Oracle opens up on partner rebate changes

Software giant promises VARs larger storage rebates on enterprise deals

Oracle is to compensate partners for taking 2,000 of its largest enterprise accounts direct by offering them larger rebates on its hardware products.

The software giant informed partners earlier this week that they will receive larger financial rewards for selling certain Oracle products to customers it does not deal with direct.

Speaking to ChannelWeb, Stein Surlien, senior vice president for EMEA alliances and channels at Oracle, explained: "If a VAR sells strategic products into the broader market, it will be rewarded with a very large rebate."

Surlien declined to comment on the exact size of the rebates on offer, but assured Channelweb they were far higher than what partners were previously getting.

"The old rebate programme was not consistent worldwide, or as competitive or aggressive, and the financial rewards were much lower," he countered.

As well as rebates, the firm's channel-facing staff are also receiving additional rewards for pushing more deals through partners, added Surlien.

"If you look at our financial results for the past 12 months, we have been doing excellently, with strong growth on the partner side," he said.

"We looked at the total addressable market and are very strong on the enterprise side, but we wanted to make sure we were reaching the broader market with our channel."

He was also keen to stress that the 2,000 enterprise accounts (600 in Europe) it deals with directly are not completely off limits to partners.

"We cannot dictate to our channel partners who they can and cannot do business with," said Surlien. "We are just making them aware they might come up against our direct salesforce in certain accounts."