Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Database
    • Database

    IBM and Oracle Trade Barbs over Databases

    By
    Brian Prince
    -
    April 30, 2007
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Officials at IBM are throwing verbal haymakers at Oracle as Big Blue touts its successes in the database market.

      The two database heavyweights alternated between offensive and defensive postures recently after IBM questioned Oracles claims of database dominance.

      “The rapid adoption of DB2 9 would seem to call their claims into question and analysts are starting to question their numbers as well,” said Bernie Spang, director of IBM data servers.

      He cited commentary by Philip Howard of UK-based Bloor Research, who noted that when reporting Oracles results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2007, CEO Larry Ellison said new license revenues for the database and middleware division grew 17 percent.

      However, Ellison also noted the middleware portion had grown roughly 80 percent, which Howard argued indicates a slow down in the growth of Oracles database portfolio.

      In an interview with eWEEK, Howard said increased competition not just from IBM but from a number of vendors, has affected sales of 10g.

      “11g may make a difference compared to DB2 but probably not versus SQL Server, Netezza and EnterpriseDB—as these all compete as much on lower TCO and reduced administration as on features and performance,” Howard said.

      But for Oracles part, company officials are not breaking much of a sweat, and are convinced the companys hold on the database market is not slipping.

      “Theres no doubt about that,” said Willie Hardie, Oracle vice president of database product marketing.

      Hardie pointed to a study by IDC that included estimated 2006 revenue totals from the five biggest relational database management system providers and had Oracle in the top spot with a 44.4 percent of the market. IBM was second with 21.2 percent.

      According to IDC, those figures represent a growth of 14.7 and 11.9 percent between 2005 and 2006 for Oracle and IBM, respectively.

      “Theres always going to be competitors in the market,” Hardie said. “An organization like Oracle continues to do business with its extensive install-base.”

      The IDC study did not include features sold by vendors as separation options and did not break out subscription and maintenance revenue, which can obscure the true growth rate of a vendors database license sales.

      IBMs Spang said the $4.3 billion in revenue earned by the companys software segment in the first quarter of fiscal 2007 was driven largely by sales of the DB2 9 Viper data server.

      /zimages/2/28571.gifOracle reaches out to apps partners. Click here to read more.

      “The volume of new DB2 customers since we launched DB2 9 last July has exceeded all expectations,” he said. “We have seen literally thousands of new customers in that timeframe—and a large percentage of those are migrations from Oracle.”

      However, Forrester Research analyst Noel Yuhanna disputed IBMs claims of how aggressively the market is adopting DB2.

      “I think we have seen less aggressive movement with IBM DB2,” he said, adding that he thinks IBM has not aggressively marketed DB2. “Oracle still rules the world.”

      Spang strongly disagreed.

      “I would also say that the large numbers of new customers—backed up by our earnings—support the claims that our marketing strategy has been right on target,” he said.

      /zimages/2/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest database news, reviews and analysis.

      Brian Prince
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×