The engineers and marketeers have got the servers out and polished up their sales pitches, and now it is time for Big Blue to bring in the bankers to close the deals.…

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The hype remains overwhelming. Most media coverage suggests Oracle scored a huge win by hiring former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd (pictured). No doubt, Hurd brings a lot of expertise — and his famed flip-chart diagrams — into the Oracle executive suites. But instead of blindly praising the move, The VAR Guy wants to open your eyes a little wider. Here are five key questions facing Oracle as Larry Ellison, Mark Hurd and Safra Catz (how about some equal time for Oracle’s other co-president?) together strive to conquer the IT world.

So, the five big questions facing Oracle’s executive suite…

Imagine Lou Gerstner working for Bill Gates. Or John Chambers working for Steve Ballmer. Both scenarios sound impossible. It begs the question: Is Mark Hurd really, truly ready to be the No. 2 person at a $26.8 billion IT company after being the No. 1 person at a $114 billion IT company?

Critics note that Ellison hasn’t always gotten along with his lieutenants. As the Associated Press notes:

“In a high-profile power struggle a decade ago, Ellison ousted a president, Ray Lane, who had played an instrumental role in rebuilding Oracle’s sales force after an accounting scandal. Lane resigned after Ellison tightened his grip on the company and stripped Lane of many of his responsibilities. Many other executives have left Oracle after falling out with Ellison or realizing that he would never loosen his reins of power.”

AP and other media outlets note that Hurd and Ellison have been friends outside of the office and on the tennis courts. Sounds wonderful. But the game changes once big egos are locked in an executive suite together.

Further complicating matters, Hurd has a co-president peer: Safra Catz. At 66, Ellison could be nearing retirement (though The VAR Guy doubts it…). Many media outlets note that Hurd is 53 — suggesting that Hurd may ultimately succeed Ellison as CEO. But don’t count out Catz. She’s been president of Oracle since 2004 and on Oracle’s board since 2001.

Alas, portions of the media has failed to mention Catz’s successful career at Oracle. Sure, Ellison and Hurd have to get along. But Hurd and Catz also need to work from the same playbook.

The VAR Guy’s prediction: Ellison, Hurd and Catz will work out a strong working relationship. The reason: They have common, clearly defined enemies in IBM and Hewlett-Packard. Nothing rallies a team together like clearly defined enemies.

Some pundits say Hurd is a major channel advocate who will help Oracle to overcome its direct sales DNA. Back at HP, Hurd leveraged the channel to energize HP’s server, desktop and mobile businesses. But at Oracle, will Hurd really help to tone down Oracle’s direct sales force while aggressively promoting the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) Specialized partner program?

The VAR Guy’s prediction: The media — not Oracle — has a problem here. Indeed, the media has to tone down the Hurd-centric channel hype. Certainly, Hurd values channel partners. But back at HP, Hurd never disclosed how much revenue flowed through HP’s channel. And for the most part, Hurd promoted volume sales — rather than a value strategy — to HP’s channel partners.

Even before Hurd arrived, Oracle’s partner program had loyal partners — but most of the legacy channel media overlooked that modern reality.

A prime example: Cloud Creek Systems is an Oracle partner that recently landed on the Inc. 5000 list of fast-growing private U.S. companies. Key customers include MyLife, a social media network provider. Now here’s the modern twist: Instead of selling direct to MyLife, Oracle recommended Cloud Creek for the job, which has turned into a long-term business engagement for Cloud Creek.

Alas, most of the channel media doesn’t realize that Oracle actually sends business leads to its partners. Really, truly. It’ happens. Just ask Cloud Creek.

No doubt, some former Sun partners worry about their role in an Oracle world. But The VAR Guy has to ask: Would those Sun partners have survived if Sun remained independent?

Here again, some members of the media are predicting Hurd will emulate HP’s SMB strategy at Oracle. No doubt, HP’s printers, notebooks, PCs and servers are widely deployed in the SMB market. And yes, Oracle has some SMB solutions. But will SMB really be a big emphasis for Hurd?

