Oracle to lease software, space via Internet
Reuters Story - August 25, 1998 16:03
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By Duncan Martell
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Aug 25 (Reuters) - Oracle Corp., the world's top database software maker, will soon start leasing its programs and space on its computers over the Internet to help small and medium-sized businesses run their operations, its chairman said on Tuesday.
Called Oracle Business Online, the service will combine the company's database software, its other applications and a new software program announced on Tuesday, Chairman Larry Ellison said at the company's headquarters in Redwood Shores, Calif.
Ellison did not specify when Oracle would launch the service, which resembles offerings from International Business Machines Corp. in that it would enable customers to outsource parts of their businesses.
"You'd log on to our Web site and we'd do it all for you," Ellison said at a news conference, adding that customers would pay one price to lease its software and another for space on its computers. "It's cheaper for you and more profitable for us," he said.
Oracle's chairman said low-priced Internet connections and personal computers that cost $700 or less make it cheaper for companies to use computer power applications and data on large computer systems accessed online through a Web browser.
Earlier, Oracle announced the newest version of Application Server 4.0, software that aims to simplify the mix of programs large companies now use to run their business. That software will be priced at $195 per user, Oracle said.
Ellison, who has long carried a torch for the Network Computer, said he was surprised at how quickly prices on traditional personal computers using Intel Corp. chips and Microsoft Corp. software, have fallen. Two years ago, he was crowing about all people needed was a $500 computer to access the Internet.
"What surprised me was the first computer to average $500 was the personal computer," Ellison said. "Its primary use now is Internet access."
A network computer is a stripped-down PC that draws on a powerful computer server for its processing power, data and software programs. But now, Ellison is stressing the importance of network computing as a concept, rather than the actual device it self.
It was "naming stupidity" to give the network computer its own brand name, Ellison said. "We're trying to shift away from branding conventional, industry-owned standards," said Oracle's 53-year-old co-founder
Ellison did not specify when Oracle would launch the service, which resembles offerings from International Business Machines Corp. in that it would enable customers to outsource parts of their businesses.
"You'd log on to our Web site and we'd do it all for you," Ellison said at a news conference, adding that customers would pay one price to lease its software and another for space on its computers. "It's cheaper for you and more profitable for us," he said.
Oracle's chairman said low-priced Internet connections and personal computers that cost $700 or less make it cheaper for companies to use computer power applications and data on large computer systems accessed online through a Web browser. Earlier, Oracle announced the newest version of Application Server 4.0, software that aims to simplify the mix of programs large companies now use to run their business. That software will be priced at $195 per user, Oracle said. |
