Oracle Corporation

Oracle Corporation
Type Public (NASDAQ: ORCL)
Industry Computer database
Computer software
Computer middleware
Computer hardware
Founded California, USA (1977)[1]
Founder(s) Larry Ellison
Bob Miner
Ed Oates
Headquarters 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, California, United States
Area served Worldwide
Key people Larry Ellison (CEO)
Jeffrey O. Henley (Chairman)
Safra A. Catz (President)
Charles Phillips (President)
Products Oracle Database
Oracle Fusion Middleware
Oracle Applications
Oracle Enterprise Manager
Oracle Financials
Revenue increase $26.82 billion (2010)[2]
Operating income increase $9.05 billion (2010)[2]
Net income increase $6.14 billion (2010)[2]
Total assets increase $60.31 billion (2010)[2]
Total equity increase $31.2 billion (2010)[2]
Employees 115,000 (after Sun Microsystems acquisition) (2009)
Subsidiaries List of acquisitions
Website Oracle.com

Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) is a multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing enterprise software products — particularly database management systems. Headquartered in Redwood Shores, California, United States, Oracle employs more than 115,000 people worldwide as of 2009. It has enlarged its share of the software market through organic growth and through a number of high-profile acquisitions. By 2007 Oracle had the third-largest software revenue, after Microsoft and IBM.[3]

The corporation has arguably become best-known due to association with its flagship product, the Oracle Database. The company also builds tools for database development and systems of middle-tier software, enterprise resource planning software (ERP), customer relationship management software (CRM) and supply chain management (SCM) software.

As of 2010, Larry Ellison, a co-founder of Oracle Corporation, has served as Oracle's CEO throughout its history. Ellison also served as the Chairman of the Board until his replacement by Jeffrey O. Henley in 2004. Ellison retains his role as CEO. On August 22, 2008 the Associated Press ranked founder Larry Ellison as the top-paid chief executive in the world.[4][5]

Contents

History

Oracle headquarters front view

Ellison took inspiration[6] from the 1970 paper written by Edgar F. Codd on relational database management systems (RDBMS) named "A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks".[7] He had heard about the IBM System R database from an article in the IBM Research Journal provided by Ed Oates (a future co-founder of Oracle Corporation). System R also derived from Codd's theories, and Ellison wanted to make Oracle's product compatible with System R, but IBM stopped this by keeping the error codes for their DBMS secret. Ellison co-founded Oracle Corporation in 1977 with Bob Miner and Ed Oates under the name Software Development Laboratories (SDL). In 1979 SDL changed its name to Relational Software, Inc. (RSI). In 1982, RSI renamed itself Oracle Systems[8] to align itself more closely with its flagship product Oracle Database. At this stage Bob Miner served as the company's senior programmer. In 1995, Oracle Systems Corporation changed its name to Oracle Corporation.[9]

Part of Oracle Corporation's early success arose from using the C programming language to implement its products. This eased porting to different operating systems (most of which support C). This gave Oracle Corporation an advantage over companies that used operating-system-specific languages. Oracle Corporation programmers wrote the first C compiler for the IBM mainframe platform in order to port to that platform.