The VAR Guy’s prediction: Short term, Hurd’s top priority is promoting Sun servers and Sun storage head-on against IBM and HP. That’s it. Get beyond that conversation and you’ve lost your focus on the job at hand. Sun servers. Sun storage.

The rhetoric has quieted down over the past 24 hours. But the fighting words were flying fast and furious earlier this week. Ellison threatened to end the Oracle-HP relationship, after HP sued Hurd to block him from joining Oracle.

The VAR Guy’s prediction: The HP-Oracle relationship will never be the same. Even before Hurd joined Oracle, the Oracle-Sun combo meant that the HP-Oracle relationship would never be the same. Much like Oracle vs. IBM and Oracle vs. Microsoft, we’ll still see joint announcements between Oracle and HP down the road, and HP Executive VP Ann Livermore remains confirmed to speak at Oracle OpenWorld.

Meanwhile, Oracle has clearly articulated its strategy: To make Oracle’s software run best on Oracle-Sun hardware. That strategy was in place before Hurd arrived. And it means the HP-Oracle relationship will never be the same.

Consider this week’s headlines tied to Mark Hurd: Lawsuits, salary estimates, executive gossip. As Oracle OpenWorld gets set to launch on September 19, can Oracle executives remain on-message and shift the media’s attention to key partner and go-to-market strategies?

The VAR Guy’s prediction: Absolutely yes, Oracle will be on-message at OpenWorld. Sure, Hurd will still earn some personality headlines. And HP Executive VP Ann Livermore’s keynote at Oracle OpenWorld will provide plenty of drama.

But ultimately, VARs should prepare to hear progress updates on the OPN Specialized partner program from Channel Chief Judson Althoff. Plus, Oracle has even carved out some time for emerging partner opportunities like the MySQL open source database.

Side Memo to Althoff: Please update your blog. The VAR Guy would love to read or hear your views on Hurd joining Oracle.

Leave it to Larry Ellison. On paper, hiring Mark Hurd was a stroke of genius. But now comes the hard part:

• Keeping egos under control
• Clearly maintaining roles and responsibilities
• Executing in the enterprise vs. IBM and HP
• Building even tighter integration between Oracle software and Sun hardware, without abandoning hardware support for HP, IBM and Dell
• Reinforcing the fact that Oracle continues to have a strong direct sales emphasis in large accounts
• Promoting the fact that the OPN Specialized partner program already has profitable partners. And many of those partner wins involved sales leads that Oracle handed to partners.

The VAR Guy will be keeping score in the months ahead.

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• Oracle CEO Larry Ellison Threatens to End HP Relationship
• Mark Hurd Confirmed To Keynote Oracle OpenWorld
• HP vs. Oracle: Ann Livermore Still Confirmed for OpenWorld
• Oracle and Mark Hurd: Two Key Channel Questions Worth Asking
• Mark Hurd: New Oracle Co-President At Oracle OpenWorld?

An Indian firm claims it was hired to carry out denial of service attacks against film download and torrent tracker websites at the behest of Bollywood movie distributors in India.…

If the idea of using Linux in your business is one that makes you nervous, chances are you've fallen prey to one or more of the many myths out there that are frequently disseminated by competing vendors such as Microsoft. After all, each Linux user means one less sale for such companies, so they have a powerful motivation to spread such FUD.

If the idea of using Linux in your business is one that makes you nervous, chances are you've fallen prey to one or more of the many myths out there that are frequently disseminated by competing vendors such as Microsoft. After all, each Linux user means one less sale for such companies, so they have a powerful motivation to spread such FUD.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

BT is upgrading its national network to reliably deliver TV on-demand, partly in preparation for the launch of Project Canvas alongside the BBC and other broadcasters.…

The Hewlett-Packard vs. Oracle feud continues to earn some headlines. But business continues to get done within the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) partner program. A prime example: Mitel, which specializes in unified communications, is now promoting a UC and desktop virtualization solution that works with Oracle’s Sun Ray Clients. Here’s a look at the effort.

