ORACLE ANNOUNCES ORACLE B2B EXCHANGE PLATFORM OFFERING FOR 'BRANDED' EXCHANGES.

Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL), a provider of software for e-Business, announced a new B2B exchange offering, a set of applications, technology and services that gives companies the ability to own and brand exchanges for themselves and their unique trading partners. Companies can target and invite their unique supply chain partners to participate in their exchanges while relying on Oracle for the technology, functionality and hosting. By leveraging Oracle Exchange technology and services, companies can significantly reduce costs and increase profitability, while extending their market reach and streamlining their supply chains. These exchanges can be launched in as little as 45 days.

There are multiple scenarios for "branded exchanges." A large regional company or global "horizontal" company that wants to add value to its existing customer base and recruit new customers by providing online marketplace services can create branded exchanges. These exchanges could also take the form of a company that wants to bring its trading partners onto the Internet to increase communication and collaborate while reducing costs through the e-Business supply chain strategy. The business activities of a branded exchange can range from buying and selling through catalogs and auctions, to supply chain planning, collaborative product design and development.

By focusing on its core strengths in technology, applications and services, Oracle is able to provide companies with a complete, out-of-the-box Oracle Exchange solution and service offering that can be operational in a matter of weeks. Oracle offers a rapid set up of the exchange, all hosting, support and maintenance services, as well as a variety of value added services to enable companies, without extensive IT resources, to gain the business benefits of moving their supply chain to the Internet. Oracle sells its Exchange Platform software to these Branded Exchange opportunities via a standard license and hosting fee model.

To date, the Oracle B2B Exchange platform and technology has already been chosen by several regional and industry branded exchanges including Barclays B2B.com, UK's first secure "purchase-to-payment" e-procurement system targeted at businesses with a turnover of between 5m pounds sterling and 250m pounds sterling, Cable & Wireless Hong Kong Telecom, a B2B marketplace for the Greater China region; Dubai Ports Authority Digital Marketplace, a digital marketplace for the Middle East; Belgacom E-Market place, the first Belgian web-based marketplace; and KPN Exchange, the Dutch telecom provider's private procurement exchange.

Table 1

AP (Ex. Japan) PC Shipments, First Quarter 2000 by Vendor
(Thousands of Units)

                Q1                Q4
Vendor         1999     Share    1999    Share

Samsung         173     5.9%      279     7.0%
Legend          174     5.9%      369     9.2%
IBM             256     8.7%      322     8.1%
Compaq          221     7.5%      271     6.8%
Hewlett-        150     5.1%      227     5.7%
Packard
Others        1,984    67.1%    2,528    63.3%
Total         2,958   100.0%    3,996   100.0%

                Q1              Q100/    Q100/
Vendor         2000    Share    Q199     Q499

Samsung         384     9.1%   121.7%    37.6%
Legend          361     8.5%   107.2%    -2.2%
IBM             306     7.2%    19.5%    -5.0%
Compaq          254     6.0%    15.4%    -6.2%
Hewlett-        227     5.4%    51.4%     0.3%
Packard
Others        2,709    63.9%    36.6%     7.2%
Total         4,243   100.0%    43.4%     6.2%
Table 2
AP (Ex. Japan) PC Shipments, First Quarter 2000 by Country
(Thousands of Units)

                Q1                Q4
Country        1999    Share     1999    Share

PRC           1,021    34.5%    1,350    33.8%
Korea           424    14.3%      769    19.3%
Australia       483    16.3%      531    13.3%
India           269     9.1%      302     7.6%
Taiwan          195     6.6%      274     6.9%
Hong Kong       107     3.6%      143     3.6%
Malaysia         93     3.1%      167     4.2%
Singapore       106     3.6%      106     2.6%
Thailand         74     2.5%      102     2.6%
Indonesia        44     1.5%       85     2.1%
New Zealand      75     2.5%       70     1.8%
Philippines      43     1.5%       59     1.5%
Vietnam          26     0.9%       37     0.9%
Total         2,958   100.0%    3,996   100.0%

                Q1              Q100/    Q100/
Country        2000    Share    Q199     Q499

PRC           1,374    32.4%    34.6%     1.7%
Korea         1,043    24.6%   146.0%    35.5%
Australia       442    10.4%    -8.4%   -16.7%
India           342     8.1%    27.4%    13.3%
Taiwan          269     6.3%    37.8%    -1.7%
Hong Kong       148     3.5%    38.9%     3.6%
Malaysia        141     3.3%    52.5%   -15.5%
Singapore       120     2.8%    13.4%    13.1%
Thailand        103     2.4%    39.7%     0.9%
Indonesia        94     2.2%   111.2%     9.9%
New Zealand      76     1.8%     0.9%     7.8%
Philippines      64     1.5%    48.9%     8.4%
Vietnam          27     0.6%     2.4%   -27.5%
Total         4,243   100.0%    43.4%     6.2%

Source:  IDC, 2000