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CHANNEL RELATIONSHIPS AND WINDOWS NT BECOME THE MARKET'S PROVING GROUND
ORACLE CORP. continued to dominate the client/server database world, but Microsoft Corp. and, more surprisingly, IBM Corp., made some dramatic revenue gains. Windows NT and the move to a channel sales model colored the client/server database market in 1996 and will determine which developer stays on top in 1997, analysts said. Client/server databases-those running on Unix and Windows NT platforms-are the linchpin of any client/server solution. Applications and tools also play a vital role, but the former are sold mostly by direct-sales forces, and the latter are not solidly accounted for by research firms.
But no matter how you count the numbers, Oracle is likely to come out the king of client/server. "Oracle has always been committed to delivering Oracle products across our customers' platform of choice," said Jerry Held, senior vice president of Server Technologies at Oracle.
A broad product line, impressive features and support services make Oracle a good choice, VARs and analysts said.
"The attractiveness of Oracle is I can take an Oracle database application on [Windows] NT and within five days put it on a Unix system and...