Oracle severs ties with HP

 

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By Reuters

Posted on 16 Sep 2009 at 11:22

Oracle has drawn a line beneath its high-profile server-building partnership with HP, as the company draws closer to completing its acquisition of Sun.

Oracle made the announcement as it revealed the Exadata V2, which is based on Sun's "Galaxy" family of x64 blade servers and comes loaded with Oracle's database software.

Oracle launched the first version of the server with HP a year ago, claiming that HP would be a key ally in its move into the server market.

But the dynamics of that relationship have changed since April, when Oracle agreed to buy Sun for more than $7 billion. HP and Sun are fierce rivals in the markets for server computers and storage equipment.

The Exadata V2 is the first of what Ellison claims will be many products that wed Sun's hardware with Oracle's software.

An Oracle spokeswoman claims Oracle will continue to sell the original Exadata computers, built in partnership with HP, until existing inventory is sold out, if customers request that model.

Officials at HP could not be reached for comment.

Oracle does not break down sales of the Exadata machine, but during the company's most recent earnings call, Ellison said that it was one of the most successful products he had launched since he founded the company more than 30 years ago.