Letter from the Editor

Welcome to the third issue of our bimonthly newsletter for independent software vendors (ISVs) in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

As well as bringing you the latest Oracle news and views; our aim with this newsletter is also to introduce you to the people who shape and drive Oracle's ISV partnership initiatives at regional and country level.

As you may know, Oracle's fiscal year 2004 ends this month. The past year has seen several important milestones, including the launch of Oracle 10g - the first commercially available software infrastructure for enterprise Grid Computing; and the introduction of a single-processor version of the Oracle Database that allows even the smallest organisations to harness the power of Oracle. From massive enterprise-wide Grids to small five-user workgroups; almost every kind of organisation is now able to enjoy the benefits of computing with Oracle.

But of all our achievements this year, I personally am most proud of the number of software vendors that have chosen to become Oracle partners. The number of EMEA-based ISVs in the Oracle PartnerNetwork is now almost 4,000. That is testament not only to the growing region-wide demand for Oracle-based solutions, but also to the level of trust and openness that Oracle enjoys with its partner community.

Oracle is committed to maintaining and increasing its presence in the midsize market, and in this edition Stein Surlien, vice president of Alliances & Channels, Oracle EMEA, talks about how Oracle is going to market with its partners in this huge and diverse segment.

One of the largest national markets for Oracle technology is Germany. Bernd Eisenbl䴴er, ISV Manager for Oracle Germany, tells us how he and his team are helping German ISVs to expand and grow their business.

We also profile one of Oracle Germany's key ISV partners, Micros Fidelio. The world's leading provider of hospitality management software has taken advantage of Oracle's embedded software licence pricing to make its Oracle-based applications accessible and affordable even to the smallest customers.

With the support and collaboration of our partners, we are ready for a great fiscal year 2005. I hope that you will soon choose to join us in our success.

Bertram Mandel
Senior Director, Alliances & Channels, Oracle Europe, Middle East and Africa