| 1. I recommend you read the attached Q and A.
2. I also recommend you copy and read the new (dated 12/94) Rdb business
customer presentation.
You can copy the customer presentation from:
WILBRY::RDBNEWS$PUBLIC:CUSTPRES.PPT
3. If you are not on my RDBNEWS.DIS list, please let me know and I'll add you.
I you did not receive mail from me this morning about Lilian Hobbs Rdb
book or the mail about the attached Q and A, then you are not on my
RDBNEWS.DIS list!
4. hotline details:
The "HOT LINE ROOM" is physically located in the Divinci conference room, ZK2-1.
o FAX number: 381-1868 or outside 603-881-1868.
o Internet address: rdbnews@spikew.zko.dec.com or WILBRY::RDBNEWS
Please encourage people to use the FAX or EMAIL instead of calling.
o Toll-free phone number is 1-800-750-7960 or DTN 381-0956.
Here is the Q and A:
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS RELATED TO THE ORACLE-DIGITAL PREFERRED
STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIP AND THE PURCHASE OF THE RDB PRODUCT
SET BY ORACLE
This document is structured into two major sections:
1) Top questions and answers
2) Comprehensive questions and answers
* GENERAL:
* BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL:
* PRODUCT AND TECHNOLOGY:
* SERVICE AND SUPPORT:
* SALES AND MARKETING:
* RELATIONSHIPS:
* CUSTOMER:
* RESELLERS AND OTHER ALLIANCES
* PARTNER-SPECIFIC:
* GENERAL SERVICE AND SUPPORT INFORMATION:
This document contains representative questions and answers, and is not
meant to be a comprehensive guide to the relationship and product
acquisition. For information not contained herein, please contact your
functional manager or send mail to ZEKE::ORACLE.
===============================================================================
Update: The U.S. government has approved the sale of Digital s Rdb product
family to Oracle Corporation, and both companies have since concluded the
transaction. As part of the agreement, both companies have also signed a series
of strategic initiatives that outline future versions of Oracle products on
Digital platforms, as well as reseller agreements between the two companies.
===============================================================================
TOP QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS DRAFT 1.6
-----------------------------------
Oracle Rdb Acquisition and Oracle/Digital Strategic
Relationship Announcement
Q:What has Oracle acquired?
A: Oracle has acquired Digital's Rdb database and repository
businesses including all software products and customer
support services. The products are DEC Rdb, CDD/Repository,
DBA Workcenter (including Rdb Expert, DECtrace, Graphical
Schema Editor, InstantSQL), DEC RALLY, and DEC DBMS. As
part of the agreement, almost all of Digital's database
and repository engineering, product management, and support
staff have accepted offers from Oracle. In addition to
the acquisition, Oracle and Digital announced plans to enter
into an extended strategic relationship encompassing the
availability of Oracle's major product lines on Digital
systems, the availability of the Oracle Media Server on
Digital's video server hardware, and several reseller agreements.
Q: Why did Oracle purchase Rdb?
A: Oracle sees a great opportunity in the synergy between the
Rdb customers and their mission-critical
applications, and Oracle's core competencies in supplying
the technology and support for these applications. In
addition, Oracle is very pleased to welcome the excellent
Rdb engineering and support talent, to continue development
of Rdb's award-winning technology, and to expand Oracle's
strategic relationship with Digital.
Q: Why did Digital sell Rdb?
A: Digital's product strategy is to focus on its core
competencies and team with vendors with complementary
products. As Digital realigns its product strategy,
Digital will focus its business on the following areas:
industry leading systems, world-class network and data
integration software, state of the art operating systems,
and multivendor support and consulting services. Digital
will serve its customer's database needs by delivering open
integration middleware products such as DB Integrator and
by working closely with leading database vendors such as
Oracle.
Q: How do customers benefit from this agreement?
A: Customers will benefit from this acquisition because of
Oracle's strong commitment to the Rdb customer base and the
Digital market. Oracle will enhance and maintain Rdb and
port Rdb to key Digital operating environments including
OSF/1 AXP and Windows NT. Digital and Oracle will work
together to ensure that Rdb and all other Oracle products
are optimized for the Alpha AXP systems environment. In
addition to this product commitment, Rdb customers now
have access to the world's largest dedicated relational
database support organization for a wide range of services
ranging from 24x7 telephone hotline support to strategic
planning for information systems. Finally, Rdb customers
can choose to purchase the Rdb product from either Oracle
or Digital; they can maintain their relationship with the
current Digital sales team or develop a new one with the
Oracle sales team.
Q: Who do I call for support?
A: For answers to technical questions, customers can phone
the Oracle Rdb support group directly at 1-800-223-1711, or
the regional Oracle support center. To renew existing
support contracts, or to initiate a new support contract,
you may speak with an Oracle Rdb product specialist at 415-
506-5578 or contact your Oracle representative or the local
Oracle office.
Q: What is the future of Rdb?
A: Customer satisfaction is extremely important to Oracle.
Oracle is committed to enhancing and maintaining the Rdb
family of products and is establishing an Rdb Customer
Advisory Council to ensure that customers continue to play a
key role in the products' future directions. Oracle can now
offer Digital customers a choice between the two premier
database solutions for Digital platforms - Oracle7 and Rdb.
Customers who want to stay with Rdb can continue to take
advantage of Rdb's unique features such as mixed VAX and
Alpha cluster support. Customers who want to coexist with
Oracle can do so with products such as Oracle's Transparent
Gateway for Rdb, Digital's DB Integrator, and 4GL tools that
support both databases (CDE and RALLY for both Oracle and
Rdb). In the long term, Oracle plans to combine the Rdb and
Oracle products, offering a superset of functionality that
includes the best of both products.
Q: What is Digital's Database strategy?
A: Digital is fully committed to ensuring that Alpha
systems are the most attractive database platforms in the
industry. Digital will continue to enhance its
relationships with database software vendors to ensure that
their products take full advantage of the performance and
enormous address space of the Alpha platform. Evidence of
this competitive advantage is appearing at this year's
December DECUS where the database highlight will be a
demonstration of Oracle7 running with a 10GB Shared Global
Area on a Digital Unix system. Translation...the Oracle
data base will reside largely in the main memory of an
AlphaAXP!!! Only one hardware vendor can provide this kind
of memory expandability for Oracle...Digital Equipment
Corporation. The 64-bit AlphaAXP architecture allows Oracle
to utilize huge amounts of main memory, making Oracle7 on
AlphaAXP an ideal solution for Very Large Data Base (VLDB)
Q: What is the Digital and Oracle reseller relationship?
A: Digital and Oracle have a two-way reseller relationship.
Digital has the ability to resell Oracle products including
Rdb. Oracle products will be on Digital's price list and
sold under standard Digital business practices.
Oracle/Digital packages will be sold as part of Digital's
direct and indirect sales strategy.
Oracle will resell a select group of Digital products
complementing Rdb, including ACMS, DEC DB Integrator, DEC
Data Distributor, and DECforms.
Q: How will Oracle and Digital work together in customer
situations?
A: Digital and Oracle have worked together to solve customer
problems for many years. How the customer wants to work
will dictate who will take the lead in any given situation.
Digital's ability to resell Oracle products enhances
Digital's capability to provide customers with a single
point of contact, buying convenience, and solution
management. Oracle's ability to resell Digital's ACMS and
other related Rdb products completes the integrated solution
customers would like to continue purchasing.
Digital and Oracle are developing value-added packages that
will be made available on all Digital platforms and sold as
part of Digital's new channel selling strategy.
Oracle sales personnel who wish to partner with Digital can
call their local Digital counterpart, work with their local
Partner Account Manager (PAM) or Business Alliance Manger,
or leverage Oracle's DEC Business Unit in the Business
Alliance Group.
Q: How does this agreement impact outstanding orders with
Digital? Will my current quotes be honored?
