Oracle EMEA ISV Initiatives
By Catherine Harrington, ISV Programme Manager, Oracle EMEA

Independent Software Vendors are a key business focus for Oracle in EMEA, and we have a strong commitment to helping ISVs develop a mutually rewarding relationship with Oracle. We measure our success in terms of partner satisfaction, so over the past year we have been asking Oracle partners and those vendors who are not currently working with Oracle for their suggestions on how we can improve our approach. We had some great responses, and the feedback was as enthusiastic as it was varied.

I wanted to outline just a few of the successful initiatives we have introduced in the past year as a result of this feedback. Hopefully they will not only show how we are working to meet your needs, but will also whet your appetite to find out more about what Oracle has to offer.

Firstly, in response to a general demand for more frequent and more consistent communication from Oracle, we are running a series of monthly webcasts aimed specifically at ISVs who are not currently working with Oracle. Presented in English, these webcasts outline the benefits of partnering with Oracle, talk about the latest promotions and initiatives and show how to get the most out of a partnership with Oracle. At the end of each webcast there is the opportunity to ask questions. Click here for more information and to register.

In addition to the monthly webcasts, we have also stepped up our communications with the ISV community in other important ways. This bimonthly newsletter is a good example. In each issue we bring you Oracle news and views; details of our latest initiatives, events, campaigns and promotions; and testimonials and advice from existing ISV partners. We also outline the benefits you can gain from working with Oracle and joining the Oracle PartnerNetwork. If you or a colleague would like to subscribe to receive this newsletter every other month, click on the 'subscribe' link at the bottom.

Many ISVs have recently expressed an interest in learning more about Oracle's Application Server, and with the recent launch of Oracle 10g, there has never been a better time to partner with Oracle. So, we have created a series of initiatives including a product roadshow, webcasts and migration workshops.

Our Application Server for ISVs Roadshow was created specifically for ISVs, to bring our product and marketing experts together with your teams to demonstrate how your business can benefit from using the Oracle Application Server. With more than 20,000 customers worldwide using our application server, and more than 1,500 ISVs already supporting it, these events aimed to show ISVs how they can benefit from the platform, how to migrate to it and what marketing and technical support Oracle can provide. The roadshow toured 15 countries from January to March 2004, and attracted an overall attendance of more than 700 ISVs, far more than we anticipated. Feedback from attendees was very positive, praising the wide scope of the presentations and the great opportunities to meet Oracle executives. We plan to repeat the roadshow soon - watch out for more details.

Building on the content delivered in the Application Server for ISVs Roadshow, we are running a monthly Oracle Application Server for ISVs webcast series until June 2004. The aim of these webcasts is to educate ISVs on why Oracle Application Server 10g is ideal for their business, and how best to exploit it. The series looks at every aspect of Oracle Application Server 10g, from the market opportunity to how to deploy your applications with Oracle Application Server 10g. If you attended a roadshow event and are interested in finding out more about using Oracle Application Server 10g, or if you are unfamiliar with Oracle's application server but are interested in knowing more about the product and how it can benefit your business, these webcasts are for you. Click here for more information on forthcoming topics, and to register.

For those ISVs who are ready to port their solutions to Oracle's application server platform, we have a number of migration initiatives in place. To give just one example, we will shortly start to roll out a series of Oracle Application Server Migration Workshops for ISVs. The aim of the workshops is to help attending ISVs port their application to Oracle Application Server 10g during the two-day session. The workshops are being co-ordinated by Oracle Product Technology Services, a specialist team dedicated to enabling partner migrations to Oracle platforms. The first workshop will be held in Stockholm on the 2nd and 3rd June, and is open to ISVs operating in the Nordic countries, whether they are Oracle PartnerNetwork members or not. More information will be available soon.

In summary, we are continuing to put a broad array of initiatives in place to help our ISV partners get the most out of their Oracle relationship, whether in terms of branding, leveraging some of the world's most advanced technologies or gaining access to Oracle's huge customer base. We measure our success on partner satisfaction, so we are always interested in receiving feedback from you. If you have any comments on our existing ISV initiatives, suggestions for new initiatives or requests for further information about any of the initiatives outlined above, please contact natalie.hausner@oracle.com.