Is Oracle afraid of Google?

Jojo  |   Feb 20 2007   2:13AM GMT

There is no doubt that Google is going to put out some of the best enterprise level suites online and this is going to generate great revenue for them and they can give it for free unlike the others. However, Google is Google and Oracle is Oracle. Why worry? Each competes in different markets, the competing areas won’t matter.
Jojo

Todd Ryder  |   Feb 20 2007   6:07PM GMT

I mostly agree with the “oracle is oracle and google is google” sentiments of the 1st commentor. But I wish to add that in the end, everyone is afraid of google. Google invests in (the smartest) people whereas other corporations maximize investment in technology while seeking to minimize investment in people.

In the long run, the all-online, best/smartest-people approach might actually win over the all-technology, people-as-commodities one.

Simon Ellis  |   Feb 20 2007   7:40PM GMT

Both the previous commentators have valid points. I would like to add that Oracle has for many years had the opportunity through its portal product, Collaboration Suite and now Web Centre software to steal a march on Google. By including these types of technologies in a keenly priced bundle could have seen Oracle web 2.0 tech at the heart of many enterprises. However, I believe that Oracle may have missed the boat on this one. Larry was once a real visionary in this kind of space. He has been kinda quiet of late and its beginning to show at Redwood Shores…. great tech, too late and potentially overpriced. Is Oracle afraid of Google….. maybe not afraid, but you can bet that Oracle is intently watching every move Google makes.

Dave  |   Feb 21 2007   1:38PM GMT

All good points.

Perhaps I am oversimplifying here but Google = Free since they make $ off of adds and other ways right? Oracle = BIG $. So this Oracle WebCenter Suite would have similar products to what Google could offer soon right? I guess depending on security and if your ok with Google hosting your databases(do they use Oracle? ) and such then Google seems to me like the clear choice to make. After all, you need alot of $ to run Oracle but if your a large company that can afford Oracle then perhaps there is some marketing distinction not yet apparent?

Bob Grove  |   Feb 22 2007   3:56AM GMT

Oracle’s stock in trade has been high-quality, full-featured products at a stiff price that are complicated to install and use. There are competitors who win on price or ease of use, but not function, and not on enough points to make a difference to large scale operations … I can’t wait to see what a Googlized suite of enterprise apps looks like. The only thing that trumps an 800-pound gorilla is a smarter, friendlier 800-pound gorilla.

Matt Searle  |   Feb 27 2007   3:36AM GMT

If a company has it’s own data in an Oracle database that they own and host, then they can control access to it. If Google is hosting it, then they don’t.

I remember reading about Google hosting documents online - if I have them on my PC and the police want to see them, then they need a search warrant etc. to get them from my PC in my house. If they are on Google then they don’t need to go through the same process. If I were a company, then I would question the security model, and data access rights that third parties may have, before moving everything onto the free model.

As for Dave’s post (4) - no, I don’t think Google run Oracle.

shelton  |   Aug 12 2008   9:04AM GMT

Firstly, Google is an Oracle customer and runs an Oracle Database and even if Google enters the Oracle business space, they can’t think of beating Oracle cause the apps database will have to be from Oracle and not Google because everyone knows that data is not secure and privacy safe when Google hosts it on it’s servers.