Expanding on an existing marketing relationship, Compaq Computer Corp. and Oracle Corp. have agreed to provide joint hardware and software service support for their common customers.
The companies have signed a two-year global technical support contract that sets up a dedicated joint service staff.
Houston-based Compaq, the No. 1 personal computer manufacturer, said it hopes the agreement will bolster sales and bring more opportunities in the financial services market, since Oracle's data base software is becoming increasingly popular with banks as they automate branch systems.
The company reaped "hundreds of millions" in 1996 from sales of server computers, said Robert Fernander, vice president of enterprise marketing for Compaq's North American operations.
Next year, Compaq expects to increase revenues from financial institutions by 50%, while server sales overall are growing 30%, said Mr. Fernander.
Executives at both companies described the support contract as "unique."
Though each has joint marketing arrangements with other firms, none are as comprehensive as the relationship Compaq and Oracle have enjoyed for the last four years, said Mr. Fernander.
"You have to think about how you broaden markets," said Mr. Fernander. "In essence, we need each other. This formal, visible agreement sends a message to our customers."
For Oracle, the agreement also provides better access to the financial institution marketplace, said an executive at the Redwood Shores, Calif., firm.
Compaq is the biggest reseller of Oracle's data base applications for client/server computing systems and has the most customers in common with Oracle, said Robert Pearson, senior manager of product support.
"Compaq is a popular hardware provider to companies that are moving to open systems," said Mr. Pearson. "We certainly do see a lot of opportunities in financial institutions."
Oracle's data base software is packaged with Compaq's SmartStart distributed computing software, which helps users determine optimal network configurations. Oracle software is also installed on Compaq's ProLiant servers.
Potential markets include financial institutions with trading floors, where workstations based on the Windows NT or Unix operating systems have supplanted older, proprietary systems, said Mr. Fernander. Banks with large branch networks are also moving from mainframe-based applications to client/server systems to provide more efficient information-sharing, he said.
The two companies anticipate an increase in sales to financial institutions next year as the demand grows for Windows NT-based systems, said Mr. Fernander.
