Oracle accelerates investments in China
Published: 12 Jun 2002 10:03 BST
In the hope of wooing application developers in China, Oracle has unveiled a Chinese version of its popular online resource centre.
The new Oracle Technology Network (OTN) Web site aims to provide free downloads of Oracle development tools and software, technology documentation and support services to developers in the country. Within OTN is a forum for information sharing among developers and a marketplace for job seekers.
The English version, which has been in operation since 1998, has attracted 55,000 users from China, said Rene Bonvanie, vice president of Oracle9i Marketing and OTN.
Bonvanie expects to sign up another 165,000 developers in the country as OTN members over the next few months. He was speaking to reporters at OracleWorld Beijing 2002, the company's business and IT forum.
Local language support is the first step toward accessing China's pool of professional developers, which according to market researcher IDC will hit half a million by 2005.
While there's no charge for software downloads, a licensing fee will apply once the finished product is commercially deployed, said Bonvanie. Oracle has 15 dedicated employees to run the Chinese Web site, he said, but declined to reveal the amount invested.
The new online initiative comes less than a month after Oracle opened its third Asia-Pacific product development facility in Shenzhen, China, which employs 100 engineers.
In the next few months, Oracle said it will start another development centre in Beijing.
"Our investments will be proportional to the growth of our business in China," Oracle chairman and chief executive Larry Ellison told reporters gathered in Beijing for OracleWorld, which has attracted over 6,000 attendees despite the FIFA World Cup fever.
China has been identified as Oracle's fastest-growing market worldwide, at an annual 50 percent growth rate.
"The absence of legacy applications and technologies allows China to move with the latest and greatest stuff," said Ellison, who declined to reveal revenue projections for the country.
According to the company, about 150 Chinese companies use the Oracle E-Business Suite -- they include China Mobile, Bao Steel Group, Hua Wei, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Airline. The Bank of China, China Telecom, Shanghai Power and Xinhua News Agency are among its database customers.
Apart from the 100 engineers in Shenzhen, Oracle has approximately 300 workers handling day-to-day operations, sales and support in China.
California legislators are currently investigating a $95m contract which was awarded to Oracle without competing bids.
In April, a state auditor released a report stating that public officials failed to exercise due diligence in signing the six-year Oracle contract and that the deal would cost taxpayers as much as $41m more than needed. Oracle said the contract could save California as much as $163m.
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