Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c: Built for Managed Services Providers

The new Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c platform is designed for managed services providers (MSPs) and customers that need to maintain public and private clouds, Oracle confirmed today at Oracle OpenWorld. Meanwhile, Oracle President Mark Hurd and Channel Chief Judson Althoff continue to talk — albeit briefly — about Oracle’s strategy with managed services partner engagements.

Let’s address two basic questions first:

1. What exactly is Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c?
2. Where do MSPs and cloud service providers potentially fit into the conversation?

Answer 1: In prepared statements, Oracle claimed:

“Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c is “the industry’s first solution to combine management of the full Oracle stack with complete enterprise cloud lifecycle management…[The] new release enables better business-IT integration.  Key new capabilities include consolidation and capacity planning, self-service, testing, monitoring, and metering and chargeback.”

Answer 2: And what about partners? Oracle positions its enterprise management software for ISVs, systems integrators, MSPs and vertical market partners. Oracle said Accenture, Capgemini and Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) now leverage Oracle Enterprise Manager 12c to extend the value of their cloud-based offerings.

Oracle Managed Services Reality Check

I’m not suggesting that Oracle will make an aggressive move into the managed services market. But during a phone call with me last week, Oracle President Mark Hurd mentioned remote monitoring and managed services as key areas where Oracle will up its game.

And yesterday, Oracle Channel Chief Judson Althoff said Oracle sees an opportunity for Oracle channel partners to proactively monitor and management customers’ IT environments. Similar to its broader Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) Specialized channel strategy, Althoff said Oracle will promote managed services into its top 2000 target accounts, while leaving the rest of the market opportunity to channel partners.

Oracle’s Top Partner Product?

Also of note: I don’t see Oracle pushing down into the small business market. But the new Oracle Database Appliance definitely targets midmarket customers and partners that are seeking to consolidate databases onto fewer servers. Oracle has called the appliance its best product ever for channel partners.

Also at Oracle OpenWorld this week, EMC CEO Joe Tucci said cloud computing represents the most disruptive IT opportunity ever. And Oracle President Safra Catz took some clear shots at major rivals like Hewlett-Packard, IBM, SAP and IBM.