A: From a customer perspective any order accepted by
Digital prior to January 1, 1995 will be delivered under
the Digital T&Cs. The service supporting this Rdb products
order however will be under Digital T&Cs if placed prior to
December 1, 1994 and will apply until renewal or 15 months
whichever occurs first. Starting December 1, 1994 all
Rdb products will be serviced and administered by Oracle.
| Digital service will not be available after December 1, 1994,
| and customers who desire service will buy that directly from Oracle.
| However, in the near future, Oracle service contracts will be
| made available from Digital at the time the order is taken.
Q: My support contract with Digital doesn't expire until
1995. Will I still be able to obtain support from
Digital?
A: Though you will continue to call Digital for support
as you have in the past, Digital has subcontracted
with Oracle for support delivery for existing contracts.
Support terms and conditions will remain constant until
contract expiration or February 29, 1996, whichever
comes first. At contract expiration, customers may
renew their Rdb support agreements with Oracle.
A joint Digital-Oracle letter providing further details
has been approved by both companies and sent to MCS
administration personnel in all territories.
It will be mailed to service customers in December.
Customers should plan on being contacted by Oracle as
their contracts come up for renewal. If not, they should
contact Oracle. Telephone numbers will be in the letter.
Q: How will Oracle and Digital handle existing consulting
projects using Rdb?
A: Digital Consultants will remain with Digital and continue
to staff existing consulting projects. Customers have the
option of engaging Oracle Consulting under Oracle's
standard terms and conditions. Digital consultants will
maintain their close relationship with the Rdb products
engineering group in order to ensure the latest knowledge
and timely feedback into the Rdb organization.
opportunities.
Q: My state/federal government customer has just signed a 5
year contract that says that Digital will provide service
on Rdb for that period. How can I find out about how the
agreement will actually work? Obviously, the service will
be delivered by Oracle. On February 29th, 1996 the
contractual agreement is supposed to be transferred to
Oracle, but since this is a state/federal agency, there
are likely exceptions. What happens in these long term
agreements?
A: For ANY non-standard contract situations, including
multiple year, pre-paids, etc., if the T&C's allow for
service cancellation/retirement then it will be retired at
15 months (February 29, 1996). If they do not allow for
cancellation Digital can continue to subcontract the
delivery with Oracle after the 15 month period at Oracle's
standard rates. All non-standard term contracts and the
specific non-standard terms should be identified and sent
to Sharon Rosen @OGO, DTN 276-8074.
Q: Will the Digital and Oracle sales forces be given a
special incentive to convert Rdb to Oracle?
A: No. Oracle is committed to the Rdb product and its
installed base. In many cases, it is not in the customers'
interests, and therefore not in Oracle's interests, to
convert Rdb to Oracle. Oracle is sensitive to these issues
and will work with the customer to provide the appropriate
solution, whether that solution is built around Rdb or
Oracle. The customer has the option to select the solution
that is most appropriate.
Q: If a customer has a question about interfacing Rdb with
other Digital products, who do they call?
A: Either Digital or Oracle. Digital will continue to have
product managers and field personnel familiar with how Rdb
interfaces with other Digital products. Oracle's Rdb
product specialists will also be available to answer
questions about these interfaces.
COMPREHENSIVE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
ORACLE RDB ACQUISITION AND ORACLE/DIGITAL STRATEGIC
RELATIONSHIP ANNOUNCEMENT
* GENERAL:
Q: Why did Digital choose Oracle?
A: Digital wanted to place Rdb customers in the hands of a
company that understands the enterprise environment and has
a world-class level of service and support. Oracle
unquestionably meets and exceeds Digital's requirements.
Q: How will Oracle position Rdb vs. Oracle7?
A: Rdb offers a database application development environment
for customers committed to a Digital specific platform
solution. Oracle7 offers an open systems software solution
for customers with mixed computing environments.
Rdb fully supports OpenVMS VAX and Alpha clusters and
permits upgrades from VAX to Alpha without reloading the
database. It supports multiple versions on the same system
or cluster, online metadata changes, and state-of-the-art
tuning and DBA management features.
Oracle7 is the leading parallel database solution for mixed
computing environments. Its new parallel everything
architecture supports parallel query, parallel index,
parallel load, parallel backup, and parallel recovery across
SMP, clustered, and massively parallel processing (MPP)
systems.
Q: Will Oracle migrate Rdb customers to Oracle?
A: Oracle is highly committed to the Rdb customer base and
the Digital market. Oracle does not plan to force customers
to migrate off of Rdb. Rather, customers who want to stay
with Rdb can continue to take advantage of new enhancements
as well as Rdb's unique features such as support for mixed
clusters containing both VAX and Alpha systems. Customers
who want to coexist with new or existing Oracle databases
can do so with products such as Oracle's Transparent Gateway
for Rdb or Digital's DB Integrator. In the long term, Oracle
plans to provide Rdb and Oracle customers with the option to
upgrade to a combined Oracle/Rdb product that combines the
best of both databases. The direction for this new product
offering is to provide Rdb customers with a set of steps
which resemble an upgrade and not a conversion. Of course,
for customers who would like to implement an Oracle solution
in advance of this combined product, the Oracle and Digital
consulting services can provide the necessary knowledge and
assistance.
Q: When will we know more details on the product plans?
A: During the time period between signing the agreements and
closing, Oracle and the Rdb team have conducted an
Operations Review to map out additional details in such
areas as product plans, software packaging, and product
pricing. Oracle's goal is to articulate the details of
these plans during the month of December.
Q: How does this acquisition relate to the recently announced
Enterprise Solutions Program?
A: The Enterprise Solutions program is a new strategic
initiative between Oracle and Digital designed to provide a
comprehensive solution for customers seeking to downsize
from mainframe class computers to powerful, open, relational
systems. ESP will be delivered through a complete program
model, or "Virtual Corporation," where customers will have
the option to purchase products and services from a single
source.
Q: What competitive advantage do Digital and Oracle have?
A: The experience and depth in the development of database
products combined with the power and price/performance of
Alpha give the Digital and Oracle sales force powerful
messages to deliver to their customers.
* BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL:
Q: Will Digital still be in the database business?
A: Digital has an open database strategy and will join with
its strategic vendors to meet customer requirements.
Although Digital will not build and market its own general
purpose database product, Digital will serve its customers
database needs by delivering open data integration products
such as DB Integrator and by working closely with leading
database vendors such as Oracle.
Q: What is the pricing for Rdb?
A: In the past, Digital has typically sold the Rdb products
as part of a hardware and software bundle. With this bundled
arrangement, when customers purchased a VAX or Alpha
system, they typically received an unlimited software
license on that system. As part of the agreement between
Oracle and Digital, customers can still purchase the Rdb
products as part of a hardware/software bundle from Digital.
In addition, customers can also purchase an Rdb license
separate from the hardware.
Oracle prices the Rdb products on a per user basis,
consistent with standard practice in the database industry.
The price of the software depends on the number of users
accessing the database. For each Digital system, Oracle will
offer a standard minimum user configuration with the option
to purchase licenses for additional users as required. This
way, customers pay for only those additional licenses that
they need.
Oracle also provides development and deployment packages for
Rdb, comparable to the development and runtime licenses
previously offered by Digital. The development package
includes additional software that is not required by the end
users of the application, for example language precompilers.
Customers license the development and deployment packages on
a per user basis, as described above.
For support pricing, Oracle expands Rdb customer options
with a range of medals support, including bronze, silver,
and gold. Customers will have the option of staying with the
current level of support they have received from Digital, or
they can upgrade to one of the Oracle medals. Each level of
medal support provides a progressively higher degree of
responsiveness to customer requirements, including dedicated
support teams, electronic information services for
diagnosing and resolving software-related issues, 7x24
response, as well as the option for on-site support
personnel.
For specific information on pricing, please contact your
Digital sales representative or an Oracle Rdb Product
Specialist. Contact your Oracle representative or your local
Oracle office for the Rdb product specialist in your region.
Q: Will Digital continue to offer Rdb as part of a hardware
sale?
