Oracle India: Did two friends fall out?
By Ria Sharma

Oracle is the second largest software products company in the world.  Oracle India is an integral pillar of the company with more than $2.5 billion invested in Indian operations since 2001. Oracle first teamed up with TCS in 1987, but by 1993, Oracle India had become a wholly owned subsidiary of Oracle Corp, USA.

Today, Oracle India is involved in developing every key product and its Global Support Centres assist clients in most countries.  Oracle India provides many specialists to the Global Consulting Division. In India, the Oracle Education Centers are located in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. According to Oracle India, it has 6000 technology and over 600 applications customers in India. Oracle India employs 23,000 professionals.

A tipster tells us about how the recent promotion of IIT trained Bhaskar Pramanik to the top post of Oracle India has split at least one friendship.

Many years ago, Bhaskar Pramanik and Anil Valluri used to work in Digital India.  When Bhaskar took over Sun Microsystems in India, he personally got in touch with the bright Anil Valluri and convinced him to join his team at Sun in 1999.

The working and personal relationship between Bhaskar and Anil blossomed at Sun India.  So much so, that when Bhaskar Pramanik was promoted in 2008 to Vice President and moved to Sun HQ in USA, he recommended that Anil Valluri succeed him as head of Sun Microsystems in India.  Sun India has done well under the able leadership of both these men.

In Jan, 2010, Oracle formally completed its $7.4 Billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems.  The market was expecting layoffs but India would be the least affected as both Oracle and Sun are doing well here.

In April, 2010, rumours started doing the rounds that US-based Sun Microsystems VP Bhaskar Pramanik would be made the next Oracle India Managing Director.  Senior managers in India asked Bhaskar’s ‘friend’ and successor Anil Valluri if these rumours were true.  Bhaskar had not even told Anil, his colleague of 11 years, that he would be soon heading the combined Oracle-Sun India operations.

Within days of Bhaskar’s elevation to head Oracle/Sun India, Anil Valluri put in his papers. India media asked Oracle India for a response.  But their spokeswoman declined any comment on such senior movements.

According to insiders, most senior managers in Oracle and Sun India were kept out of the loop about Bhaskar Pramanik returning to head Oracle/Sun India.  Bhaskar kept his winning cards close to his chest. Was this one of the reasons that Anil decided to walk sooner rather than later?  Oracle India had decided that they would start ‘letting go’ Sun executives even before the integrations of the two organizations had started.

Pramanik had once told the Indian media: “Leaders are lonely at the top”.  How true!