Oracle UK distributors decided

Oracle has finally made a decision on who will distribute to their UK market. Arrow ECS and Avnet made it through the long and, constantly delayed process. As one commenter put it during the weeks of waiting, ‘If they (Oracle) were going to do something easy, the assumption is they would have done it by now.’

The much sought after Oracle contract was expected to be announced almost a month ago – but Oracle was not to be rushed. They have been concentrating on absorbing Sun-Microsystems into the fold after the buy up – worth £4.55bn – six months ago. Earlier this month Oracle announced plans for its acquisition including Sun’s storage technology – a projected five-year plan where tape capacity will rise from 1TB to 20TB and a fivefold increase in performance.

Oracle is also implementing its channel strategy across the globe - Sun partners are being called on to switch to the Oracle Partner Network (OPN). The legacy systems supporting Sun partners will switch to the OPN in October – and, with enough take up, bringing together the Oracle jigsaw.

Oracle’s announcement must come with some relief for all those waiting. The call for information to those vying for the illustrious UK distribution contract came back in July. Sun distributor Interface Solutions is one of those to have bid. It will be interesting to watch what comes next from Arrow ECS and Avnet as they take on the UK market.