Oracle unveils online services for SMEs
Oracle launched a suite of online services yesterday which targets the small and medium sized business market.
The suite is part of the company’s strategy to persuade customers to use software as a service over the internet, rather than actually buying the applications.
Hewlett Packard (HP), Compaq and Sun Microsystems have all partnered with the database giant to provide hardware support for Oracle’s hosting customers.
Compaq has already configured its servers to automatically support Oracle software as an online service, and both Sun’s and HP’s servers will be available within 30 and 90 days, respectively.
Oracle will sell a suite of financial, marketing and customer applications called Oracle E-Business Suite for Small Business, which was developed by NetLedger as a $99-a-month service.
NetLedger, which is partly backed by Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison, specialises in providing small companies with online business management software.
Jeremy Burton, senior vice president of products and services marketing at Oracle, said the company will develop integration software to allow small business customers to easily integrate their data with larger businesses that use Oracle’s ebusiness suite.
‘In the past, you had to get into the business of retail channels to sell to small businesses, but the internet changes all that. We have a cost-effective way to go to market,’ he said.
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