IBM Lures Disgruntled Oracle Customers To Defect

IBM is seeking to tempt disgruntled Oracle customers to jump ship, with the creation of a specific migration programme.

The programme, which IBM is dubbing the “Stop, Think and Save Migration” scheme, comes after Larry Ellison used the recent OpenWorld event to publicly rubbish Oracle’s competitors.

IBM is targeting Oracle clients using its database and application server software running on Sun, HP Itanium, or previous generation Power servers, with a special offer to entice them to move to IBM DB2 and WebSphere software on the latest IBM systems and storage.

Unhappy Customers?

The IBM migration programme aims to make it easier for Oracle’s software and hardware clients to break free from “restrictive licensing and rising technology costs” and transition to IBM workload-optimised systems. The company even claimed Oracle clients that make the switch can save up to 50 percent on applicable IT costs over three to five years.

“The Stop, Think, and Save programme comes at a time when Oracle clients are looking for relief from the company’s high software and hardware maintenance costs, restrictive licensing and support practices, and uncertainty around Sun Sparc and HP Itanium server roadmaps,” said IBM in a statement.

The migration programme will offer Oracle customers a complimentary savings assessment, which will show the estimated cost savings and performance improvements when switching from Oracle to IBM. Oracle customers will also be offered a detailed migration plan, as well as ‘competitive pricing’ that includes migration services, training, and applicable IBM Systems and maintenance, IBM Software licences, and subscription and support.

IBM has added another sweetener to the scheme, by offering those Oracle clients who qualify, a zero percent financing option for IBM hardware and software. Alternatively, Oracle customers may opt to finance their IT acquisition and defer payments for up to six months.

Finally, Big Blue is also promising to help Oracle customers dispose of their Sun or HP hardware, in compliance with environmental laws and regulations.

Jumping Ship

This is not the first time that IBM has sought to lure customers away from rival offerings. In 2009, IBM sought to lure HP and Sun customers by cutting prices by as much as 70 percent for memory in its Power systems.

So, are Oracle customers unhappy with Larry Ellison and company? It is hard to say, but in November last year a study from Computer Economics revealed that many customers were unhappy with its support charges, as well as the actual quality of support they received.

It seems that maybe this dissatisfaction is helping IBM, after Big Blue revealed an impressive number of customers that had converted from using rival systems to its own offerings. In the second quarter IBM said it achieved 847 conversions for servers and storage. This apparently included 253 customers from Oracle/Sun and 248 from Hewlett-Packard.