According to the official press release:

“The Mitel Unified IP Client for Sun Ray voice-enables Oracle’s Sun Ray Clients, providing employees access to all their telephony and desktop applications from any location worldwide via a single Java Card. This improves flexibility and mobility for employees, including virtually seamless mobile phone hand off, four-digit dialing, and a single sign on option. From a management perspective, this can help provide businesses with lower operating costs, simplified IT management, and enhanced security.”

Mitel’s Communications Director (MCD), the backbone of Mitel’s software solutions, can also run completely on Oracle’s Sun Fire x86 clustered systems and StorageTek tape and library storage solutions.

But the big question: How popular are Oracle’s Sun Ray Clients, especially with channel partners? No doubt, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison was a fan of so-called Network Computers in the 1990s. And Oracle inherited the Sun Ray Clients through the Sun Microsystems acquisition.

Most recently, Oracle in July 2010 announced some Sun Ray software enhancements, with a heavy focus on desktop virtualization. And during a meeting with The VAR Guy earlier this year, Oracle Channel Chief Judson Althoff casually mentioned his interest in growing Oracle’s desktop virtualization business via partners.

We expect that theme to continue during the Oracle OpenWorld conference (Sept. 19-23, San Francisco).

Additional reporting by Joe Panettieri. Sign up for The VAR Guy’s Newsletter; Webcasts and Resource Center; and via RSS; Facebook;   Identi.ca; Twitter and VARtweet.

• Oracle CEO Larry Ellison Threatens to End HP Relationship
• Oracle Reality Check: Five Questions Facing Ellison, Hurd and Catz
• HP Now Under Attack On Four Fronts
• Amid Cisco Rumors, Skype Launches Channel Partner Program
• Cisco Set to Invade VMworld, Oracle OpenWorld

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

When it comes to developer conferences, most channel partners are familiar with Microsoft PDC, Apple WWDC and Google I/O. But mobile communications companies want your attention, too.  A case in point: The Verizon Developer Community Conference (Sept. 21-22, Las Vegas) is fast-approaching. And the event should serve as a big stage for Google Android developers, plus Verizon’s VCAST application library. Here’s why.

Check out the main page here, and then head over to the Verizon Technical Track. That’s where you’ll find the goodies. Right now Verizon seems focused on taking their base of customers and network and making it more solid while building upon it. There are sessions detailing the new 4G LTE network Verizon plans to roll out, along with using their BREW software, which is the platform applications run on for Verizon phones that are not Android or Blackberry phones.

And sprinkled throughout Day One and Day Two, are a sections on Android development, one specifically detailed 3D Android Development with nVidia. Verizon has embraced Android based phones faster and harder than any other network, so it comes at no surprise they’d be looking to educate their developers on Android development.

While Google has always has embraced their users for Android development, it’s disjointed from the service provider. But Verizon’s rally and new Droid-branded phones from Motorola have the potential to build a sort of ‘provider-based’ support around a ‘brand’ of phone and network, much like AT&T and Apple have done.

For fun, here’s a rumor this blogger has heard rumbling around the Verizon-sphere from people close to him: Apple is waiting for the full roll-out of the 4G LTE network before the even think about bringing the iPhone to them. And Verizon doesn’t want it yet, until the can roll out the 4G.

Bunk, or perfect sense? Weigh in and let us know.

