Oracle launches Web development 'in a box'

Oracle will today launch a complete Web development package aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Oracle Internet Development Pack (OIDP) provides everything needed to set up an Internet or intranet project, the company claims. It includes Oracle8, Oracle Application Server, Oracle Jdeveloper and iWorkspace - a suite of six Java templates with full source code.

The package is designed to help SMEs create a basic intranet infrastructure that can then be gradually built upon to develop a fully-fledged ecommerce system.

The product aims to capture business from the 70 per cent of European SMEs which build their own applications or customise them, according to Oracle's own research.

An Oracle spokesman said: "There is a lot of knowledge and skills out there. When you look at small organisations the senior management is usually quite clued up - there is less of a gulf between IT and senior management than there is in larger companies."

OIDP costs between E7,995 (£5,300) for a ten user pack and E30,995 (£20,560) for a 50 user pack.