Oracle preparing major datacentre systems announcement

Oracle has scheduled a special event in San Francisco a week before the start of its annual OpenWorld conference, and will introduce new products for its systems hardware line that will "change the dynamics of the datacentre".

Chief executive Larry Ellison and systems vice president John Fowler are scheduled to appear at the event.

"During a live event in San Francisco on 26 September Oracle senior executives will share plans for a new systems product that will help customers achieve higher performance at lower cost," the company said.

Oracle has made a point of pushing its server hardware and software platforms as bundled systems, claiming that this 'full stack' approach allows for quick deployment and easier maintanance.

Charles King, principal analyst with research firm Pund-IT, suggested that the event could include an update to the Sparc server line that will provide a much-needed boost to Oracle's hardware operation.

"Sun systems have been slowly circling the drain. The IBM migration programme has actually accelerated since the Oracle acquisition completed, so Oracle needs to do something to stop the bleeding and show that Sparc is still alive," he said.