'Oracle takes the mid-size market very seriously'

We are also empowering our partners to deliver industry-specific and cost-effective IT solutions for businesses

With how many partners, do you operate?
Globally, Oracle works with 30,000 partners and in India with more than 1,000 partners for technology and applications. This does not include partners who distribute Oracle Database technology products through one-click ordering process, available through Oracle VAD Remarketer program.

What are your key partner programs?
Some of the key partner initiatives for 2010 include:

Launch of Oracle PartnerNetwork specialized program
Oracle launched Oracle PartnerNetwork specialized program in December 2009. This program was designed to allow the valued partner community to differentiate themselves and reap the benefits of being recognized by customers for their in-depth Oracle technology or services expertise and become preferred solution providers to Oracle customers. All partner initiatives were initiated keeping in mind the ultimate goal of customer empowerment. With more than 30,000 Oracle partners to choose from globally, it is understandable that Oracle customers needed an efficient way to find and compare potential partners. By identifying and providing more information about specialized partners and their areas of expertise, Oracle helps customers locate, interview, secure, and retain the right partner to develop and implement business solutions for the particular needs of their businesses.

With specializations, Oracle also formalizes a fairly accepted strategy of segmenting partners by their areas of expertise. Its brands specializations, 'Recognized by Oracle Preferred by Customers' should help to quickly identify partners to potential customers, other partners, as well as the Oracle field and marketing managers.

Oracle updated its overall partner tier structure to include four levels, replacing the previous levels of partners, Certified Partner, and Certified Advantage Partner, while formalizing the VAD Remarketer program under the OPN umbrella.

Oracle Accelerate
Oracle Accelerate is an innovative solution that helps Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) members to provide mid-size businesses and government entities with the most complete, easy-to-own and industry-focused application solutions. The solutions are application bundles that are developed and can be quickly implemented by qualified partners and provide a wide range of industry-specific functionality.
Oracle India and HP had introduced in 2009 'Oracle Accelerate Solution' for HP ProLiant servers. This bundled offering included Oracle applications, HP ProLiant servers and Certified Partner services, fine-tuned for fast growing and mid-size companies throughout India. The affordable solution includes the Oracle E-Business Suite ERP application, Enterprise Operating System, Oracle Database, HP ProLiant servers and implementation services from highly trained partners for 30 ERP users.

Oracle Open Market Model:
In an effort to optimize our distribution channel and to best leverage relationships that Oracle and its partners have with the Oracle user community, Oracle has instituted an Open Market Model (OMM), which offers three distinct initiatives, which acknowledge and reward partners for registering transactions with Oracle. These initiatives are designed to acknowledge and/or compensate partners appropriately for bringing business to Oracle, either by closing a transaction, passing an opportunity to Oracle, or by assisting Oracle in closing a transaction that occurs directly between Oracle and the end-user customer. Introduction of Open Market Model (OMM) for partner leads has been highest in the APAC region among VADs in India.

Please name some Oracle Accelerate partners?
Some of the Oracle Business Accelerator partners include Chain-sys India, KPIT Cummins, Bluestar Infotech, Filix Consulting, Ledger Solution, Metalogic Consulting, New Generation Consultants, OSI Consulting, Sonata Software, Systems Plus, Systime and Dakshah Consulting.

What is your Partners Network?
OPN Specialized is the latest version of Oracle's partner program that provides partners with tools to better develop, sell, and implement Oracle solutions. OPN Specialized offers resources to train and support specialized knowledge of Oracle products and solutions and has evolved to recognize Oracle growing product portfolio, partner base, and business opportunities. Key to the latest enhancements to OPN is the ability for partners to differentiate through certified specializations. Specializations are achieved through competency development, business results, expertise and proven success. Specialized partners are preferred by Oracle and recognized by customers.

What are the focused offering for SIs and VARs?
Last year Redington India became a member of OPN in India. As part of the agreement, Oracle has appointed Redington as its National Value Added Distributor (VAD) to market, sell and implement Oracle Applications and Technology products through its reseller network, spread across multiple cities throughout India. For the first time in Oracle Asia Pacific, a VAD was appointed to increase applications product sales. Redington will market the Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle Database and Oracle Database Options, as well as Oracle Fusion Middleware.

Through the VAD Remarketer Program, Oracle will allow its distributors to resell Oracle technology products through its network of resellers throughout India, without requiring the resellers to join the OPN. Resellers can then leverage the VAD for support, training and other reseller services. Products that can be sold through Oracle 1-CLICK ORDERING Programs category include Oracle Database Personal Edition, Oracle Database Standard Edition, Oracle Database Standard Edition One, Oracle Application Server Standard Edition, Oracle Application Server Standard Edition One, Oracle Business Intelligence Standard Edition One, Oracle Weblogic Server Standard Edition, Oracle Universal Content Management Standard Edition, Oracle Document Capture, Oracle Internet Developer Suite.

