Oracle cuts 10g prices

Oracle has cut the prices of a number of 10g database products in an attempt to win market share from Microsoft SQL Server.

The mid-market and departmental version of Oracle's 10g database software, Standard Edition One, has been extended to cover dual-processor hardware, with prices cut from $5,995 (£3,269) per processor to $4,995 (£2,724) for new customers only.

Named-user plus licences for Standard Edition One have also been cut, from $195 to $149, with a minimum of five users.

"Making our entry-level pricing the same as Microsoft's shows we're serious about competing head on with SQL Server," said Jacqueline Woods, vice president of global pricing and licensing strategy at Oracle.

The Oracle 10g Database Standard Edition remains at $15,000 per processor with a four-processor limit, and is aimed at the large enterprise market. But the previously standalone Real Application Cluster (RAC) option (with a maximum of four processors) is now included free for new customers.

"I think the RAC for free announcement is very significant," said Ronan Miles, Oracle UK user group chairman.

"A lot of users have shown significant interest in RAC. With 9i, the user base accepted the message that RAC works, but they have always been concerned that it is viewed as an expensive addition."

But he added: "Standard Edition can only be run on four processors, and I know users would like that [capability] elevated from four to six or eight."

Philip Howard, Bloor Research data management practice leader, seemed unconvinced by the changes. "It's obvious [Oracle] would cut prices try to encourage more people to buy it, but grid is not very high up people's list of priorities," he said.

"The mid-market is the last market you'd expect to need grid capabilities."