InformationWeek

"Our customers are asking for this," says Oracle executive VP Gary Bloom. "They're looking for higher [system] availability, reduced risks, and fewer buying decisions."

"This alliance will provide better integration within the product stack we're using and better cooperation in terms of support," says Steve Whitaker, manager of enterprise Unix services at Texas Instruments Inc. in Dallas. Vendors will use the alliance to certify configurations of new versions of their products, a chore that now is frequently left to IT managers.

Executives for the three vendors refuse to say how much they're investing in the project, other than to say it's in the millions of dollars.

The partners have already certified two configurations, including the Oracle8i and Oracle8.06 databases, Sun's storage platforms and E4500 server, and specific releases of Veritas' Volume Manager and File System software. Five more configurations will be completed by the end of the year.

The move will counter IBM and Microsoft as they move toward providing "single-vendor solutions" for E-commerce, says Sun president and CEO Ed Zander. "This gives customers the opportunity to pick best-of-breed."