A: In the past, Digital has commonly bundled Rdb with
hardware systems as a packaged solution. The agreement with
Oracle allows Digital to continue to include Rdb in
AdvantageServer solutions. Digital will be able to include
Oracle7 in the AdvantageServer solutions as well.
Q: How many Digital employees will be joining Oracle?
A: Oracle is very excited to have as new employees the high
quality Rdb management, engineering, and support talent.
With this transaction, Oracle extended offers to about 250
individuals from Digital including the engineering, product
management, technical writing, customer support, and sales
consulting staff. The majority of these people will be
located at Oracle's New England Development Center based in
Southern New Hampshire and at the Oracle Rdb Support Center
in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Oracle established both of
these facilities specifically to support the Rdb business
and will expand the role of these organizations in the
months ahead with new projects built around Rdb and Oracle7.
Q: Does this acquisition indicate that Oracle will continue to
acquire other technologies and products to add to the
Oracle offering?
A: Oracle is evaluating strategic products to expand its
business into existing and new markets. The Rdb
transaction is part of this strategy.
Q: Will Rdb be its own product line within Oracle?
A: Yes. Rdb will be its own product line and will be
incorporated into Oracle's Product and Platform
Technologies Division.
Q: Are the ACCESSWORKS software products part of the sale to
Oracle?
A: No. the ACCESSWORKS products which include DB Integrator
and the Gateways is a Digital core competency and not part
of this sale. However, both Digital and Oracle customers
will benefit from this agreement. In support of Digital's
open database strategy, DB Integrator will provide the
capability to integrate multi-vendor database environments.
For example: DB Integrator can be used by customers who
need coexistence in an Rdb and Oracle7 environment.
Q: Was DECADMIRE sold to Oracle?
A: No, DECADMIRE, and the other TP products (ACMS, ACMSXP,
ACMS Desktop, etc.) are not part of the Oracle purchase.
Oracle sales will be allowed to sell our TP solutions set.
DECADMIRE will offer Rdb as a database to store the
application definition and data definitions for future
releases.
Q: What is DEC TP strategy? How firm is DEC's commitment to
ACMS?
A: ACMS and the other TP products will continue to support
Rdb. All products available to Sales before the sale will
continue to be available after the sale. There are no
product decommitments as a result of this contract.
Q: ACMS depends on Rdb. What happens if ACMS is sold to
"SYBASE" (or somebody else)?
A: There are no plans to sell ACMS, but even if it was sold
the new owner could still get Rdb from Oracle or Digital as
a reseller. Both companies will offer the Rdb products.
Q: What is Oracle's strategy on TP monitors?
A: Rdb's close product relationship to ACMS continues to offer
a solid TP solution to Digital's customers. Under the
agreement, Oracle will obtain the ability to sell this
industry leading solution through their sales force. The
result is that both companies will have access to the same
industry leading TP solution.
* PRODUCT AND TECHNOLOGY:
Q: Which specific products has Oracle acquired?
A: Oracle has acquired Rdb, its database repository, and
other related database administration tools. The company has
rolled the software into the Oracle family of products under
the following names:
Previous Digital Name Current Oracle Name
Rdb Oracle Rdb
RdbExpert Oracle Expert for Rdb
DECtrace Oracle Trace
RALLY Oracle RALLY
InstantSQL Oracle InstantSQL for Rdb
Graphical Schema Editor Oracle Graphical Schema Editor
for Rdb
DBMS Oracle CODASYL DBMS
CDD/Repository Oracle CDD/Repository
CDD/Administrator Oracle CDD/Administrator
Q: Will Rdb technology be rolled into the Oracle family of
products?
A: Yes. Oracle is looking at several opportunities to
incorporate key technologies from the Rdb products into the
Oracle7 family of products.
In some cases, Oracle will enhance existing products with
new capabilities. For instance, the Rdb and Oracle
relational databases will, over a period of several years,
merge into a single product offering that combines the best
of both products. Oracle will benefit from Rdb's strengths
in system management for very large databases, while Rdb
will gain from Oracle's parallel technologies.
Q: Will Rdb be ported to non-Digital platforms?
A: In addition to the current VAX OpenVMS and AXP OpenVMS
ports, Oracle will port Rdb to key Digital operating
environments including OSF/1 AXP and Windows NT. Oracle does
not plan any non-Digital ports at this time for Rdb;
however, Oracle does plan to roll out several of the other
products across all of the product lines. Products in this
category include Oracle Trace and Oracle Expert.
Q: Will Oracle develop any new products as a result of the
acquisition?
A: Yes, Oracle will develop several entirely new products
around the Rdb technology. For instance, the Rdb database
administration tools will be used to expand Oracle's current
offering. High on the list is Rdb's DBA Workcenter product
that will offer advanced database monitoring for both Oracle
and Rdb databases. In addition, Oracle plans to release an
Oracle Expert product for Oracle7.
Q: How will the Rdb products be shipped to customers?
A: As an Oracle product, Rdb will be integrated over time
with the standard Oracle media offerings. Oracle plans to
offer documentation in hardcopy and online formats. In
addition, the agreement allows Digital to sell and ship both
Rdb and Oracle pre-installed as part of the AdvantageServer
package.
Q: How will other products change as a result of the
acquisition?
A: Oracle will extend several other Rdb products to support
Oracle as well as Rdb. For instance, the RALLY 4GL
development tool will soon allow developers to write
applications for both Rdb and Oracle databases. Likewise,
Oracle Trace will soon work with the full suite of Oracle
products, including the database, tools, and applications.
Q: Today Rdb runtime is in some of NAS packaging - will Rdb
runtime stay part of some packaged offering? Will the
customer have to pay for Rdb runtime in that case?
A: All of the NAS packages which today offer Rdb will continue
to be offered. Where new NAS packaging may not include a
database there will be Database AdvantageServers for Rdb
and also for Oracle7. Packaged offerings that contain Rdb
today include the license fees within the package price,
this will continue under the agreement.
Q: Will Rdb versions now lag behind Digital OS releases?
A: This alliance ensures the Rdb team coming to Oracle has the
same access to pre-release and field test software that
they have always enjoyed. One of the reasons why Oracle is
establishing the East Coast Development Center is to ensure
that the Rdb organization has the easy access to the people
with whom they have worked closely in other parts of
Digital.
Q: Will Rdb be optimized for AXP OSF/1 or is it just for
OpenVMS customers?
A: The port to OSF/1 UNIX is in field test now and Windows NT
development is under way. Rdb is for all Digital customers
and will be optimized to use AXP's 64-bit architecture to
support customer VLDB requirements.
Q: Many Rdb customers rely on the tight integration of ACMS
and Rdb. How will this be supported by Oracle and Digital?
A: Both Digital and Oracle recognize the importance of ACMS to
many of the largest Rdb customers. From a technology
perspective, the tight integration will not change. This
alliance includes agreements so that the same level of
integration will be maintained through pre-release and
field test programs. In addition, Oracle will be reselling
ACMS and both companies' consulting organizations will be
offering consulting services for these products.
Q: What about DBMS?
A: Oracle plans to continue support and enhancements for the
CODASYL DBMS product. DBMS shares a common code base with
Rdb and consequently benefits from many of the enhancements
made to Rdb. Long term, Oracle is investigating the
potential for integration of DBMS with future object-
oriented versions of the Oracle and Rdb relational
databases.
Q: Concern around other Digital products that need code access
to products transitioning to Oracle. How will this be
managed?
A: All transition products under the agreement will be made
available to Digital engineering groups in support of
continued product development. The Database Program Office
will establish the process to accomplish this.
Q: Is it true that both SQL and ODBC are part of the products
sold?
A: Some products such as SQL and ODBC will be supported and
maintained by both companies for their own use. Future
releases of these products could become differentiated.
Q: VMS support. Historically, there has been virtually no
compatibility problems when new versions of VMS have been
delivered. Will this continue to be the case or will we
have to wait months for a version of Rdb that will work
with the new version of VMS?
