Oracle Calls HP Itanium Lawsuit a ‘Publicity Stunt’

eWeek: The already-rocky relationship between Oracle and HP has grown a little more so. Oracle has responded to HP’s lawsuit over Oracle’s decision to end support for the Itanium server platform, saying, “HP untenably has put itself and thousands of customers out on the end of a very long limb because HP, almost alone now, clings to a decadesold microprocessor architecture—Intel’s Itanium chip line—that has no future.” The legal brief adds, “Intel has wanted to discontinue Itanium production for years, and HP knows it. The performance advantage over Intel’s x86-based microprocessors that once justified Itanium is today effectively gone.”

Oracle also accused its one-time partner of misleading customers, writing, “So rather than telling its customers the truth about Intel’s plans for phasing out the Itanium platform, and helping those customers transition to Intel Xeon systems or other alternatives, HP perpetuates the myth that there is a long 10-year roadmap for Itanium development. Now HP is suing Oracle for the temerity to tell customers the truth.”

Analysts say the only winner in the dispute between the two companies will likely be IBM, which also makes competing servers.