WinHEC, SEATTLE, April 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Oracle today announced that Oracle(R) Database 10g and Oracle9i Database Release 2 are certified for clients on the new Microsoft Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition. The Oracle certification allows existing 32-bit applications developed using Oracle clients to run on Microsoft Corp.'s new Windows x64 platform without any change. Oracle plans to release the upcoming Oracle Database 10g Release 2 (64-bit) on Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition later this year.

By certifying Oracle databases for Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, the company continues its ongoing commitment to provide tight integration between Oracle Database and Microsoft Windows platforms, enabling customers to run mission-critical database applications on Windows.

"The significant improvements in Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition allow customers to achieve peak performance, scalability and memory use on industry-standard servers," said Zane Adam, director of marketing, Windows Server Division at Microsoft. "Oracle Database takes advantage of these increased capabilities on the Windows x64 platform to help enterprise customers maximize the benefits of their 64-bit systems."

Oracle currently supports the AMD64 and the 64-bit Intel(R) Xeon processors and Intel(R) Itanium 2 processor platforms using Linux. The addition of Windows Server 2003 x64 Editions and Windows XP Professional x64 Edition gives SMBs (small and midsize businesses) and large-enterprise customers the option of running Oracle on Windows while taking full advantage of the AMD and Intel 64-bit-based platforms.

"Oracle is leading the way for database technology on the Windows x64 platform, providing affordable and easy to deploy solutions," said Prem Kumar, vice president, Oracle Server Technologies Engineering. "Customers can now build enterprise grids using Windows as a low-cost, standard building block solution."

Oracle Commitment to Windows Platform

Since 1985, Oracle has helped tens of thousands of customers build mission-critical database systems on Microsoft platforms. Oracle released Oracle Database for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Server 2003 the same day the operating system was released, and today expands its database offerings to the new Windows x64 platform. A developer's release of Oracle Database 10g on native 64-bit port is now available on the Oracle Technology Network (OTN) at http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/products/database/oracle10g/in....

To learn more about Oracle products for Windows, visit the Windows Technology Center on OTN at http://www.oracle.com/technology/tech/windows/ .

About Oracle Database 10g

Oracle Database 10g is designed to be effectively deployed on everything from small blade servers to the biggest SMP (symmetric multiprocessing) servers and clusters of all sizes. It features automated management capabilities for easy, cost-effective operation. Oracle Database 10g's unique ability to manage all data, from traditional business information to XML documents and spatial/location information, makes it the ideal choice to power online transaction processing, decision support and content management applications.

About Oracle

Oracle is the world's largest enterprise software company. For more information about Oracle, visit our Web site at http://www.oracle.com/ .

NOTE: Oracle, JD Edwards, and PeopleSoft are registered trademarks of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Eloy Ontiveros of Oracle, +1-650-607-6458, or
eloy.ontiveros@oracle.com; or Nicole Maloney of Zeno Group, +1-415-369-8103,
or nicole.maloney@zenogroup.com, for Oracle

Web site: http://www.oracle.com/