Oracle has released new migration tools that it hopes will
encourage developers to migrate their applications from IBM's DB2
database software to the Oracle 9i Database, writes Daniel
Thomas.
The release of Oracle Migration Workbench for IBM DB2/AS400 has
come soon after IBM's announcement of the first update of its
Informix database.
In April, Oracle responded to IBM's purchase of database company
Informix in a similar way - offering tools to facilitate migration
from Informix to Oracle's 8i and 9i database software.
The latest move comes as new figures reveal that Oracle is facing
the biggest threat to its database dominance so far, with
competitors such as IBM and Microsoft chipping away at its market
share.
In its most recent earnings report, Oracle said its database sales
have fallen by 8%. This compares unfavourably with IBM, which
reported 19% and 36% growth in the past two quarters respectively,
and Microsoft, which said its database revenue has grown by more
than 45% over the same period.
Analysts have partly attributed Oracle's loss of customers during
the past year to the company's attempt to introduce a controversial
new pricing plan. The scheme would have forced customers using
servers with faster processors to pay more.
At the launch of the 9i database in the summer Oracle scrapped the
pricing strategy and followed IBM and Microsoft's lead by charging
by the number of processors, regardless of speed.
The database market has essentially become a three-way race.
According to Dataquest figures, Oracle captured 33.8% of the total
market last year, up from 31.4% in 1999. IBM increased its market
share slightly, to 30.1% from 29.9% the previous year, while
Microsoft's share grew to 14.9% from 13.1%. Sybase and Informix,
were the largest among the other suppliers in the market.