How can partners derive maxi­mum benefits from Oracle's association?
The OPN Specialized is divided into four categories-Remarketer, Silver, Gold and Platinum. The key benefits that a partner can derive from the various levels of OPN Specialization are:

Remarketer

•  Resell of 1-click products
•  1-click training
•  1-click sales and marketing kits
•  Business support from authorized Oracle
•  Value Added Distributors
•  No member contract or fees

Silver-1-click products and remarketer benefits:

•  Support from Oracle Partner Business Center
•  Resell of 1-click products
•  Technical and educational support
•  Development licenses
•  Deal registration

Gold-Access to all products and Silver benefits

•  Access to all Oracle technology products
•  Eligible to resell Oracle packaged applications
•  Eligible for specialization
•  Telephone-based business development support
•  Migration resources
•  Oracle Financing

Platinum-Access to all products and Gold benefits

•  Dedicated support from Oracle Partner Business Center
•  SOA Application Integration Architecture for
•  Partners (AIAP) validation worth $9,500
•  Free support
•  Advanced enablement support

What are the criteria to become a certified partner?
There is a single set of global criteria tables for each specialization. These criteria vary by specialization but include fulfillment of competency criteria and business criteria (ie customer references and transactions).

How do you offer educational training and technical support to your partners?
Oracle has put in substantial investments and resources towards partner development through the funding of sales incentives, technical resources, joint ISV (independent software vendor) program memberships, joint customer-ISV references, ISV porting centers among others. Oracle is also empowering its partners to deliver industry-specific and cost-effective IT solutions for businesses through innovative go-to-market initiatives and ongoing training and support programs across the country to enable partners to resell, install and implement Oracle software.

We have strengthened our partner network and continue to support its members through market development funds, training, joint marketing events and other support programs. In addition, we also provide them with access to the Partner Solution Center in our Gurgaon facility (one of four centers in the Asia Pacific region) so that we can work on joint innovations for the India marketplace and also enable ISV partners to migrate confidently from other third-party vendor solutions to the entire Oracle product family. Our partners can test their solutions in a secure environment at the facility.

Oracle launched OPN Specialized program in December 2009 that was designed to allow the valued partner community to differentiate themselves and reap the benefits of being recognized by customers for their in-depth Oracle technology or services expertise. It allows partners to formally certify specializations to differentiate themselves and their offerings, be recognized for their expertise and become preferred solution providers to Oracle customers.

OPN Specialized provides all partners with educational opportunities, training, and tools specially designed to build competency and grow business. Resources such as OPN Specialized Knowledge Zones, Enablement 2.0, and the OPN Competency Center help all partners serve their customers better.

What is your strategy for markets in tier-2 and 3 cities?
Oracle takes the mid-size market very seriously. We even have a dedicated channel team that caters to the building of Oracle's business through our partner ecosystem. Oracle has developed low cost software solutions for the mid-market that can be used for specific business tasks like financial accounting, materials management, sales and distribution, HR and payroll, production planning and control, plant maintenance, fixed asset schedule, customer care and order manage­ment, administration and security among others. Oracle's proven, open technology and network of partners helps to ensure that its software is easy to buy, install, and maintain, and at the same time provide power, security, and functionality of enterprise-strength systems-at a fraction of the cost. Oracle Database, Oracle Fusion Middleware, Oracle Applications and also one of our applications product components Oracle Business Accelerators and other solutions enable the mid-size customers a great level of choice in the market.

What are your channel expansion plans? What are your growth targets for 2011?
Oracle partners contribute to a majority of our business in India and Asia Pacific. Our partners specialize in industry specific software solutions that are used extensively across all major sectors in India including tele­com, financial services, manufac­turing, retail and others. The focus in India has been to provide solutions to customers from both big and mid-size enterprises. Some of the key partners within the Oracle network are Infosys, Sonata, Tata Consultancy Services, Redington, Tech Pacific, HCL Infosystems, SysArc, 3i-Infotech, Wipro, Path Infotech and many more.

For us, channel expansion is a continuous process. We are open to work with any partner, who wants to be a part of Oracle ecosystem and can provide value to our customers. In fact, our OPN is divided into four categories- Remarketer, Silver, Gold and Platinum. It is up to our partners where they see growth areas and what kinds of specialization they want to do and according to that we guide them to become specialized in certain segments and also help them in climbing the various partner categories.
A multitude of Indian partner organizations today embrace Oracle Applications and Technology, hence becoming one of the major driving forces in contributing to Oracle's business in the country. These partner organizations, which include system integrators (SIs), independent software vendors (ISVs), consulting organizations, resellers, value-added distributors (VADs) and platform providers, have a significant number of Oracle practitioners who sell and implement Oracle's database, middleware and enterprise applications products.

Muntazir abbas
(muntazira@cybermedia.co.in)