Oracle and 3Com Enter Strategic Alliance to Bring Enterprise Data Access to the Palm Computing Platform
NEW YORK — June 15, 1998 — Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL) and 3Com Corporation (NASDAQ:COMS) today announced a strategic relationship to bring an extensive range of mobile enterprise computing solutions and services to the rapidly growing handheld computing market. As part of this alliance, Palm Computing, Inc., a 3Com company, will join the Oracle Alliance Program and will work with Oracle to jointly develop and market Palm Computing(R) platform solutions that provide real-time remote access to data residing in Oracle databases.
As part of today's agreement, the two companies will integrate the Oracle Lite client database and the 3Com Palm III(TM) and PalmPilot(TM) connected organizers, allowing new and existing Palm Computing platform applications and data to be replicated, synchronized and shared with the Oracle8 database server, extending enterprise applications from the data center into the hands of mobile professionals. In addition to the PalmPilot and Palm III connected organizers, Oracle Lite will function on other Palm Computing platform-based devices, such as the IBM WorkPad PC Companion as well as those from Symbol Technologies.
The alliance is expected to generate a range of products and services over time. The first planned product is a conduit development kit (CDK) for Oracle, due to go into beta in August. This solution will allow data to be safely and reliably synchronized with a shared Oracle database server, extending the benefits of network computing to users of Palm Computing devices.
"This strategic relationship with Palm Computing extends Oracle's strength in enterprise information management to the handheld computing market," said Denise Lahey, vice president of embedded database technologies at Oracle. "Oracle Lite on the Palm Computing platform will allow companies to work more efficiently by bringing the power of Oracle information management to each and every employee, regardless of location or computing platform."
"The power of Oracle database-driven applications combined with the ease-of-use, portability and fast data access of the Palm Computing platform will help propel handheld computing even further into the enterprise," said Mark Bercow, vice president of strategic alliances and platform development at Palm Computing. "This alliance brings together two market-leaders to produce innovative solutions for enterprise data access, and will result in great new ways for mobile workers to stay in synch with their corporate information systems." Mobile users of Palm Computing platform applications in connection with Oracle Lite will benefit in several ways from today's agreement. Remote users previously limited by low application availability and lack of database support will now be able to harness the power of database-driven applications on handheld devices, often the original point of data entry.
Combining Widespread Platform Success
As recently reported by Dataquest, products based on the Palm Computing platform hold a 63 percent share of the standard handheld computing market worldwide, clearly indicating Palm Computing's leadership. With more than 1.6 million units sold, according to analyst firm Creative Strategies, the Palm Computing platform is the fastest-adopted computing platform in the history of computing.
Oracle databases hold more than half of the world's relational data, according to Database Associates International, and are implemented at 97 percent of Fortune 100 companies to power their corporate computing environments. Oracle Lite contains advanced replication features designed to work seamlessly with Oracle8, including bi-directional replication over wireless networks, the Internet and a variety of other standard networks such as cellular digital, packet-radio, dial-up and local area network connections.
An open architecture for handheld computing, the Palm Computing platform provides an ideal framework for third-party developers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to create and deliver successful mobile computing solutions. The platform consists of five primary components: the reference hardware design, the device operating system called the Palm OS(TM), the HotSync(R) conduit data synchronization technology, the platform component tools including an applications programming interface (API) that enables developers to write applications, and the software interface capabilities to support hardware add-ons. Today, more than 7,500 developers are creating software solutions for the Palm Computing platform.
About 3Com
3Com Corporation enables individuals and organizations worldwide to stay more connected by communicating and sharing information and resources anytime, anywhere. As one of the world's preeminent suppliers of data, voice and video communications technology, 3Com has delivered networking solutions to more than 100 million customers worldwide. The company provides large enterprise, small and medium enterprise, carriers and network service providers, and consumers comprehensive, innovative information access products and system solutions for building intelligent, reliable and high performance local and wide area networks. For further information, visit 3Com's World Wide Web site at http://www.3Com.com or the press site at http://www.3Com.com/pressbox.
About Oracle
Oracle Corporation is the world's leading supplier of software for information management, and the world's second largest software company. With annual revenues of more than $ 6.3 billion, the company offers its database, application server, tools and application products along with related consulting, education and support services, in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information about Oracle, please call 650/506-7000. Oracle's World Wide Web address is http://www.oracle.com.
Oracle is a registered trademark, and Oracle8 and Oracle Lite are trademarks, of Oracle Corporation. 3Com, Palm Computing, and HotSync are registered trademarks, and PalmPilot, Palm III and Palm OS are trademarks, of 3Com Corporation or its subsidiaries. All other products or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only, and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. PalmPilot is not manufactured by Pilot Corporation or Pilot Corporation of America, manufacturers and distributors of writing instruments.
CONTACT:
Palm Computing, Inc., a 3Com company
Elizabeth Cardinale, 650/237-6390
[email protected]
or
Oracle Corp.
Paige O'Neill, 650/506-3429
or
A&R Partners for Palm Computing
Amy Nemechek, 650/363-0982 x252
[email protected]