Oracle to Unveil New Version of Net Software

Entering an increasingly crowded field, Oracle Corp. will announce today its newest version of Application Server 4.0, a new type of software that aims to simplify the mix of programs large companies now use to run their businesses.

As companies ranging from Internet software retailer Egghead.com Inc. to computer giant Hewlett-Packard Co. keep growing their computer systems, getting all their programs to talk to each other and exchange the right data is becoming a headache.

That’s where Oracle’s Application Server, and similar programs from Netscape Communications Corp. and International Business Machines Corp., come in.

Oracle, the world’s largest database software company, said its program is the first of its kind, offering a one-stop solution for companies that increasingly are turning to the Internet to do business.

“So far, they’ve been playing second fiddle to others, like Netscape, but for Oracle this kicks in the door to the Internet market,” said Juliana Nelson, an analyst with the market research firm International Data Corp.

Indeed, as sales in Oracle’s mainstay database business have slowed in recent quarters, the Redwood Shores, Calif., company is looking to new markets to boost revenue. Chairman and co-founder Lawrence Ellison will kick off a media event today at Oracle headquarters to introduce the product.

The market for so-called application servers is forecast to reach $1.65 billion by 2002 from $347 million in 1998, Nelson said.

The updated version of Oracle’s Application Server is “critical to the success of our other businesses,” Steve d’Alencon, head of marketing for Oracle’s application server division, said in an interview.

Oracle, which is also facing increased competition in the database market from IBM at the high end and Microsoft Corp. at the low end, is not alone in the fledgling market.

“There are too many people in the market right now” for application servers, d’Alencon said, adding that there are about 40 application server software programs now peddled by powerhouses such as IBM and start-ups such as WebLogic Inc.

Specifically, Oracle’s Application Server--due out in the next month--lets companies use and manage all their applications, whether human resources, payroll or other functions, on a standard platform. The company said its program will work with any other database program and other so-called enterprise resource planning, or ERP, software.