The announcement was made at the opening of the Oracle Research& Development Center in Shenzhen, the only enterprise software center in Asia that serves as a development facility to meet the needs of the rapidly growing China market.

The lab at the Oracle Research & Development Center operates in close partnership with Legend Group Limited, a Chinese technology provider and Oracle Partner Network program member.

A team of engineers from Legend and Oracle China will carry out joint development activities at the lab, with the primary focus on tight integration of Oracle Real Application Clusters with Legend server technology to create a more scaleable, manageable, reliable and cost-effective clustered database platform for e-businesses.

Oracle and Legend will also look at new joint engineering opportunities, training for sales and technical staff as well as building market awareness for clustered solutions to drive market adoption in China.

The initiative will deliver value to customers in China by enabling them to make more efficient use of critical IT resources by speeding up deployment of cutting-edge technology, enhancing systems performance and meeting the scalability demands of e-businesses, while at the same time dramatically reducing the cost and risk of implementing clustered solutions.

Kevin Walsh, vice-president for platform technologies division of Oracle Corp. said Oracle's goal is to bring the most advanced clustering technology to its customers in China. Companies in China are looking for ways to save costs and reduce inefficiencies and Oracle Real Application Clusters is an excellent option for customers because they can start small and add more capacity as their business grows, Walsh added.

"Our partnership with Legend, which is widely recognized as a technology leader in China, will help us ensure that businesses of all sizes can reap the benefits of capacity on demand and efficiently respond to the fluctuating workloads in an e-business environment," Walsh said.

Ouyang Xiangyu, assistant vice-president of Legend Group Limited, said by combining Legend's local expertise and position as the largest IT product provider in China with Oracle's leading technology and global presence, Legend will enhance its capability to develop advanced technology and solutions as well as provide better support and service that meet the needs of users in China.

"I believe this is a win-win partnership that will boost China's IT development standards and infrastructure," Ouyang said.

Inauguration of the center marks another milestone in Oracle's plan to accelerate investment in China to help local businesses achieve growth and return-on-investment through the use of software solutions and services that cater to their unique needs, the vice-president added.

Having operated in China for more than ten years, Oracle has built a strong customer base including such well-known Chinese enterprises as AsiaInfo, Beijing Da Tang Power Generation and China Banknote Printing & Minting Corporation.

(Xinhua News Agency October 18, 2002)