Oracle Will Continue Support Of Itanium Servers After Court Ruling

Oracle Corp will still develop software and support Itanium-based servers after losing a high-profile trial against the servers’ maker, Hewlett-Packard Co..

Despite agreeing to continue software development, Oracle plans to appeal the verdict, reports NASDAQ. The Oracle vs. HP lawsuit dates to 2011 when HP accused the software company of breaching their contract, as well as displaying anti-competitive behavior.

Oracle decided to stop developing software needed to run Itanium chip-based servers, assuming that Intel Corp. would stop manufacturing the chips for its feared obsolescence.

The move, made in March 2011, was a big blow to Hewlett-Packard, who uses the chips in servers for large corporate databases, as well as other demanding computer tasks.

Because of this, HP sent a formal legal demand to the software company on June 8, 2011, asking the company to reverse its decision to discontinue support on the Itanium chip.

Oracle denied allegations that they breached contract, saying that their formal agreement with HP did not include guaranteed continued support for the Itanium-based servers.

The company has also stood by the idea that Intel would be phasing out the product, despite Intel saying the contrary. The chip-making company is actually developing two more chips based on the Itanium-architecture.

Tech World notes that Oracle announced the decision in a statement on Tuesday, saying that:

“Oracle will continue building the latest versions of its database and other software covered by the judge’s ruling to HP Itanium computers. Oracle software on HP’s Itanium computers will be released on approximately the same schedule as Oracle software on IBM’s Power systems.”

The case highlighted a once-close partnership between Oracle and Hewlett-Packard, which has grown tense since the lawsuit was filed. The case will enter a second phase soon, in which a jury will decide if Oracle breached contract with HP.