HP hits out at Oracle’s Itanium claims

published 15 April 2011

HP has taken Intel's side in a row with Oracle over Itanium processors, citing partners and clients who are still keen on the architecture.

The argument between the tech giants kicked off in March when Oracle said it would cease all software development for Itanium Intel's 64 bit microprocessor designed for enterprise level and HPC infrastructures as it was "nearing the end of its life."

This was quickly rebuked by chief executive (CEO) of Intel, Paul Otellini, who said his company's work on the processor and associate platforms "continues unabated with multiple generations of chips currently in development and on schedule."

Oracle's attempts to draw HP into the fight, claiming its CEO Leo Apotheker "made no mention of Itanium" when outlining his company's strategy last month, now seem to have come to fruition.

A statement from HP claimed partners and clients who used Oracle's software on HP Itanium-based servers were "actively voicing their concerns" about Larry Ellison's firm ditching development for the technology.

"HP hardware holds the number two position in the UNIX market, ahead of Oracle's Sun hardware, with thousands of customers who have invested billions in HP Integrity systems running HP-UX and Oracle software," the statement read.

"Oracle's decision to halt future development for Itanium-based platforms will cost these customers millions in lost productivity while blocking fair competition and stifling innovation in the industry."

HP's 52,000-strong user community, Connect, is calling on members to "speak out" against Oracle's decision, giving the message it still supported the use of Itanium systems running its software.

IT PRO contacted Oracle for a response to the statement but the company offered no comment.

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.