Oracle on SAP's NetWeaver: Bring it on

NEWTON, Mass.--With its ambitious Project Fusion, Oracle is absorbing software from a string of acquisitions and getting ready to go toe-to-toe with heavyweight SAP in back-end server software.

At a customer event here Wednesday, Oracle executives detailed the components of its Fusion Middleware, which will eventually underpin all its applications. A limited roll-out of the server infrastructure software will kick off toward the end of 2005, they said. The process is expected to take several years.

Oracle refers to Project Fusion as its ongoing initiative to integrate customers from acquired business software makers PeopleSoft, Retek and J.D. Edwards, which PeopleSoft had bought before it in turn was purchased by Oracle.

News.context

What's new:
Oracle says its "Fusion Middleware" is a modular, standards-based infrastructure that will help merge its different application lines.

Bottom line:
With the Fusion software, Oracle goes head-to-head with SAP's NetWeaver.

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The executives said the Fusion middleware is Oracle's answer to NetWeaver, rival business software maker SAP's most strategic development effort. NetWeaver is standards-based infrastructure software, or middleware, designed to ease data interoperability in SAP applications.

Charles Phillips, Oracle's president, said that the company invites the competition from NetWeaver because the Fusion middleware is based on existing application server products already used by customers. By contrast, SAP does not have a history of selling middleware.

"If SAP wants to compete by talking about infrastructure, great. We've been doing that for years," Phillips said.

"SAP has done neat packaging (with NetWeaver), and they've talked about it. But very few customers can say, I'm using NetWeaver for 'X,'" he said.

An SAP spokesman on Friday disputed Phillips' claim that SAP had few customers for its NetWeaver product. SAP has 1,500 NetWeaver customers who are using the software to connect to non-SAP systems, spokesman William Wohl said.

In its recent quarter, SAP reported revenue of 26 million euros ($34 million) from NetWeaver-related products and said that it gained market share on its competitors.

"What's very clear in the market today is that customers are looking at what's happening at Oracle, and they are voting with their wallets to go to where there is an existing platform," Wohl said. "Fusion is nothing more than PowerPoint today."

The Fusion middleware consists of several components, including a Java application server, a Web portal, business intelligence software and Oracle's Collaboration suite for e-mail and Web conferencing. The software is based on Java and Web services standards, which will make it easier for customers to modify Oracle programs and share information with non-Oracle-based systems, according to the company.

Next year, two major upgrades of Oracle's packaged applications--Oracle eBusiness 11.i.12 and PeopleSoft--will be certified to run on the middleware suite, said John Wookey, senior vice president of applications at Oracle. Other lineups, such as the J.D. Edwards range, will have new products certified for Fusion as they are released, he said.

Fusion will also cover Oracle's data hubs, which is software meant to make information easier to track by providing a single instance of data for many applications. The company expects to release a data hub for companies to track products next month.

Eyeing SAP customers
Although Oracle has its hands full trying to retain thousands of newly acquired customers, the company has its sights on SAP customers with wandering eyes.

Oracle recently launched an internal program called SAP Battle Desk that is designed to nab SAP customers who may be considering their options during a significant application upgrade, Phillips said.

In particular, Oracle is targeting those businesses that may need to install SAP's NetWeaver infrastructure software during an upgrade project.

"SAP is changing its architecture, and that will require some major changes. So if they're going through such a hard upgrade, they might as well look at what else is out there," Phillips said.

SAP is counting on NetWeaver to ease integration between outside products and its applications. This year, the German software maker

[TheMidnightCoder]

And how is this not "Vendor Lock"?

Just because they base themselves on "standards" does not mean anything can be moved between platforms. I just don?t understand why the OSS community tolerates Oracle, Sun, HP, SAP, etc.. but blast Microsoft. They ALL want vendor lock. It?s how they make money. But soe use teasers with the OSS community to gain their favor, then use it for marketing against the ?evil M$ empire?. They ought to wake up and smell the spin. It sure seems that we'll be down to three or four "platforms" soon. Actually, I think the PC itself will disappear (as we know it today) within ten years. Programming "business applications" will be pretty much be gone too. That's why IBM sold its PC division, and basic programming jobs are going overseas. We won't need them anymore. Development platforms are getting easier and easier to use. You can darn near point and click together an application on any platform. A few more years and no one will need to write code.
Boy I feel old. Things just move along so fast...

Considering The Other Competitors In The Race!

While it will be quite interesting to see what happens down the road with regards to the ambitious Oracle Fusion Middleware project as it comes up against the heavyweight "SAP" in back-end server software; and, while - if anything at all was mentioned in this article about this company and as as the competition heats up and we also see a "reduction" of the numbers in the competition, and as we come down the end of the race... one should consider seriously what will be the development and global positioning strategies of a "thoroughbred" of the likeness of "IBM" who also actively develops and promotes a Java application server, a Web portal (WebSphere) and other business intelligence software. Are there any bets on this race as to who will be the winner?