Oracle bolsters Asian marketing fund

BEIJING--This year's marketing budget for Oracle's independent software vendors, systems integrators and resellers in the Asia-Pacific region will exceed the amount allocated in 2001, a company executive said Friday.

The news comes as the database giant steps up its investments in development centers throughout China and unveils plans to hire an additional 2,000 engineers in India.

Last year, Oracle spent about $39 million in co-marketing campaigns and sales incentives for its 1,500 partners in the region, said Bronwyn Hastings, Oracle's Asia-Pacific vice president of alliances and channels.

"These partners have consistently contributed about three-quarters of our total sales in Asia-Pacific," Hastings said in an interview at the OracleWorld conference here.

Oracle's allies in the region include Singapore-based Ecquaria Technologies and ECS, Neusoft Group in China, and India's I-flex Solutions and Satyam Computer Services.

About half of last year's funds were given to partners as referral fees and rebates for meeting sales quotas, Hastings said. For example, partners can be paid up to 10 percent of the value of a successful deal for recommending Oracle technologies. Rebates are capped at 4 percent of the contract's value, she noted.

Recent customer wins have included South Korean steel manufacturer Posco, Hanwha Chemical and Korea Telecom, India's Tata Teleservices and distribution firm Jebsen in China.

On a global scale, Oracle spends $130 million on its Partner Network program. Its 12,000 partners contribute about 40 percent to the company's total turnover.

CNETAsia's Irene Tham reported from Beijing.