Oracle and Nextra, the Internet subsidiary of Norwegian
telecommunication operator Telenor, have launched a joint European
Web-based software hosting service using Oracle's E-Business Suite
software and Oracle9i Application Server and database
products.
Morten Lundal, chief executive officer of Nextra and Telenor
Business Solutions, said: "The trend for selling Web-based software
has long been expected but now it is truly happening. Despite the
ongoing pessimism in our industries, this will be an important
market for Europe and it will be the most effective way to access
software and services online."
Nextra is responsible for the hardware and high-speed network
connections needed for the service. It has already begun hosting
Oracle's software from "nuclear bomb-proof hosting facilities",
called "superhubs", Lundal said.
The superhubs are located in Norway, Germany, the UK and
Switzerland, and more will "be rolling out across Europe based on
the success of these first [ones]", Lundal said, though he gave no
timelines for expansion.
"In terms of what Oracle software is available, there are 120
possible models in our business suite which are all ready to go,"
said Sergio Giacoletto, Oracle's executive vice-president for
Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
In February, Oracle launched a free, online customer care service,
Support.Oracle.com. It had previously introduced a similar service
for sales staff, Sales.Oracle.com in August 2000. Though basic
services are initially offered free, customers are charged a small
monthly fee for what Oracle termed "more advanced functionality".
The new venture with Nextra will add that functionality as well as
other products and 24-hour a day service for a monthly fee,
Giacoletto said. The service will be aimed mainly at
medium-to-large European companies.
"Oracle already has 125 paying customers for similar services in
the. We do have some software services that are free, but it's not
going to be free forever, don't worry about that. We have been
testing the model in various ways," Giacoletto said.
Oracle already serves 3,600 customers in Europe, to whom it has
been providing localised versions of its E-Business Suite and
Oracle9i Application Server and database products.
Oracle and Nextra are also offering a "complete incubator
environment to aid European independent software vendors in
developing and deploying software applications, as an online
service built on the Oracle platform, Giacoletto said. "Providing
software as a service will open up a lot of new opportunities to
businesses."