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T.E. Raja Simhan

Chennai, Sep. 26 Refer a client; earn $50,000. An employee referring another potential employee for a fee/reward is a big trend in the information technology companies to attract talent.

In a similar concept, a company can now refer to its vendor another potential client and get a referral fee. That’s what the US-based Oracle’s new Referral Initiative is all about.

The newly streamlined Oracle Referral Initiative offers potentially big rewards—5 per cent of net license deals, up to $50,000 — for organisations of any size that refer other organisations in need of Oracle software solutions.

An Oracle advertisement in a Nasscom newsletter says, “Help your clients choose Oracle to address their business software needs and the benefits will accrue to your company. Simply refer your clients to Oracle whenever they have a need to upgrade or replace their software, or find a new IT solution.”

Customer references as part of the sales process has been around for a long time. It is not a new initiative either at Oracle or in the IT industry. It is quite a standard practice in the industry, according to an Oracle India official.

“Heard of a client referring another potential client, but not heard of paying a fee for it,” said an official of a software company.

The Oracle Referral Initiative is a way for a company to refer clients to Oracle when their business software needs to be upgraded or replaced. And when they choose Oracle applications, the Oracle Referral Initiative rewards the company. A company may provide accounting, technical or legal services. A company may provide consulting, public relations, printing, banking, insurance, real estate services or even be an Oracle customer.

“Whatever be the role, when your company is in a position to help a client or a customer and you refer them to Oracle, your company may be eligible to receive a referral fee of up to $50,000 when Oracle closes the transaction, provided that your company’s referral meets the eligibility requirements of the Oracle Referral Initiative,” according to Oracle.

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