results include the following business combination accounting adjustments and expenses related to acquisitions as well as certain other significant expense and income items:



Software

 

Software includes new software licenses and software license updates and product support.

 

New Software Licenses:   New software license revenues represent fees earned from granting customers licenses to use our database and middleware as well as our application software products. We continue to place significant emphasis, both domestically and internationally, on direct sales through our own sales force. We also continue to market our products through indirect channels. Sales and marketing expenses are largely personnel related and include commissions earned by our sales force for the sale of our software products, and also include marketing program costs and amortization of intangible assets.



Fiscal 2009 Compared to Fiscal 2008:   New software license revenues growth was unfavorably affected by foreign currency rate fluctuations of 6 percentage points in fiscal 2009. Excluding the effect of currency rate fluctuations, total new software license revenues increased slightly in fiscal 2009 as a result of a 7% increase in database and middleware revenues, partially offset by a 10% decrease in applications revenues. Excluding the effect of currency rate fluctuations, the EMEA and Asia Pacific regions increased new software license revenues by 6% and 7%, respectively, and were partially offset by a decrease of 4% in the Americas region.

 

Excluding the effect of currency rate fluctuations of 7 percentage points, database and middleware revenues grew 7% in fiscal 2009 due primarily to BEA products and, to a lesser extent, other recently acquired products. In reported currency, BEA products contributed $459 million, and other recently acquired products contributed $21 million to the total database and middleware revenues growth in fiscal 2009. The revenue contributions from BEA products, which already have been integrated with Oracle’s Fusion Middleware and are sold together, are based on our internal allocations consistent with previous periods.

 

Excluding the effect of currency rate fluctuations of 6 percentage points, application new software license revenues decreased in fiscal 2009 due to weaker global economic conditions and were partially offset by incremental revenues from our recent acquisitions. In reported currency, Primavera products contributed $33 million and our other recently acquired products contributed an incremental $27 million to our applications revenues in fiscal 2009.

 

In reported currency, new software license revenues earned from transactions over $0.5 million declined by 7% in fiscal 2009, primarily due to unfavorable currency variations, and decreased to 50% of new software license revenues in fiscal 2009 from 51% in fiscal 2008.

 

Total sales and marketing expenses were favorably impacted by 5 percentage points of currency variations during fiscal 2009. Excluding the effect of currency rate fluctuations, sales and marketing expenses increased in fiscal 2009 primarily due to higher salaries from increased headcount