Oracle training boosts channel

Ready for takeoff: Oracle pledged to invest in its partners at the OPN event held at Heathrow's Terminal 5

The sheer scale of Oracle and breadth of its product offering can be as baffling as Terminal 5’s (T5) baggage handling policy in its opening week, so it was appropriate that the vendor picked T5 as the location for its 30th Oracle Partner Network (OPN) event.

The software giant, which has made more than 40 acquisitions in the past four years, was keen to demonstrate to the 900 delegates at the event that it is willing to invest in those keen to invest in Oracle.

It also used the event to discuss updates to its partner initiatives including the Accelerate Programme and its Remarketer Programme – ­ aimed at helping smaller partners become involved with Oracle through value-added distribution.

Speaking to CRN, Stein Surlien, vice president of EMEA alliances and channels at Oracle, said: “OPN is something we have been doing for the past three years. Since that time we have seen 28,000 partners in the EMEA region, and have held over 4,000 one-to-one meetings in the UK.”

However as times get tougher, Surlien warned that Oracle was going to be stricter with its partners.
“We need to move to a much tighter partner map, and define who the partners are with which we want to play,” he said.
“When the markets get tougher we need to work closer together. However, the mood is good and our partner business looks healthy. We have been investing in partners for years and are embedding the channel in our go-to-market strategy.”

Surlien added that Oracle had also changed the interface of its OPN partner portal to reflect a new generation of collaboration, known in Oracle’s circles as Partner Enablement 2.0. Members can join the Knowledge Zone to find out more about or share knowledge of a particular Oracle technology.

The firm has also invested in training, Surlien said, with a three-pronged approach to capture as wide a market as possible. This includes its traditional Oracle University, a Boot Camp and its Competency Centre online training initiative, which offers more than 250 courses.

“With this range of courses it helps our partners to scale in a much quicker way and ensure the right people get the competencies they need,” he said.

David Simpson, sales director at VAR Softcat, said Oracle is sincere in its message. “We are in discussions with Oracle and the dialogue is encouraging, particularly in terms of embracing the channel.”