The VAR Guy

Oracle is using simple math to explain complex customer opportunities awaiting Sun partners. According to Oracle’s Tom Wagner, there are 130,000 North American Oracle customers that don’t run Sun hardware. Wagner concedes that Oracle is hiring direct sales resources, but he says partners should ignore industry FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) and focus on those 130,000 North American customer opportunities.

Wagner took the stage a few minutes ago at the Avnet Technology Solutions Partner Summit near Denver, Colo. Wagner reinforced recent messages from Oracle Channel Chief Judson Althoff, who has indicated there are 350,000 Oracle customers and 35,000 Sun customers globally — leaving more than 300,000 known customer opportunities for Sun partners.

Wagner went a step further by pointing out the North American opportunities, which involves 130,000 Oracle customers that don’t yet run Sun server and storage solutions.

Asserted Wagner:

“From a selling capacity we run out of cycles. We need you. We can’t scale this business nor can we accomplish our FY11 goals without the talent and competencies in this room here.”

Addressing Partner Concerns?

Wagner concedes that a direct sales statement from Oracle CEO Larry Ellison a few months ago caused confusion and concern in the market — especially as IBM, HP, EMC and NetApp try to inject FUD (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) into the Sun customer base, Wagner added.

Wagner also conceded that Oracle’s “default selling motion is direct, particularly in the top [4,000] accounts. With that said, there are enormous opportunities in top accounts and in the broader market.”

In fiscal Q4 ended May 31, Wagner noted, 72 percent of Oracle’s North American business involved partner-driven transactions. And Wagner also pointed to a quote from Ellison, stating that partners that add value will continue to be valued by customers and Oracle.

Looking ahead, Wagner says Oracle and Avnet are preparing some sort of reward system for partners. He stopped short of calling the effort a “rebate” program, but said more details would surface soon. The VAR Guy is digging for those details now.

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