A: This alliance ensures the Rdb team coming to Oracle has the
same access to pre-release and field test software that
they have always enjoyed. One of the reasons why Oracle is
establishing the East Coast Development Center is to ensure
that the Rdb organization has the easy access to the people
with whom they have worked closely in other parts of
Digital.
Q: What is Oracle's and Digital's strategy on Oracle Gateway
and Digital's Database Integrator (DBI). Will they merge
in the future?
A: Digital has a DB Integrator Gateway to Oracle that enables
DEC SQL, DEC ODBC Driver, DAL and SequeLink applications to
access Oracle data as though it were data stored in an Rdb
or any other DB Integrator Database. Digital's DB
Integrator uses the DB Integrator Gateway to Oracle and the
rest of its family of DB Integrator products to access and
integrate heterogeneous data.
Oracle has a product called the Oracle Transparent Gateway
to Rdb. This product enables Oracle client applications to
access Rdb and DB Integrator data as though it were data
stored in an Oracle Server. There are no plans to merge
the Oracle gateway with Digital's DB Integrator product
family.
Q: Is DEC Data Distributor part of the sale of Rdb to Oracle?
A: No. DEC Data Distributor is part of the ACCESSWORKS family
of data integration products. Oracle will have capability
to sell DEC Data Distributor however, it will continue to
be enhanced and supported by Digital. DEC Data Distributor
is currently being ported to OSF and enhanced with several
new features designed to support the physical replication
of data in a distributed heterogeneous environment.
Q: What are the future plans for DATATRIEVE? It is tied
closely to CDD but does not seem to be included in the
agreement.
A: Datatrieve's plans have not been impacted by CDD's move.
Both DEC and ORACLE are cooperating to ensure that
dependencies such as that between DTR and CDD continue to
be managed effectively. Plans for DATATRIEVE are to
continue to meet the needs of its current customer base,
particularly in the area of accessing DATATRIEVE-managed
data from a Windows desktop. The next version of
DATATRIEVE will support a client-server model in which
applications can be executed from Windows, data transferred
to desktop visualization tools, and DATATRIEVE queries
generated via a graphical interface. Digital and Oracle
will work together to manage Datatrieve's dependency on
CDD.
Q: Is DB Integrator dependent upon Rdb?
A: No, DB Integrator is designed to be database independent
and can use a variety of relational databases as its
metadata repository including, Rdb and Oracle7. There is
tight integration between DB Integrator and Rdb. Both
Digital and Oracle recognize the importance of DB
Integrator to the Rdb customer base. This alliance
includes agreements so that the same level of integration
will be maintained. In addition, Oracle will be reselling
DB Integrator and both companies' consulting organizations
will be offering consulting services for these products.
Q: What's the plan for delivering incremental data extracts
from Rdb via event journaling or something else?
A: DEC Data Distributor (DDD) supports time based extracts
(extract based on a schedule or interactive command). This
is a very common requirement in business. DDD plans to
continue to support access to Rdb via Rdb's internal
interface DSRI. Event journaling implies event based
extracts (record change causes a extract to commence within
some time increment approaching real time). This is a
requirement for a small % of the market today. At this
time DDD has no plan to support this type of extract.
There were no plans to support this feature prior to the
sale.
* SERVICE AND SUPPORT:
Q: Will the type of service change?
A: Customers will still receive the same, excellent level of
support to which they are accustomed. The same people who
have worked with Rdb customers in the past will continue to
provide support services in the future. These
representatives, who have grown familiar with solutions
built around Rdb, will continue to use their expertise as
members of Oracle's support organization. In addition,
Oracle will expand the offerings available to customers,
with the option of bronze, silver,or gold levels of support.
Q: How will Rdb support contracts be handled?
A: Oracle is committed to supporting the Rdb customer
base. Rdb customer support personnel have transferred to
Oracle to ensure continuity. Until a customer's Rdb
support contract expires, Oracle will act as an agent
for Digital to continue providing support to these
users. Digital support terms and conditions will remain
constant until contract expiration or 15 months from
closing, whichever comes first. Oracle will provide the
option to renew these contracts on an annual basis at
one of the Oracle medal levels of service (Bronze,
Silver, or Gold). Additionally, a customer can choose to
convert to an Oracle contract before their contract
expires.
Q: What level of Oracle support will I receive by default
A: This is dependent upon the level of support you are
currently receiving from Digital. Oracle offers three
Medal support levels, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. If you
have questions about support levels, please contact Oracle
directly.
Q: Will support pricing change?
A: Pricing and some other operational details have been
determined during the Operational Review period between
signing agreements and closing. Any change in support
service pricing will be effective at the time a customer
renews or converts the Rdb support contract to an Oracle
contract.
Q: Will Digital Consulting have the option of supporting non-
Rdb databases in projects?
A: Of course. Digital Consulting has trained and continues
to train specialists and consultants in the use of
products other than Rdb, such as Oracle7. This is part of
the general philosophy of being able to undertake
consulting projects which are multi-vendor in nature.
Q: By purchasing all Digital products, customers had single
vendor support. It now appears this will no longer be true.
A: Digital and Oracle will work together to ensure customers
receive high quality support services. The Rdb support
personnel will become Oracle employees so Oracle will have
the level of expertise required to support Rdb and customers
will continue to work with many of the same personnel they
have worked with in the past. In addition, customers will
benefit from the Enterprise Solutions Program initiated by
Digital and Oracle to provide customers with a single
"virtual" corporation to address support requirements for
their Digital/Oracle solutions.
Q: What about the service contracts for Rdb? Could we keep
them or should they move to the local Oracle distributor?
A: After the customer's contracts expire, they must renew
with Oracle or with an Oracle distributor as determined by
Oracle.
Q: My customer wants Digital to be the interface to
take/track all support calls. (It wants one-stop support
for its hardware and software).
A: Existing Digital service customers will have "one-stop"
service until service renewal or until February 29, 1996,
whichever is earlier. After that date the service
contract and obligation is between Oracle and the
customer.
Customers who still want to call one number will be able
to call Digital, who will pass that call to Oracle; this
provision is merely a convenience to customers and implies
NO contractual obligation between Digital and the customer
in these circumstances. Any issues should be handled
directly between the customer and Oracle.
Q: Who will be providing education services for Rdb?
A: Both Digital and Oracle will provide education courses for
the Rdb family of products. In addition, Oracle will offer
additional courses to provide more information about integrated
solutions built around Rdb and Oracle.
Q: Will the customer need a separate support contract for Rdb
(that is, an Oracle agreement in addition to their DEC
software maintenance agreement)?
A: Yes, when it is time for the customer to renew their
contract with Oracle, they will need a separate support
contract for Rdb.
If they have a Digital contract and/or warranty that has
not expired at the effective date of the agreement, they
will get Rdb service from Oracle under their existing
Digital agreement until it expires or until February 29,
1996 whichever comes first. Then they will need a
separate contract from Oracle.
Q: How is it made sure that DEC database consultants can have
access to STARS and bug report databases?
A: Digital DB consultants will continue to have access to
data that exists in the STARS and bug report databases.
However, the data will no longer be updated after February
29, 1996.
Q: We have a 24*7 hours ACMS and Rdb support contract for UBS
mission critical trading environment. How do we handle
this now?
A: Existing customers will be treated as already stated,
i.e., there should be no change. Mission critical is a
U.S. only service and is written against the system, not
individual products; once the contract renews or we reach
February 29th, 1996, then if customers want ANY service on
this product set they will have to contract with Oracle.
Q: What is the future escalation procedure?
A: For existing Digital service customers escalation remains
the same until their contract expires or until February
29, 1996 whichever comes first. Note that escalation will
be to Oracle employees fulfilling Digital MCS customer
obligations in accordance with our terms and conditions.
Once the customer contracts directly with Oracle,
escalation will be handled according to the
Oracle/customer contract.
Q: The customer I spoke with today has 3 years left on a 5-
year support agreement. After the 15-month period, when
Oracle is to be contacted for customers' contract renewal,
will Digital pay to convert this type of long-term
contract to an Oracle contract for the remaining period?
