WSJ.com - Oracle, Dell in Computer, Software Deal

WSJ.com - Oracle, Dell in Computer, Software Deal "Oracle Corp. is stepping up its competition with Microsoft Corp. for small-business customers with an agreement to offer Dell Inc.'s server computers preinstalled with Oracle's database software. The marketing deal extends Oracle's recent price cutting on its Standard Edition One database. The Dell-Oracle combination is available for as little as $4,108. Oracle recently cut the list price for its standard-edition database to $4,995. "We are aggressively going after market share," Oracle Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison said. No money changes hands as a result of the agreement, under which Oracle technicians will train Dell's sales force. "We expect to grow our database server business from $460 million to $1 billion [in annual revenue] with the addition of Standard Edition One," Dell Chairman and CEO Michael Dell said. Dell gains a nine-month exclusive period for bundling Oracle's database software for North American and European sales on server computers."