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• Intel, Nokia: Promoting MeeGo vs. Google Android?
• Smart Phone Launches: AT&T & Sprint Should Dial 911
• Google Android OS: More Popular Than Apple iPhone?
• Dell Aero Smartphone: Android Meets AT&T
• A Week With Motorola Droid

In what seems like the biggest change of heart in the tech industry, Apple says it has eased up on previous restrictions for developing on iOS platforms for the iPhone and iPad. Is Apple bowing to industry pressure or growing competition from Google Android? Or is there some other Apple agenda here? Read on for the details and commentary…

Check out the press release here. This isn’t a joke. Apple has actually shifted its stance on an issue that a few months ago rocked the core of the Internet world as we knew it.

We are continually trying to make the App Store even better. We have listened to our developers and taken much of their feedback to heart. Based on their input, today we are making some important changes to our iOS Developer Program license in sections 3.3.1, 3.3.2 and 3.3.9 to relax some restrictions we put in place earlier this year.

In particular, we are relaxing all restrictions on the development tools used to create iOS apps, as long as the resulting apps do not download any code. This should give developers the flexibility they want, while preserving the security we need.

In addition, for the first time we are publishing the App Store Review Guidelines to help developers understand how we review submitted apps. We hope it will make us more transparent and help our developers create even more successful apps for the App Store.

I’m sure Steve Jobs still has a vendetta against Flash, and won’t ever let Flash live in the browser on any iOS device, but 3rd party tools are back in action, which means Adobe’s Creative Suite C5 application that ported Flash to iPhone is back on track and useful yet again. More interesting still, are the guidelines Apple has revised. Engadget has hosted the the PDF (which is only usually accessible for developers). Here are some very candid highlights about what Apple is looking for…

• “We have lots of kids downloading lots of apps, and parental controls don’t work unless the parents set them up (many don’t). So know that we’re keeping an eye out for the kids.”
• “We have over 250,000 apps in the App Store. We don’t need any more Fart apps.”
• “We have lots of serious developers who don’t want their quality Apps to be surrounded by amateur hour.” (Perhaps a dig at the Android market place?)
• We will reject Apps for any content or behavior that we believe is over the line. What line, you ask? Well, as a Supreme Court Justice once said, “I’ll know it when I see it”. And we think that you will also know it when you cross it. (A nice way of saying, “no” to porn.)
• “If your app is rejected, we have a Review Board that you can appeal to. If you run to the press and trash us, it never helps.”
• “This is a living document, and new apps presenting new questions may result in new rules at any time. Perhaps your app will trigger this.”
• “If it sounds like we’re control freaks, well, maybe it’s because we’re so committed to our users and making sure they have a quality experience with our products.”

In this level of frank and simple language, Apple nearly needs no explanation. It’s half common sense, half “this is our country club, keep it nice thank you.” But isn’t that what we’ve all expected from Apple in the first place?

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• Opera (Like Apple) Criticizes Adobe’s Flash
• Flash Wars: Is Steve Jobs Really Just Pushing for An Open Web?
• HP Slate Jabs At Apple’s Flash-less iPad
• Apple Showdown: Adobe Launches ‘We Heart Choice’ Campaign
• HP WebOS Tablet: Hurricane Rumors Pure Conjecture?

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

MicroStrategy, a business intelligence software maker, has deployed 1,100 Apple iPads to executives and sales personnel to conduct critical job-related tasks. The company said it expects 700 more iPads to be deployed soon.

MicroStrategy, a business intelligence software maker, has deployed 1,100 Apple iPads to executives and sales personnel to conduct critical job-related tasks. The company said it expects 700 more iPads to be deployed soon.

The Worldwide wing of the BBC has hired Mark Smith as its global iPlayer launch director, in its latest attempt to get its video-on-demand service off the ground outside the UK.…

Adobe on Thursday said it would resurrect a tool that lets developers port Flash applications to the iPhone after Apple did an about-face earlier in the day.

Adobe on Thursday said it would resurrect a tool that lets developers port Flash applications to the iPhone after Apple did an about-face earlier in the day.

A second SMS-sending Trojan targeting smartphones running on the Android operating system has appeared, being distributed via Russian-language sites offering pornographic video clips.…