A: For ANY non-standard contract situations, including
multiple year, pre-paids, etc., if the T&C's allow for
service cancellation/retirement then it will be retired at
15 months. If they do not allow for cancellation Digital
can continue to subcontract the delivery after the 15
month period at Oracle's standard rates. All non-standard
term contracts and the SPECIFIC non-standard terms should
be identified and sent to Sharon Rosen @OGO, DTN 276-8074.
As this is merely a change in service vendor with no
change to the underlying product, Digital will not "pay"
for a conversion.
Q: Will the current version and last two versions still be
supported?
A: If the customer has a Digital contract and/or warranty
that has not expired, they will continue to get the same
level of version support as always until their contract with
Digital expires or until February 29, 1996 whichever comes
first. Then they will renew with Oracle.
Q: Will DSNLink (and CSC via telephone) still support Rdb and
provide ECOs? (DSNLink allows customers send mail and
communicate with the support group rather than voice. The
support group can also use it to download patches and
articles.)
A: Customers with valid Digital service contracts and/or
warranties that have not expired at the effective date of
the agreement will continue to get DSNLink and CSC until
expiration/renewal or until February 29, 1996 whichever
comes first. After that time, the customer will re-
negotiate their contract with Oracle.
Q: Does Oracle have anything like DSNLink?
A: Yes, Oracle offers a direct electronic service similar to
DSNLink. To learn more about Oracle's direct electronic
service, customers should call the Oracle customer support
telephone number, 1-800-223-1711.
Q: Does Oracle have anything like our CD service for binaries
and documentation?
A: Yes, Oracle provides CD service for binaries and
documentation. To learn more about these services, call
the Oracle Customer Support telephone number, 1-800-223-1711.
Q: Will internal Digital groups be able to obtain Rdb
telephone support?
A: Since Digital's Multivendor Customer Services has also
been providing support to Digital internal groups, these
groups are considered customers and must obtain their
support from Oracle, who has agreed to a significant
discount for Digital. All MCS employees trained to
support these products will be hired by Oracle, so the
capability won't exist in MCS to the extent it has in the
past. Digital's IS organization will need to start
budgeting for new licenses, ongoing updates,
documentation, and ongoing support for the Rdb products.
Of course, there's nothing to prevent internal groups from
training and using their own staff to provide Rdb support,
just as any customer may choose self-maintenance as an
option.
Q: My customer, who is a Digital VAR, would like to know if
they should continue selling extended Rdb Warranty?
A: Rather than sell extended warranty, convince your customer
to sell a standard service contract to cover the desired
period of time beyond the warranty period. Digital is
obligated to fulfill the entire warranty period by paying
Oracle to provide the service. Service contracts may be
retired, therefore permitting Oracle to assume complete
responsibility for the obligation.
Q: My customer is a defense contractor who has requested that
Digital provide a non-standard Rdb service agreement for a
mission critical program which they are pursuing. Should I?
A: Not unless the Area SPS Business Manager approves the
transaction. Contracts which obligate Digital to deliver
non-standard services or do not permit Digital to retire
the service should be avoided.
Q: I am concerned that the sale of Rdb to Oracle may be
received in negative light by some of my customers and may
jeopardize future business. I am especially concerned
about my large accounts, accounts which have experienced
customer satisfaction problems, and accounts that are at
risk of going to the competition. How can I be pro-active
in allaying any concerns which these customers may have?
A: Engage your sales management team to accompany you on a
sales call with your customer to present the reasons for
the sale of Rdb to Oracle, the retirement process, and
reassurance that the total multi-vendor service support to
the account will be strengthened by the partnering of
Digital and Oracle in supporting the account.
A Sales Communication package was distributed which will
assist you in developing the appropriate messages. If you
do not have a copy, send a request to Mary Hoffmann @OGO.
* SALES AND MARKETING:
Q: Do I continue to use the existing part numbers and AQS
pricing to sell Rdb, CDD/R, etc.
A: Yes, the current on-line systems reflect the current and
correct pricing for all of the Rdb products. Generally,
Rdb prices have recently been lowered as a result of the
new 3 tier pricing. These new prices are prices reflected
in the 3 tier licensing offerings. At the completion of
the transaction with Oracle all of the products will
become Oracle's and Digital will become a VAR and Reseller
of these Oracle Rdb products as well as the Oracle7
products. These will be placed into the price files as
3rd products reflecting the Oracle list prices.
Q: How will Rdb be sold?
A: The Rdb products and services will be offered through both
the Digital and Oracle sales channels. Customers have the
option of maintaining their existing Digital sales
relationship for these products, or build a new
relationship with Oracle.
Q: Just how will Digital resell Oracle products?
A: Digital will sell Oracle products primarily through value-
added packages, including Advantage Servers, or embedded
Oracle or Rdb licenses in products such as CDD/Repository.
With this agreement, Digital will also offer value-added
packages through its reseller channels.
Q: Will Oracle be training Digital sales people on how to
sell Oracle products?
A: As part of our longstanding strategic relationship,
Oracle has already trained hundreds of Digital sales and
sales consultants on Oracle products. This training program
will be extended and enhanced to ensure Oracle and Rdb
product knowledge by the Digital distribution organization.
Oracle will also expand its internal education programs to
include Rdb.
Q: With the inclusion of DBA Workcenter as part of the sale
of Rdb to Oracle, what tools do I now propose for managing
the databases in an ACCESSWORKS environment?
A: The sale does not change what you should sell. All of the
products being sold to Oracle will be resold by
Digital. DBA Workcenter is primarily BMC/Patrol software
that is today being resold by Digital. There are some
modules specific to Rdb like GSE, RdbExpert, and a Patrol
knowledge module for Rdb that will become the property of
Oracle. Digital still retains the right to resell both
the Patrol and Rdb specific code. Digital will continue
to market and sell DBA Workcenter as part of the
ACCESSWORKS family of products. In addition, Digital
retained the rights to a portion of the GSE code specific
to creating a DBI database. This new feature, planned as
part of DB Integrator V3.1 Interactive, will be called the
Visual Schema Editor.
Q: What sales and marketing programs are available to
support the Digital/Oracle reseller relationship?
A: Each company has made a significant commitment to a joint
marketing budget and programs dedicated to the reseller
relationship in addition to the existing joint sales and
marketing campaigns already underway between both Digital
and Oracle.
U.S. Oracle sales personnel World Wide Digital sales personnel
are receiving a sales kit on Digital and Oracle identifying key
company contacts, resources, partnership history, a joint
presentation, Q&A, and other important material.
As a pilot, Digital has placed demonstration systems of the
latest Alpha equipment in 21 U.S. Oracle offices and
identified marketing seed money for joint field marketing
programs and promotions with Oracle.
On site today at U.S. Digital Demo Centers are Oracle
programs which Digital sales and sales support personnel can
use to support Oracle/Digital sales situations.
Q: The communications kit says Digital has signed a reseller
agreement to be a reseller for the Oracle product line.
Is there a process (i.e.: part number, pricing) that I
should use to sell Oracle directly to a customer? Or, do
I have to get Oracle involved via our local channels rep?
A: Until the about 30 days after closing Digital sales reps
will sell Oracle as they have in the past. In January
there will be part numbers and prices in the price
file that you can quote and sell.
Q: We have a very large Rdb shop and they want to now
purchase the Oracle license and our ACCESSWORKS DB
Integrator to be utilized in a very strategic project
which is in progress. How do we do this now?
A: Currently, Oracle would sell the Oracle and DB Integrator
licenses and Digital would sell DB Integrator. As of
January, Digital will be able to sell Oracle in addition to
DB Integrator.
Q: Compensation for Rdb and Oracle for Sales, etc? How will
this work, what is the plan?
A: Compensation for Rdb and Oracle will be paid according to
your applicable sales compensation plan. You will receive
revenue credit based on the net price of the products.
