Database hardware and software provider Oracle Corp. found itself the target of an appeal filed this week with the Department of Justice, alleging that Oracle is using anticompetitive practices to protect its service business for Sun Microsystems server hardware.
The appeal comes from the Service Industry Association (SIA), a nearly 200-member organization with the mission of protecting the economic interests of companies that service and maintain computer, medical, and business products.
SIA alleges that Oracle, which moved into the server hardware business with its January acquisition of Sun Microsystems, has enacted restrictive customer policies in an effort to claim a share of the approximately $1.8 billion U.S. Sun maintenance business held by non-Oracle companies. Some of those companies are represented by SIA. The group has asked the DOJ to issue a cease and desist letter enjoining Oracle from continuing its current Sun policies.