IBM and Oracle in the News

Oracle Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd. announced that the two companies have extended their collaboration on Sparc platforms. Meanwhile, IBM Corp. unveiled a bevy of new storage products, as well as announced the end of the line for Power6 and Power6+ server systems. Finally, sources report that IBM and Oracle have agreed to divide the leadership of Open Java Development Kit (OpenJDK), an open source implementation of the Java programming language.

Focal Points:

• Oracle and long-time Sparc partner Fujitsu announced the extension of their collaboration on Sparc platforms. Unfortunately, the vendors were short on details, particularly any relating to the chips that would be used in the future Sparc Enterprise M machines. The two companies also announced that they have made available a roadmap of M-series servers. According to the announcement, these new servers will provide 15 times better performance in the next three years. Most of the gains will be through the addition of added cores, sockets, and threads. Oracle and Fujitsu also mentioned that they would be aligning their sales forces to sell Sparc Enterprise servers jointly. Moreover, Fujitsu has a new distribution agreement with Oracle PartnerNetwork. This will allow Fujitsu to resell and distribute, as well as act as a system integrator for the full portfolio of Oracle products, the two companies added.
• On February 15, IBM made a series of new storage product announcements. The IBM FastBack for Storwize 7000 will provide IP-based replication capabilities to support disaster recovery requirements. Features include local block-level application backup and near-instant recovery, as well as optional integration with Tivoli Storage Manager, according to IBM. The product is scheduled for general availability on March 11. IBM also announced the current availability of IBM XIV Storage System for increased performance in VMware, Inc. environments. According to the vendor, enhancements include the ability to set up remote mirroring without cost, performance, or time impact of sending data online. Moreover, IBM unveiled the IBM System Storage DS3500 Express, to be available February 25, to help enterprises generate energy cost savings. The new DS3524 and EXP3524 DC powered models are available in enclosures up to 24 drives, and meet the standard -48V DC requirements for telecom and related industries, IBM added. Finally, IBM announced TS2900 Tape Autoloader Express, TS3100 Tape Library Express, and TS3200 Tape Library Express. The products will be generally available on March 4, according to IBM.
• IBM also announced that it would be removing the Power6 and Power6+ machines that are still in its catalog. The BladeCenter JS23 and JS43 blade servers will cease to be available after April 29. The Power 520 and the Power 550 machines will no longer be marketed past May 27, and the high-end Power 595 server will no longer be sold after July 29, IBM added. IBM says that JS23/JS43 buyers should evaluate the PS701 blade, and Power 520 shoppers should look to the Power 720. Meanwhile, Power 550 users should consider the Power 740, and Power 595 buyers should consider the Power 795 as replacement products. Separately, sources report that IBM and Oracle have divided up the leadership of OpenJDK. The new bylaws outline a governing board that consists of a chairman, vice chairman, OpenJDK lead, and two members at large. According to the reports, Oracle has given IBM the power to appoint the vice chairman, while Oracle will appoint the chairman and the OpenJDK lead. The members at large are the only elected members of the board. They will be chosen during a vote each April, and will serve for a one-year term. The board will be able to change the bylaws and processes with agreement from two-thirds of the members, although Oracle is keeping full control over technical and release schedules, the report added.

Experton Group believes Oracle has a plan – vague though it is – to advance its server line and may finally be leveraging Sun’s StorageTek acquisition. IBM’s new tape announcements do not catch it up to the Oracle announcements, which Experton Group covered previously. While tape may not be a strong growth area, it does provide Oracle with another anchor into enterprises and it is one of its hidden strengths. However, it remains to be seen if Oracle will leverage its advantage. In a similar vein, IBM’s XIV line gives it entrée into small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) that it has not successfully penetrated before. The retirement of the Power6 and 6+ lines maps to IBM’s standard plan and should not have any impact in that the Power7 line is more powerful and more aggressively priced. IT executives acquiring new Power Systems should only be buying or leasing the latest products and using them for no more than 40 months. The IBM-oracle Java arrangement helps explain why IBM was not fighting Oracle on its Java actions. The deal is good news for IBM, its business partners and customers that use Java.  IT executives should remain concerned about Oracle’s long-term intent with Java; those using Java through use of IBM products have some cover but CEO Ellison has made it clear he expects to make a lot of money on Java (somehow) so the final chip has not fallen. Moreover, Oracle’s hazy server strategy shows it intends to remain in the high-end server business; on the other hand, the T-series server roadmap remains incomplete to say the least.