Oracle to take large Sun accounts direct

Critics fear move to take 4,000 large accounts direct could complicate relationships with channel partners

Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison

Oracle last night announced that it would build direct ties with Sun Microsystems’ 4,000 largest accounts, ChannelWeb’s sister publication V3 reported last night.

Following the completion of its $7.4bn (£4.55bn) acquisition of the server and storage giant, Oracle staged a special event for partners and customers, announcing it would up R&D spend to $4.5bn.

The software giant said there would be around 2,000 immediate lay-offs but the company would also be hiring another 2,000 engineering and sales people immediately.

And in a move that will send shockwaves through the channel, Oracle said it will be taking over direct control of Sun’s 4,000 largest accounts. It will also be reconfiguring the sales force to push the combined offering more aggressively in the future.

The move appears to reverse a trend towards more indirect sales in the Sun channel, with partners speculating that recent job cuts at the vendor would signal a greater role for the channel.

“Oracle’s decision to bring Sun’s 4,000 biggest (and most profitable) in-house is likely to complicate its relationships with Sun’s channel and other partners,” said Charles King, founder of Pund-IT, Inc.

This story originally appeared on V3.co.uk