"HP has secretly contracted with Intel to keep churning out Itaniums so that HP can maintain the appearance that a dead microprocessor is alive," Oracle wrote. HP spokesman Michael Thacker called the filing "nothing more than a desperate delay tactic designed to extend the paralyzing uncertainty in the marketplace created when Oracle announced in March 2011 - in clear break of contract - that it would no longer support HP's Itanium platform."
HP called Oracle's decision "anti-customer," and sued Oracle in California state court in June. In August, Oracle hit back with a countersuit against HP, accusing the company of concealing facts during its negotiation over the Itanium platform. Other claims asserted by Oracle against HP include defamation and intentional interference with contractual relations. According to Oracle's filing, HP and Intel forged a "contractual commitment" to keep Itanium going through the next two generations of microprocessors, despite HP's previous statements that Intel's decision to keep investing in Itanium was its own.
"HP has secretly contracted with Intel to keep churning out Itaniums so that HP can maintain the appearance that a dead microprocessor is alive," Oracle wrote. Intel declined to comment. HP called Oracle's decision "anti-customer," and sued Oracle in California state court in June. In August, Oracle hit back with a countersuit against HP, accusing the company of concealing facts during its negotiation over the Itanium platform. Other claims asserted by Oracle against HP include defamation and intentional interference with contractual relations.
In it, Oracle says that what documents it has received from HP confirms what Oracle has been arguing since this whole thing started: That HP and Intel plan to let the Itanium processor die once it has released two more generations, something HP and Intel have both denied. “HP and Intel have a contractual commitment that Itanium will continue through the next two generations of microprocessors …” Oracle says it’s all about the support fees that Intel charges.
HP makes a lot of money, Oracle says, charging for service and support of its HP UX operating system, which runs on the Itanium chip; it loses money when customers move to systems running more conventional x86-based chips. It also helps HP remain competitive with IBM and Oracle’s Sun Microsystems business, Oracle argues in a redacted passage. “These factors led HP to craft a top-secret plan to create a false perception that Itanium still had a future,” Oracle says in the filing. “HP understands that the future prospects of IT products drive customer purchasing decisions. “
Oracle Sun has been a victim of this, and according to HP’s documents an intended victim. Oracle’s latest filing is nothing more than a desperate delay tactic designed to extend the paralyzing uncertainty in the marketplace created when Oracle announced in March 2011 — in a clear breach of contract — that it would no longer support HP’s Itanium platform. HP is resolved to enforcing Oracle’s commitments to HP and our shared customers and will continue to take actions to protect its customers’ best interests.
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