Q: Since Digital will continue to sell Rdb, and since DB
Integrator depends on a RDBMS for its Metadata Repository,
what agreement is in place to ensure that Digital pre-
sales people have access to the licenses (Rdb or
Oracle7) they need to do demonstrations, etc?
A: Digital has the right to use Rdb and Oracle7 for
demonstration purposes. The implementation details of this
program are being worked at this time. You should continue
to operate as you have in the past until directed otherwise.
* RELATIONSHIPS:
Q: How does this agreement impact Digital's relationship with
other database vendors?
A: Although Oracle and Digital are entering into an extended
strategic relationship, Digital has an open database
strategy and will maintain and enhance alliances with all
key database vendors.
Q: How does this agreement impact Oracle's relationship with
its other hardware vendors?
A: Digital is an important strategic vendor for Oracle. Like
Digital, Oracle has an open alliance strategy and will
maintain relationships with all strategic hardware
vendors.
* CUSTOMER:
Q: The Account team would like to schedule a Customer visit
from Rdb/CDD/DBMS engineering.
A: Send mail to WILBRY::RDBNEWS to request a visit by
engineering. Be sure to include contact information for a
reply, customer name, timeframe and customer expectations
for the requested concall or visit.
Q: I see this as a negative move. How can I have confidence
in the future for the Rdb software products?
A: Oracle is very sensitive to the fact that many companies
have built their businesses around the Rdb family of
products, and Oracle is committed to providing continued
support to the success of those businesses. As such, Oracle
will support the Rdb product through its organization of
4300+ support and service personnel. Oracle welcomes the
opportunity to work closely with Rdb customers to address
their information management requirements today and in the
future.
Digital and Oracle will continue to work closely to make the
transition seamless for customers, in terms of services,
enhancements, and support. Digital is committed to building
alliances with vendors who have the same engineering,
service, and support philosophy as Digital. Digital believes
that Oracle is a perfect example of this principle; Digital
cannot imagine a better corporate parent for the Digital
database business than Oracle.
Q: To whom do I pay outstanding invoices?
A: Outstanding invoices should be paid to whomever (Oracle or
Digital) issued the invoice.
Q: I see this as a positive move. Which other Digital
products can I expect to see moving to other vendors?
A: Digital is committed to building alliances with vendors
who have the same engineering, service, and support
philosophy as Digital. Digital believes that Oracle is a
perfect example of this principle; Digital cannot imagine
a better corporate parent for the Digital database
business than Oracle.
Q: How do I find out about future offerings for the Rdb
products?
A: Register your software today with Oracle (at no cost) to
ensure that you receive information about future
enhancements and product offerings. By registering your
software, you will find out about current and future
versions of the Rdb product family, expanded support
offerings, the unique advantages of Rdb for mixed VAX and
Alpha clusters, and special options for upgrading from VAX
to Alpha OSF/1. Contact Oracle at 1-800-ORACLE1 or 415-506-
5578.
Q: What programs are in place for upgrading from VAX to
Alpha systems on Oracle or Rdb?
A: For customers who are interested in upgrading from VAX to
Alpha systems, Oracle and Digital offer several ways to help
you, including technical white papers to outline many of
your options, migration utilities to facilitate the process,
and list to list credits for customers interested in
upgrading from Rdb on VAX VMS to either Rdb or Oracle on
Alpha OSF/1. Oracle will credit the price of the VAX VMS Rdb
software toward the purchase of the new software. The amount
of the credit corresponds to the price of Rdb for the
existing VAX VMS system (based on Digital's June 30, 1994
price list).
Q: If a customer wished to undertake a conversion from Rdb to
another product, is Digital prepared to help with this
process?
A: Yes, Digital Consulting have expertise in the use of many
such products and can plan and implement a conversion project.
Q: What do I do if I'm dissatisfied with Oracle?
A: If you are not satisfied with Oracle product, service, or
support, please escalate your concerns through Oracle's
senior management.
For sales issues, please escalate to the Worldwide
Distribution Regional or Area Vice President.
For Worldwide Customer Support, escalate any business
issues to Oracle Client Relations. For technical issues
related to a single Technical Assistance Request, please
escalate to the Duty Manager on call.
For technical issues related to multiple Technical
Assistance Requests, escalate to the Duty Manager on call.
For general issues, escalate to the Division Super Centre
Director. In the Americas contact Tom Holmes. In the
Europe, Middle East and Africa region, contact Mick Stone.
For Asia Pacific, contact John Darragh.
Of course, customers will continue to have the option of
working with their Digital sales representative or
establish a new relationship with the Oracle account
manager.
Q: Where do customers go for more information?
A: For additional information use the following contact
points:
Oracle: US Telephone 1-800-ORACLE1
Outside US Telephone 1-415-506-5701
Customer Support 1-800-223-1711
Business Alliance Partners 1-800-323-7355
Digital: U.S. Telephone 1-800-DIGITAL
Europe Telephone 352-91-754-567
FAX 603-881-1868
Q: A Rdb business partner's customers must store data long
term to meet regulatory requirements. Should current Rdb
customers and those considering the purchase of Rdb buy
Rdb to meet their long term needs?
A: Absolutely. Rdb development will continue long term.
Eventually, customers will be able to UPGRADE to a product
that includes the best of Rdb and Oracle and supports both
Rdb and Oracle applications.
Q: Some customers prefer to generate one purchase order and
purchase a single contract form Digital for comprehensive
hardware and software support. Can customers continue to
include Rdb in these kinds of contracts?
A: No. Customers must renew the Rdb part of their contracts
with Oracle.
Q: Educational institutions can buy Digital software at very
low cost through the Campus-wide Software License Grant
program. Does Oracle have a program like this? How much
can these severely budget constrained institutions expect
to pay for Rdb licenses in the future? Will the CSLG
educational program be continued through Oracle? Will Rdb
continue to be available under the CSLG program?
A: Oracle does not have a program like the campus-wide
software license grant program. Oracle will evaluate this
business opportunity within its pricing and business
practices. This issue is currently being reviewed outside
of the strategic agreement.
* RESELLERS AND OTHER ALLIANCES
Q: I'm a reseller. How will the change in support affect me
and my customers?
A: Digital will continue to hold existing contracts until
expiration or February 29, 1996, whichever comes first.
During that period, Digital will subcontract with Oracle
for the support services. Digital support terms and
conditions will remain in force during this period.
This helps to ensure a smooth transition to Oracle support.
Oracle is highly committed to providing excellent technical
support for all Rdb customers and resellers. Rdb customer
support personnel have transferred to Oracle ensure continuity
with Technical Assistance Requests.
Q: Will Rdb resellers continue to sell Rdb services?
A: Resellers who have contracted with Oracle to sell Rdb
will also be able to sell Oracle support services for Rdb.
For more information resellers can call the Oracle Business
Alliance Program hotline at 1-800-323-7355.
Q: What will happen to the RSVP program under Oracle?
A: Oracle is pleased to extend membership offers to RSVP
members to join the Oracle Business Alliance Program (BAP),
a group of 4,000 software vendors worldwide. Oracle will not
charge an entry fee for RSVP members. The Oracle Rdb product
management group will provide support to help ensure
customer satisfaction during the transition period. For
information about Oracle's Business Alliance Program, call
the BAP hotline at 1-800-323-7355.
Q: Will Digital be licensed to sublicense Oracle7 or Rdb to a
reseller or distributor?
Q: Will Digital be licensed to resell Oracle7 or Rdb to a
reseller or distributor?
A: With this agreement, Digital will be able to resell
Oracle7 or Rdb to a reseller or distributor provided that:
the Oracle products are packaged with Digital software, or
the Oracle products are bundled with Digital hardware.
Digital can establish these reseller agreements with all
Oracle products including Rdb, except for Oracle's
applications products. In addition, under Oracle's Business
Alliance Program, members who have value-added packages may
appoint resellers or distributors for Oracle and Rdb.
Q: I already have an Oracle relationship manager. Will that
person now represent Rdb as well?
