The UK software market remains the largest within Europe, with an estimated value of between nine and ten billion pounds (€13-15bn), with an almost fifty-fifty split between systems and applications software. Oracle UK has over 900 ISV partners as members of the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), with over 150 of those new to Oracle in the last 12 months. On a day-to-day basis, it is the responsibility of the country manager to create and execute programmes that benefit ISVs engaging with Oracle, and ensure the value that ISV partners bring is constantly enforced within the Oracle economy.

ISV News: What are your job responsibilities within Oracle UK?
Stuart Brinicombe: My responsibilities are to ensure the recruitment, development and enablement of ISVs in the UK, and to ensure the widest possible engagement for ISVs inside Oracle and with other partners. There are eight partner managers and a programme, manager within the sales team working with ISVs. We also have an extremely close working relationship with the virtual team in our Technology SME business unit, and the four channel managers there.

ISVN: What is your experience in dealing with partners?
SB: I have been working with partners from my first day in the industry eight years ago. I have worked in both channel and field sales roles, always working with partners to deliver revenue and objectives. I have now been working with ISVs with Oracle for the past two years, which has been the most enlightening experience of my career working with partners. We work with some of the most innovative companies in the country in developing software applications, and I find the opportunity to work with ISVs and define opportunities and grow their business whilst increasing revenue for Oracle, my most exciting challenge to date.

ISVN: How would you characterise the ISV landscape in the UK?
SB: It is almost impossible to define a 'typical' ISV. They come in all shapes and sizes, with solutions from ERP and financials through to the most targeted niche applications. However, one thing they have in common is that they look to vendors like Oracle to provide them with industry-leading technology and development tools, marketing and sales support and services that allow them to add value to their businesses - such as training and business strategy development. The ISV landscape in the UK is constantly evolving and the last 12 months have seen an increase in consolidation due to a combination of some tough market conditions and specific vertical requirements.

We have also seen a large number of Microsoft's ISV partners not only joining OPN, but also engaging with Oracle using our migration and upgrade services, and working on go-to-market activity. This is in part the result of the success of our Oracle on Windows solutions, through which we are able to provide ISVs with the skills, support and tools for integrating .Net applications with the Oracle Database. I think this is indicative of the trend for ISVs to develop their applications (as with Oracle Applications) around open standards, and trying to avoid being locked into one vendor.

ISVN: What is driving the take-up of Oracle products in the UK?
SB: There are a number of factors driving the adoption of Oracle products by ISVs in the UK, but the most frequent feedback we get from our partners is that we are extremely easy to engage with. Oracle is a good fit for ISVs, as we offer flexibility and breadth in our technology platform, supporting open standards from the database through the middleware stack, to our applications suite. Oracle's global footprint and range of customer experiences across all industries further strengthens our ability to engage with ISVs of all sizes.

Oracle provides access to Java-based technology and expertise that enables ISVs to develop solutions from database level to the most sophisticated service oriented architectures (SOA). This is extremely important, as an increasing number of businesses demand more flexible and agile technology solutions.

ISVN: In what ways is Oracle UK helping local ISVs to grow their business?
SB: In the UK we have developed a wide range of programmes aimed at growing our ISV partners business. One absolutely critical factor is the focus that Oracle is now putting in the mid-market and SME business. Oracle's Technology SME business unit is committed to delivering 100 per cent of its revenue through partners, with ISVs being a critical element to our success. SME customers don't just buy a database, they buy solutions to suit their particular business requirements. The ability of Oracle to work with ISVs to provide these solutions is critical to our success in this market. Our Technology SME business unit is generating qualified end-user leads for ISVs with a focus in the mid-market via the Oracle Mid-market Solutions Catalogue. We work on dedicated channel campaigns to specific vertical sectors or vertical solutions and engaging in joint sales activity with ISVs.

All of this adds huge value to ISVs in growing their business. Our existing engagement with ISVs around public services and enterprise customers has continued to work well and deliver real value to partners. With joint go-to-market activities, sales teams, events, seminars and lead generation we have seen a strengthening of the relationships and some fantastic return for ISVs and Oracle from the work we are doing.

ISVN: Have you implemented any local initiatives aimed at ISVs?
SB: We have implemented a huge range of local initiatives for ISVs, with one of the key areas being around our SME business unit. In order to support this we have been focusing a great deal on recruiting ISVs to the Oracle PartnerNetwork and enabling them to engage with Oracle, and have developed a strong value proposition around this. An interactive look at this can be found on the ISV website at: www.oracle.com/uk/isv/grow-your-business

One major initiative we have launched this year is the Oracle & Computacenter ISV Migration Centre. The new service we have created is designed to help ISVs migrate from competitive technology platforms, and upgrade and extend their existing Oracle technology platform. We have been able to create a series of reusable Oracle migration plans for ISVs, helping to reduce waste and expense, but also significantly cutting migration times. The services are available around Oracle Database 10g, Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) and Oracle Fusion Middleware.

ISVN: How would you summarise the benefits that ISVs can gain from working with Oracle UK?
SB: With Oracle UK, ISVs are able to engage with real people - and not just a web site! Whether it's a partner manager, an Oracle representative from one of our distributors, or the team at the OPN Interaction Centre, there is always someone on hand to help with queries or business issues - and that's not a claim that can be made by a number of our competitors!

We are always open and honest in how we engage with ISVs, and recognise that when working alongside our partners, our actions can have significant impact on their business. This enthusiasm and commitment to ensure complete engagement with our ISV partners is shared by the whole ISV team, and I feel that the best years for Oracle and ISVs are still to come.

ISVN: Whom should an ISV contact if they were interested in working with you?
SB: We invite ISVs in the UK to make contact with us any time:

ISV Recruitment Hotline (UK): +44 (0) 118 945 0377
ISV-partners_uk@oracle.com