Oracle has released a version of its database management software designed for Intel"s Itanium processor--a move crucial to the chip"s success, according to hardware executives and analysts.
Itanium-based servers won"t take off commercially until databases and other applications come out that work with them, according to many industry watchers. The lack of customer demand for the chip so far has been partly attributed to a lack of applications to date. And database software, in particular, is vital to businesses and Web sites because it stores, manages and retrieves vast amounts of data. Oracle"s presence in the market is pervasive.