Oracle, Dell Deal Windows Server Bundle

Oracle and Dell reaffirmed their
longstanding partnership to bring low-cost computing packages to customers,
bundling Oracle Database 10g Standard Edition One with Microsoft Windows
Server 2003 on Dell PowerEdge servers.

The new offering allows small business customers to build and
run applications on some of the most popular software in the industry with
commodity hardware from Dell.

That Oracle’s database software is running behind Windows operating system
software might seem like a strange pairing, but Dell, because of its true
commodity positioning, is the hub of this wheel. So the competitive
cooperation makes sense.

The deal is not exclusive, either. Oracle and Dell already sell a
package for selling Red Hat Linux together.

In a statement, Oracle and Dell said having Database 10g Standard Edition
One, Unix and Windows pre-installed on Dell systems cuts configuration time. There is
also a customized dashboard for system management that is powered by the
Windows Server start bar.

Running Standard One on PowerEdge 2800 and 2850 servers is one way for
customers to start small, the companies said. Should they require more
power, the flexibility of 10G allows administrators to scale up.

As a follow-up to an agreement inked in
April, the software and license is preloaded on Dell servers at no
additional cost.

Dell is the single selling contact for these platforms and is selling the
first package — Standard One and Windows Server 2003 on the PowerEdge
2850 — now. The platform will be available on the PowerEdge 2800 in the
fourth quarter. All platforms come with the PowerVault 220S external storage
system.

Prices vary by configuration.