showing what they said are Oracle executives outlining their intent to harm HP, with one executive saying in an instant messaging exchange that hp is dead.
The debate over Itaniums future has already hurt HPs high-end server business, with HP executives several times pointing to Oracles decision as the key reason for revenue declines for Integrity systems. Analysts also have said it is having an impact. In IDCs May 30 release outlining the worldwide server numbers in the first quarter, IDC analysts talking about the decline in revenues for non-x86 systems pointed to the ongoing legal dispute.
"Recent heightened awareness of the future of Itanium is also pressing down on customer demand for non-x86 servers, Kuba Stolarski, research manager for enterprise servers at IDC, said in a statement.
Several high-profile executives are expected to testify during the trial, including Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, Oracles Hurd, Intel CEO Paul Otellini, and other officials from Oracle, HP and Intel. Ellison harshly criticized HPs board of directors after it forced Hurd to resign, and also took shots at the company when it hired Apotheker as CEO.
However, during an appearance at the All Things D event May 30, Ellison reportedly had kind words for HP's current CEO Meg Whitman
I wish Meg nothing but the best. Its a big company. Its a lot of work, Ellison said during the event, according to MarketWatch, adding that, in comparison to Apotheker, I think Meg was a big improvement.
