Second centre in China to lead Oracle software push
Oracle has opened its second China development centre (CDC) to meet the needs of a quickly expanding market in the mainland.
The Beijing centre opened last week and adds to its one in Shenzhen.
Derek Williams, Oracle Asia-Pacific executive vice-president, said: 'For us, this is about the opportunity of doing things for our customers.
'Why two centres? China is a big country. Shenzhen allows us to work with Hong Kong partners and Beijing is close to government. Both city governments have been very easy to deal with in setting up these centres.'
The centre is in Beijing's Zhongguancun Software Park, where other research facilities are located.
'Oracle has been helping companies run more reliable, productive and low-cost information management systems in China for the past 14 years. We understand the level of commitment, partnership and localisation required to address the needs of the rapidly growing local market.
'It is this expertise which, together with the skills of our partners, will be made available through the Beijing development centre to benefit customers in China as they open their doors to increased global competition.'
Pascal Sero, general manager of the Oracle China Development Centre, said the Shenzhen and Beijing centres had different roles.
'In Shenzhen, we are focusing on finance and telecommunications. In Beijing, we are focused on government. In Beijing, we are focusing on Linux and the Digital City,' Mr Sero said.
Mr Williams said China's market was big enough and diverse enough from others around the world to warrant its own type of development centres.
'The CDCs are different from other Oracle centres ... China is inwardly focused. My team will give us feedback and we will consider it. The market in China is such a big opportunity. This is the first of its kind for us,' Mr Williams said.
The Oracle E-business Suite China Special Edition will be developed, tested and packaged in the Beijing centre. Tens of thousands of mid-market customers will be targeted in China.
The Digital City Lab, which will specialise in location-based services, geographic information systems and e-government solutions, is also part of the Beijing centre.
These initiatives distinguished Oracle from its rivals, Mr Williams said. 'One difference between Oracle and IBM is that we have products. They do not. IBM talks, Oracle delivers,' he said.
Mr Williams said he had also set a high sales target for his team in Asia. But one factor IBM and Oracle did agree on was Linux. 'IBM and Oracle believe Linux is the future. That is great for everybody.'