A: Yes, upon closing, Oracle account managers are authorized
to sell Rdb.
Q: What will happen to DSRI?
A: DSRI will continue to be supported as a public interface
to Rdb.
Q: We resell Rdb. How will the pricing, terms, and business
practices change?
A: Specifics on Rdb business practices are being developed at
this time. Until that time, resellers should continue
with the current business practices as agreed to with
Digital.
Q: Many leads for our Rdb product come from Digital sales.
How will this affect our leads process? What is my
relationship with Digital now?
A: This agreement should not affect your relationship with
Digital. The value that you provide to Digital as a
Digital platform software vendor does not change. Digital
will continue to resell Rdb, therefore, Digital will
continue to need Rdb-based applications and tools in
Digital accounts.
The lead exchange process with Digital should not change
either. In addition, Digital resellers who will also sell
Oracle will enjoy the benefits of lead generation programs
through Oracle's Business Alliance Program such as
seminars and other activities.
Q: How much of this information can I share with my
customers? Do you have a briefing package that we can
send them?
A: You may share this information with your customers. There
exists a briefing package for all customers that will be
sent to you in the near future. If you haven't received a
briefing package by mid-December and would like one,
please call 1-800-ORACLE1.
Q: Will all of the products sold to Oracle continue to be
offered by Digital distributors and VARs?
A: Yes, the contract provides for the continued availability
of all of the Rdb products to and through all of Digital's
channels and distributors.
Q: A Rdb business partner is currently in its budget cycle.
From whom does it purchase Rdb?
A: Rdb can be purchased from either Oracle or Digital.
Q: Will customers be able to buy Rdb from a Rdb business
partner after the acquisition?
A: Yes. A Rdb business partner can resell Rdb through the
Oracle Business Alliance program. It can also resell Rdb
through Digital if Rdb is included in a Digital software
or hardware package that is resold by the Rdb business
partner.
Q: The Rdb business partner packages Oracle SW with its
product. It has an agreement with Oracle UK to sell the
Oracle license at a percentage of the business partner's
product price to avoid conflicting concurrent user license
minimums and increments (e.g., Partner's five user license
vs. Oracle seven or eight user license) Will a similar
arrangement be possible for Rdb?
A: Yes. The Rdb product family will adopt Oracle business
practices.
Q: A customer is currently running Rdb V4.0 and would like to
understand options available and costs incurred by its
customers to upgrade to a minimum of Rdb V4.2 and obtain a
media and documentation kit.
A: Rdb provides support for the three latest versions of the
product. Rdb plans to release V6.1 in a few months. At
that time the supported versions of Rdb will be: Rdb
V5.1, V6.0 and V6.1. Therefore, the customer should
upgrade to Rdb V5.1 or a subsequent version.
If the customer purchased an Rdb service contract and kept
it in force, it has received an Rdb license, and media and
doc. updates. It can update its Rdb database to any of
the supported versions. (The Rdb Management Utility will
convert Rdb V4.0 databases to Rdb V6.0 interactively in
one step.)
If the customer does not have a service contract then it
will need to buy a Rdb V6.0 license (the current shipping
version of Rdb) and a media and documentation kit. If it
also buys a support contract it will be entitled to new
feature and maintenance releases of Rdb as well as hotline
support.
* PARTNER-SPECIFIC:
Q: Oracle products are soon to be on Digital's price list.
Can we place our applications and products on Digital's
price list as well?
A: Over the years, Digital has resold numerous third party
software products. We will continue to do so when it makes
good business sense for us and our customers.
Q: Will Digital continue to invest in third party database
accounts through seeds, engineering, marketing programs?
A: Yes. Just as software vendors support multiple hardware
vendors, we will continue to partner with multiple
database vendors by providing high levels of support as
described in your question.
Q: Is Digital Corporate getting the Rdb license, and will this
make it a Digital Corporate DDS product or does it need to
contracted locally?
A: Essentially the agreement established Digital as a
software Reseller for the Rdb Products and the Oracle7
database products. As a VAR, Digital will be offering
packaged solutions in products such as DBI, and Advantage
Servers. As a reseller, the products will be offered
through the Digital price book as we currently offer other
3rd party software products. As supported 3rd party
products in the price file the products will require no
local agreements and the products can be sold as a Digital
delivered solution rather than as a "partnered" solution as
is now the case with Oracle7. Digital will also offer
Oracle service contracts in support of the Oracle products.
* GENERAL SERVICE AND SUPPORT INFORMATION:
IMPACT OF ORACLE AGREEMENT ON SERVICE AND SUPPORT
On September 1, 1994, John Rando distributed a
communications package to all MCS personnel explaining the
Digital/Oracle agreement. This package contained a
detailed 'question & answer' section which we expect
addressed most of your questions. The agreement was
finalized and executed on December 1, 1994. Below are some
of the key features that will impact MCS, primarily in
terms of sales and service delivery.
SALES
_____
- Digital and its partners will no longer be allowed to sell
Digital service on the Rdb products.
- Digital WILL be allowed to resell Oracle support services
under a reseller agreement that is currently in design.
- Digital and its partners, including Service Managers, can
neither renew nor convert the Rdb service portion of
existing Digital contracts.
- Digital and its partners will not provide Digital's
warranty on the Rdb products quoted after November 30th.
- All standard service contracts should be retired within 15
months (by February 29, 1996).
- The process for managing non-standard contracts (multi-
year, Digital Consulting) and continuous billing
(evergreen) contracts is currently being developed jointly
by Digital and Oracle.
- All service revenue for the Rdb products will be turned
over to Oracle by Corporate MCS on a quarterly schedule.
- Current Digital Rdb contracts/warranties will be honored
until the contract/warranty expires, or for a period of 15
months (until February 29, 1996) whichever comes first.
- Worldwide service customer lists have been provided to
Oracle.
SERVICE DELIVERY
________________
- Effective December 1st, Oracle will provide the service
delivery (support and updates) of the Rdb products as a
sub-contractor for Digital.
- Until the expiration of a Digital contract or until
February 29, 1996, Digital will continue to be responsible
for the customer's contract/warranty, but will pass all
calls to Oracle. After contract expiration the customer
will renew directly with Oracle and contract Oracle
directly for support on the Rdb products.
- The next Rdb release (V6.1) is planned for
December/January; however, Digital and Oracle are still
discussing their respective responsibilities for the
manufacture and distribution of the Rdb products up through
that release.
- A significant number of the Digital employees providing
sustaining engineering, service delivery support and pre-
sales support on the Rdb products transitioned to Oracle on
December 1, 1994.
- In locations where Oracle's service delivery for the Rdb
products has not yet been established, Oracle may choose to
deliver service through Digital.
|
| I noticed this customer discussion on DECUServe. Looks like Oracle is
beginning to tighten the screws on CDD and Rdb. I feel sorry for our
customers.
-< Business Practices >-
================================================================================
Note 473.0 Exponential CDD price increase 7 replies
EISNER::WYSOCKI "Chris Wysocki" 23 lines 15-FEB-1995 16:17
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last week we asked our Dec reseller for a price quote on a CDD license for
a MicroVAX 3100-95. He quoted us (roughly) $695 for a personal use license
and $2650 for the platform license. This was for the QL-897**-** license.
This week we get the ok to buy the platform license. However, the
reseller is now unable to sell us the QL-897**-** licenses. His DEC
contact tells him that CDD was sold to Oracle (which we knew) but
the licensing has changed. DEC can sell us the license for "Oracle
CDD". There are no personal use licenses; all licenses are concurrent
use in increments of 8 users.
The part number for an 8 user license is QB-47HAA-WA.
The price is $24,000.
I didn't believe my reseller. I looked it up on the Electronic Store.
I saw $24,000.
The QL-897**-** part numbers are no longer valid.
We use CDD a lot. But, we won't be using it on any more VMS systems.
Not at that price.
Anybody have any suggestions for a CDD replacement product?
