Re: Oracle loses its fingers on the cutting edge

"Sean M" <smckeownNO_at_BACKSIESearthlink.net> wrote in message news:3D1CA3E2.D226DF25_at_BACKSIESearthlink.net...
> Niall Litchfield wrote:
> >
> > "Rauf Sarwar" <rsarwar_at_ifsna.com> wrote in message
> > news:c2d690f2.0206272117.17d5fb74_at_posting.google.com...
> > > Devils advocate...
> > > If it wasn't for Oracle, I would have been earning my living using SQL
> > > Server or Sybase etc...(Yikes). So I would say... Don't bite the hand
> > > that feeds you...
> >
> > The trouble is Oracle have made a huge play about the business benefits
they
> > have realised by using their own software. I think that if you are going
to
> > say how rosy everything in the garden is - it would help if the same old
> > same old didn't keep happening to your suppliers.
>
> I'm not sure this is as bad as Mike made it out to be. Steps 1-10 were
> all just email traffic which had nothing to do with technology, just
> people getting on the same page. Step 11 happened remarkably fast.
> Steps 12-16 were a result of a person (the editor) not understanding the
> process; again, technology isn't to blame.
> The remaining steps appear
> to be a result of AP not being fulling integrated (yet) into the
> electronic mix. So... all I'm getting at is that, although I
> understand Mike's frustration, you can't blame it all on the
> technology. And I think if you look at Oracle financial results for the
> last 2 years you'll see a remarkable savings in IT spending as a direct
> result of "eating their own dogfood." It's not just a play, it's for
> real. That doesn't mean it's perfect, or that it's even complete. But
> the savings are for real.

My trouble is twofold. First I think that Mike's experience is typical of small suppliers to large organisations. Technology hasn't changed that most likely because for a number of reasons(not least the human factors you mention) it probably can't. Yet the promise is that we are moving to an automated highly responsive, more productive business environment though the application of technology. I'm not convinced that we are.

My second concern is with the 'Oracle saved a billion dollars a year' claim. According to the financial statements I have found this doesn't seem to be entirely truthful.
(http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/invsub/results/statemnt.asp?lstStateme nt=Income&Symbol=ORCL&stmtView=Ann)

Cost of sales is down from 2.7 bn to 2.5 bn. What has changed is the margin. I'm sure that some of this is down to the technology - but I'm pretty sure that some of this is down to the changes in licensing. It'll be interesting to see if Oracle can maintain this in the present climate.

--
Niall Litchfield
Oracle DBA
Audit Commission UK
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