Re: Should I buy Oracle??

Kevin Kelleher wrote:
>
> - Oracle is not "software" - it is a way of life.
> You don't just buy the software, you need training (even if you do
> it yourself with books). It can require an expert just to install
> and configure it, let alone make it do anything. Oracle has
> put all of its effort into product development; things such
> as ease of use, intuitive interfaces, client feedback, good
> documentation all take the back seat. Your experience with
> other software leads you expect many things to be more or less
> automatic. With Oracle products nearly everything first
> requires study.
> I'd rather say it requires you to learn a certain way of programming
and using (Oracle-) applications. If you're used to eg. desktop 'databases' it will seem rather awkward at first and you may risk developing some _very_ ugly applications if you just start programming.

> - Oracle's customer support is weak. You usually have to stay on
> ...
>I personally can't recognize this description from my own experience.
When I started using Developer 2000 about a year ago, I got excellent service, and I usually didn't have to wait long either.

> - Oracle has not yet discovered that it is doing business with
> *people*. Unless they think you are going to buy something
> you won't see or hear from anyone at Oracle. No one will
> call and ask how it going, whether it's doing what you expected,
> UNLESS they think they'll be able to sell you some consultant
> time or another product.
> Isn't it a bit much to expect that they call to ask how things are
going? As for not helping without seeing money, I called 5 or 6 times and got good help before they even asked me if I had any Support Agreement.

> - Oracle products are good, and they do perform as described,
> but NOT OUT OF THE BOX. There can be a good long lag time
> between (a) arrival of software, (b) installation,
> (c) the software working well, (d) something useful happening.
> I literally just 'poured' Oracle Workgroup Server into my OS/2
machine. The Workgroup Server product are meant to be easily installed - Enterprise Server, I learned, is meant for 'grown ups' :-)

> - Oracle products are resource hogs. Clients can find themselves
> obliged to invest in more potent hardware after they've put out
> the money for Oracle software, installed it, started using it,
> and hit serious performance problems.
> I don't think so. Oracle uses a lot of resources, but that's to be
expected considering what an Oracle Server does. A resource hog IMO is more something like Win95 or NT - they use resources that they shouldn't need, considering the functionality they offer.

/jan Received on Fri Sep 12 1997 - 00:00:00 CDT