and the collection information is stored in a MSSQL database, so there is no way I can drop the Win32::OLE-thing.

Well actually if the only reason you are using Win32::OLE is to access MSSQL you can drop the Win32::OLE thing. Why not just use DBD::ODBC and DBI? Win32::OLE is *slow* so you should see it work substatntially faster as a bonus.