14 DAY TRIAL // Oracle may have dropped support for a certain Intel server platform not long ago, but anyone worried that the same might happen to the IBM Power and x86 solutions need not fear, according to analysts.
Some might know that, not overly long ago, Oracle announced that it was dropping software development for Intel's Itanium processors, on the premise that these chips weren't going to endure on the market much.
HP was left as one of the two remaining supporters of Itanium and was less than pleased at the news, leading to a sort of trading barbs match with Oracle.
Intel did also step in to say it still has years worth of plans for new chips of this kind, but the fact remains that Oracle is no longer making software for them.
Following the announcement, some may have begun to worry the outfit might do the same to IBM's Power and the x86 platforms.
To make sure no such worries persist, leading market analysts from Jon Peddie Research say that there is no real chance of this happening.
While it might allow it to encourage sales of its own SPARC servers, dropping x86 and IBM Power is not something analysts see as feasible, for the short to midterm at least.
"I think Oracle will try to keep x86 sales to a minimum and stop delivering the hardware to maximize hardware margins, but they will continue to support x86 with their software since halting support would be shooting themselves in the foot,” said Jessica Breen, an analyst for enterprise software for Technology Business Research, a technology market research and consulting firm.
“A lot of enterprise businesses run on x86 and it is imperative for cloud/virtual environments.”
In addition to this, Oracle is obliged to keep maintaining existing Intanium-based servers, since, like SGI and HP, it has long-term support contracts with companies like Boeing, banks and providers of insurance, not to mention government agencies.