================================================================================
Note 473.1 Exponential CDD price increase 1 of 7
EISNER::KILGALLEN "Larry Kilgallen, LJK Software" 5 lines 15-FEB-1995 16:55
-< Records layouts work just fine in SDL >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> <<< Note 473.0 by EISNER::WYSOCKI "Chris Wysocki" >>>
> Anybody have any suggestions for a CDD replacement product?
SDL, in conjunction with strict source code control.
================================================================================
Note 473.2 Exponential CDD price increase 2 of 7
EISNER::FERGUSON "Linwood" 7 lines 15-FEB-1995 21:03
-< Rdb pricing? >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anyone had to buy Rdb since Oracle? I assume it's no longer bundled
with any of the VMS licenses?
Just wondering if its price is going to follow suit.
I _assume_ that any Rdb licenses we own are free and clear, and except
for needed to contract for support we need worry only if we upgrade.
================================================================================
Note 473.3 Exponential CDD price increase 3 of 7
EISNER::SCOPELLITI "Goldegg>Board, Deadgoose>DECUS" 10 lines 15-FEB-1995 22:31
-< No surprise to any Oracle customer >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ah yes.. the wonderful Oracle pricing structure. They must have
studied at Computer Associates' feet...
Seriously, this seems to have some interesting repercussions:
How does one buy Datatrieve now?
Will this pricing structure extend to annual software support?
Wish we weren't bound by the DECUServe canons...
================================================================================
Note 473.4 Exponential CDD price increase 4 of 7
EISNER::MAZZONI "Michael E Mazzoni" 45 lines 15-FEB-1995 22:45
-< Oracle Rdb prices >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Anyone had to buy Rdb since Oracle? I assume it's no longer bundled
> with any of the VMS licenses?
> Just wondering if its price is going to follow suit.
> I _assume_ that any Rdb licenses we own are free and clear, and except
> for needed to contract for support we need worry only if we upgrade.
The store has Oracle Rdb pricing. Part number is QB-477A*-*. $800.00 per named
user in increments of 8, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 80, 96, 128, 160, 192, and 224
users; $1,600.00 per concurrent device in the same increments. I believe that
this is pricing for a development license.
According to a salesman at Oracle on 7-Feb-1995, the runtime license pricing
has not been settled yet. but it was supposed to be decided "...in a couple of
weeks...". He mentioned $800 per named user for a development license, and he
said that if Oracle Rdb runtime it was the same as Oracle runtime, it would be
30% of the development license cost or $240 or $480/user.
As of the 3-Jan-1995 DEC price list, Rdb runtime is still included with many
VAX and Alpha systems sold with bundled. NAS 250, NAS 300, and NAS 400
packages. I'm sure this will change soon since the Rdb runtime license is for
unlimited users.
I expect Oracle Rdb to cost the same as Oracle in the near future, which means
that companies which sell an Rdb solution are going to see their costs
skyrocket. For example, one of our customers wants to install a system
identical to one he bought in 1993. Under the expected per-user pricing, he
would have to pay an additional $30,720 (64 * $1,600 * 0.30) in Oracle Rdb
runtime fees. Since he's buying a $25k VAXstation, this kind of price increase
is rather hard to explain.
As for support, I just received a packet from Oracle Rdb support group ($3.00
postage due) which gave an explanation of the Oracle Rdb support plans
available from Oracle. Oracle wants a transitioning customer to fill out a
form detailing the hardware and the number of users. The implication is that
Oracle Rdb support will be priced based on the machine and the number of users.
No pricing information is available except on a custom quote basis.
As an Rdb user since 1986, I am deeply troubled by these pending price
increases. My company made a commitment to Rdb because it was very cost
effective compared to Oracle, Ingress, Sybase and others. We could be very
competitive by not having to pass along tens of thousands of $$$ in database
licensing fees to our customers. Now I feel that the rug has been pulled out
from under us.
================================================================================
Note 473.5 Exponential CDD price increase 5 of 7
EISNER::WYSOCKI "Chris Wysocki" 30 lines 16-FEB-1995 10:02
-< With these prices, CDD is dead >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> The store has Oracle Rdb pricing. Part number is QB-477A*-*. $800.00 per named
> user in increments of 8, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 80, 96, 128, 160, 192, and 224
> users; $1,600.00 per concurrent device in the same increments. I believe that
> this is pricing for a development license.
The CDD price I quoted in .0 is also for "named users", not concurrent users
as I originally had said. The price for 8 concurrent users is $48,000. That
works out to $3000 per personal use license (previously $695 per user).
> According to a salesman at Oracle on 7-Feb-1995, the runtime license pricing
> has not been settled yet. but it was supposed to be decided "...in a couple of
> weeks...". He mentioned $800 per named user for a development license, and he
> said that if Oracle Rdb runtime it was the same as Oracle runtime, it would be
> 30% of the development license cost or $240 or $480/user.
So, to buy an 8 "named user" CDD license I'll also have to buy an 8 "named
user" Rdb-runtime license for $1920. Seems like a bargain. Especially
when I only need a license for 2 users. :-(
> As an Rdb user since 1986, I am deeply troubled by these pending price
> increases. My company made a commitment to Rdb because it was very cost
> effective compared to Oracle, Ingress, Sybase and others. We could be very
> competitive by not having to pass along tens of thousands of $$$ in database
> licensing fees to our customers. Now I feel that the rug has been pulled out
> from under us.
Unfortunately, these aren't pending price increases. These are the
current prices for the products. I view them as extortion against a
captive user base. I also view them as eliminating most, if not all,
new sales. I will not pay $24,000 for a new CDD license.
================================================================================
Note 473.6 Exponential CDD price increase 6 of 7
EISNER::DUNNETT "Malcolm Dunnett" 21 lines 16-FEB-1995 13:44
-< Room in the grave for Datatrieve too? >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<<< Note 473.5 by EISNER::WYSOCKI "Chris Wysocki" >>>
-< With these prices, CDD is dead >-
> The store has Oracle Rdb pricing. Part number is QB-477A*-*. $800.00 per named
> user in increments of 8, 16, 24, 32, 48, 64, 80, 96, 128, 160, 192, and 224
> users; $1,600.00 per concurrent device in the same increments. I believe that
> this is pricing for a development license.
Does Datatrieve still belong to Digital?
If so, any indication if they are planning to rewrite it to not
require CDD and RDB, or do they just plan to let it die ( since it's
pretty obvious few people will want to pay these kind of prices just
to run their Datatrieve dictionaries )
Personally, I've always found CDD to be far more trouble than it was
worth and won't miss it at all, but I find Datatrieve very useful and
it's too bad we won't be able to afford it for any new systems.
And it seems all the dire predictions that Oracle only wanted Rdb
and CDD to kill them are coming true :-(
================================================================================
Note 473.7 Exponential CDD price increase 7 of 7
EISNER::LEDERMAN "Bart Z. Lederman" 26 lines 16-FEB-1995 14:27
-< Don't bury Datatrieve yet. >-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| <<< Note 473.6 by EISNER::DUNNETT "Malcolm Dunnett" >>>
| -< Room in the grave for Datatrieve too? >-
|
| Does Datatrieve still belong to Digital?
|
| If so, any indication if they are planning to rewrite it to not
| require CDD and RDB, or do they just plan to let it die ( since it's
| pretty obvious few people will want to pay these kind of prices just
| to run their Datatrieve dictionaries )
Anyone who's talked to the developers in the last few years (at least,
those of us in the 4GL SIG who used Datatrieve and knew the developers
well) know that it's no secret that the Developers in Varese are
unhappy with CDD functionality, performance, and future direction: and
they know that must of their customers are, too.
I don't know anything certain: the way things are going Digital could
sell of or abandon Datatrieve even though it's still a big moneymaker,
and has no replacement in the market place. But if it's allowed to
survice, I would not be the least bit surprised to see a new version
come out which worked with it's own dictionary. After all, Datatrieve
invented the dictionary and CDD: because it was useful, others started
using it as well. (Then development went down the wrong track, but
that's another story.) It originally used only it's own private
dictionary.
|