Oracle Puts Customers First; Creates Wireless Customer Advisory Board

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., August 20, 2002 - Oracle Corp. today announced the formation of the wireless Customer Advisory Board as part of the company’s continuing commitment to deliver the most advanced wireless products available while ensuring customer success in mobile application development, deployment and management.

The wireless CAB’s founding members – Citigroup, Siemens Business Services, Telefónica Móviles España and Telia Mobile – are benefiting from the ability to provide direct feedback on product direction and development of the wireless features of Oracle9i Application Server. 

The Customer Advisory Board provides customers that are using Oracle’s wireless software with a formal communication channel to solicit Oracle’s product development team for enhancements and new features. In addition, members are provided with advance access to documentation and training, participation in beta programs and a direct relationship with Oracle product development and product management. 

Citigroup
Citigroup provides a comprehensive set of online products and payment services to its customers, spanning banking, brokerage, credit cards and other services supporting over 19 million online accounts worldwide. One of Citigroup’s primary goals is to provide a comprehensive suite of consumer financial products and services, accessible anywhere, on any device, at any time, in a secure and private manner. 
“In the Asia Pacific region, we have recently rolled out a suite of wireless services using Oracle’s technology,” said Scott Andersen, vice president at Citigroup’s Corporate Technology Office. “The wireless CAB gives Citigroup the opportunity to influence product direction based on our specific needs so that we can continue to provide the best wireless services to our customers.” 

Siemens Business Services
Siemens Business Services, headquartered in Germany, is currently rolling out a mobile employee portal for their own employees that use the mobile email and Personal Information Manager services included with Oracle9i Application Server. “To sell mobile business solutions successfully to our customers, our own employees need to be familiar with using them – we sell what we use,” said Dr. Volkmar Pflug, global business manager for the Mobile Business of Siemens Business Services. “As a member of the wireless CAB, we seek to provide strategic input to the development of innovative wireless technology that will ultimately benefit our customers.” 

Telefónica Móviles España 
Telefónica Móviles in Spain is using Oracle9i Application Server to provide wireless services to more than three million users of their ‘e-moción’ platform. “In the constantly changing mobile industry, it’s important for Telefónica Móviles España to have the ability to offer customers the latest wireless support and services,” said José María Soler, manager for Technological Alliances of Telefónica Móviles España. “Participating in the wireless CAB helps us keep up-to-date on the most current mobile technology while playing a key role in the development of new mobile products and services.” 

Telia Mobile 
Telia Mobile AB, the leading Nordic mobile operator, is currently using Oracle9i Application Server for the company’s common Nordic wireless portal platform. Telia Mobile has cooperated with Oracle for more than five years and is pleased to be part of Oracle’s wireless CAB. 

About the Wireless and Voice Capabilities of Oracle9i Application Server 
Oracle9i Application Server allows developing and deploying business applications that can be accessed via Web, wireless and voice interfaces. The wireless and voice capabilities in Oracle9i Application Server offer personalization, location, messaging and content management features. 

For more information: www.oracle.com

MobileInfo Comments and Advisory: Oracle has been experimenting with wireless application development platform for a long time - over seven years now. Its efforts with Mobile Agents and Oracle Lite have received limited success. We all recognize that Oracle's core strengths are in database, business application development and general-purpose application server platform. Very appropriately, Oracle has now changed its mobile computing strategy. It has decided to focus on its core strengths and offer wireless and mobile application support based on its strategic product offering - Oracle 9i application server and connecting it strongly to its own brand of databases and business applications. Oracle seems to be serious about its mobile strategy. According to Jacob Chrisfort, Oracle has a decent size development group (about 200 strong)  involved in its mobile/wireless development effort. 

This announcement from Oracle seems to emphasize the potential IT market among carriers who must select not only a database, but also an application server platform for developing in-house mobile applications and external services to consumers and enterprises. In spite of difficult times for this sector, it is a large market indeed where Sun has had a lot of success. IBM decided, a few months back, to set up a special center - Network Innovation Lab in Atlanta. Now, Oracle has made its initial move in this sector. however, an advisory board is only a small but initial step. Nonetheless, getting direct customer input in product specification formulation is always a good strategy. 

We do hope that Oracle will follow it up with a more substantial commitment. There is no doubt in our mind that carriers (and other enterprise customers) should seriously evaluate Oracle's 9i Application Server offering for mobile applications especially if they have Oracle databases and application development platforms. They may find better software integration with this approach.