They have resurrected an aging Oracle foe--Ingres, which uses database technology developed 32 years ago by two Berkeley scientists--to target Oracle's biggest source of profit: the steady, high-margin fees it charges for regular upgrades and support.

FORBES: Terry Versus Larry

Last June, Dell and Oracle (nasdaq: ORCL - news - people ) announced that Dell would resell licenses for Oracle's 9i database and Linux clustering technology.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said he expects that emerging technology will not only help Oracle continue to widen its database share lead over IBM and Microsoft but will also inevitably lead to more-intense competition with specialized database players such as Teradata.

FORBES: Larry Ellison: As We Thump IBM, Our Next Target Is Teradata

Oracle believes that the rigours of doing business on the Internet are creating a demand for ever more sophisticated database technology, and that 8i will be a natural choice for electronic commerce.

ECONOMIST: Software