Overall timeline

Technology timeline

RDBMS release timeline

Corporate acquisitions

Company Offer Date Industry Valuation
millions USD
Rdb Division of Digital Equipment Corporation 01994-10 October 1994 Relational database N/A sm=n
IRI Software 01995-08 August 1995 OLAP products $100 sm=n
Thinking Machines Corporation 01999-06 June 1999 Darwin, datamining technology N/A sm=n
TopLink 02002-01 January 2002 Object-relation mapping technology N/A sm=n
NetForce 02002-01 January 2002 Adverse event reporting system N/A sm=n
Steltor 02002-06 June 2002 Enterprise calendaring system N/A sm=n
Reliaty 02003-06 June 2003 Enterprise data protection N/A sm=n
SiteWorks Solutions 02004-01 January 2004 Clinical trials management N/A sm=n
Phaos 02004-05 May 2004 Identity management N/A sm=n
Collaxa 02004-06 June 2004 Business process management N/A sm=n
PeopleSoft 02005-01 January 2005 Enterprise software $10,300
Oblix 02005-03 March 2005 Identity management N/A sm=n
Retek 02005-04 April 2005 Retail-industry solutions $630
TripleHop 02005-06 June 2005 Context-sensitive enterprise search N/A sm=n
TimesTen 02005-06 June 2005 Real-time enterprise solutions N/A sm=n
ProfitLogic 02005-07 July 2005 Retail-industry solutions N/A sm=n
Context Media 02005-07 July 2005 Enterprise content-integration N/A sm=n
i-flex (Oracle Financial Services) 02005-08 August 2005 Banking industry solutions $900
G-Log 02005-09 September 2005 Transportation management solutions N/A sm=n
Innobase 02005-10 October 2005 Discrete transactional open-source database technology N/A sm=n
Thor Technologies 02005-11 November 2005 Enterprise-wide user provisioning solutions. N/A sm=n
OctetString 02005-11 November 2005 Virtual directory solutions N/A sm=n
Temposoft 02005-12 December 2005 Workforce-management applications N/A sm=n
360Commerce 02006-01 January 2006 Retail-industry solutions N/A sm=n
Siebel Systems 02006-01 January 2006 Customer relationship management $5,850
Sleepycat Software 02006-02 February 2006 Open-source database software for embedded applications N/A sm=n
HotSip 02006-02 February 2006 Communications infrastructure solutions N/A sm=n
Portal Software 02006-04 April 2006 Communications-industry software suite $220
Net4Call 02006-04 April 2006 Communications-industry service-delivery platform N/A sm=n
Demantra 02006-06 June 2006 Demand-driven planning solutions N/A sm=n
Telephony@Work 02006-06 June 2006 IP-based contact-center technology N/A sm=n
Sigma Dynamics 02006-08 August 2006 Real-time predictive analytics software N/A sm=n
Sunopsis 02006-10 October 2006 Enterprise-integration software N/A sm=n
MetaSolv Software 02006-10 October 2006 Communications-service provider solutions $219
Stellent 02006-11 November 2006 Content-management solutions $440
SPL WorldGroup 02006-11-03 November 3, 2006 Revenue- and operations-management software N/A sm=n
Hyperion Solutions 02007-03-01 March 1, 2007 Enterprise-performance management $3,300
AppForge
(intellectual assets only)		 02007-04 April 2007 Cross-platform handheld development N/A sm=n
Agile Software Corporation 02007-05-15 May 15, 2007 Product life-cycle-management software $495
Bharosa 02007-07-18 July 18, 2007 Identify theft $495
NetSure Telecom Ltd. 02007-09-02 September 2, 2007 Network intelligence and optimization software Undisclosed sm=n
Active Reasoning, Inc. 02007-09-02 September 2, 2007 IT Compliance software Undisclosed sm=n
Bridgestream 02007-09-05 September 5, 2007 Enterprise role-management N/A sm=n
LogicalApps 02007-10-09 October 9, 2007 Compliance software N/A sm=n
Moniforce 02007-12-06 December 6, 2007 End-user experience management software N/A sm=n
BEA Systems 02008-01-16 January 16, 2008 Middleware software company $8,500
Captovation 02008-01-16 January 16, 2008 Document-capture software N/A sm=n
Empirix (Web) 02008-03-27 March 27, 2008 Web-application testing-software N/A sm=n
LODESTAR Corporation 02007-04-24 April 24, 2007 Utility software solutions N/A sm=n
AdminServer 02008-05-13 May 13, 2008 Insurance-policy administration software N/A sm=n
Skywire Software 02008-06-23 June 23, 2008 Insurance software N/A sm=n
Global Knowledge Software 02008-07-31 July 31, 2008 Technical writing/training authoring software N/A sm=n
ClearApp 02008-09-02 September 2, 2008 Application-management solutions for composite applications-software N/A sm=n
Primavera Systems 02008-10-09 October 9, 2008 Project portfolio management software N/A sm=n
Advanced Visual Technology 02008-10-09 October 9, 2008 Retail-space management software $4 sm=n
Haley Limited 02008-10-29 October 29, 2008 Policy-modeling and -automation software N/A sm=n
mValent 02009-02-04 February 4, 2009 Application configuration management software N/A sm=n
Relsys 02009-03-23 March 23, 2009 Drug safety and risk management solutions with advanced analytics for the health sciences industry N/A sm=n
Virtual Iron Software 02009-05-13 May 13, 2009 Server-virtualization management software N/A sm=n
Conformia Software
(intellectual assets only)		 02009-06-17 June 17, 2009 Product and process lifecycle management (PPLM) software N/A sm=n
GoldenGate Software 02009-07-23 July 23, 2009 Real-time data integration and high-availability solutions N/A sm=n
Sun Microsystems 02009-08-20 August 20, 2009 Computers, computer components, computer software, development environment and information technology services $7,400 sm=n
HyperRoll 02009-09-29 September 29, 2009 Warehousing-oriented data processing (e.g. aggregations), acceleration software using patented statistical and stochastic algorithms N/A sm=n
Silver Creek  02010-01-04 January 4, 2010 Data-quality systems connecting enterprise systems, customers, suppliers and partners N/A sm=n
AmberPoint 02010-02-10 February 10, 2010 Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) management. N/A sm=n
Convergin 02010-02-10 February 10, 2010 Communications services brokerage $85 sm=n
Phase Forward 02010-04-16 April 16, 2010 Applications for life sciences companies and healthcare providers $685 sm=n
Secerno 02010-05-20 May 20, 2010 Data protection hardware and software N/A sm=n

Products and services

Technology products

Various databases

Main article: Oracle Database

In 2004 Oracle Corporation shipped release 10g (g standing for "grid") as the then latest version of Oracle Database. (Oracle Application Server 10g using Java EE integrates with the server part of that version of the database, making it possible to deploy web-technology applications. The application server comprises the first middle-tier software designed for grid computing. The interrelationship between Oracle 10g and Java has enabled the company to allow developers to set up stored procedures written in the Java language, as well as those written in the traditional Oracle database programming language, PL/SQL.)

Release 11g became the current Oracle Database version in 2007.

Berkeley DB offers embedded database processing.

Oracle Rdb, a relational database system, runs on OpenVMS platforms. Oracle acquired Rdb in 1994 from Digital Equipment Corporation. Oracle has since made many enhancements to this product and development continues today.

TimesTen features in-memory database operations.

Oracle Essbase continues the Hyperion Essbase tradition of multi-dimensional database management.

MySQL, a relational database management system licensed under the GNU General Public License, initially developed by MySQL AB.

Oracle Fusion Middleware

Oracle Enterprise Manager

Some database administrators (DBAs) use Oracle Enterprise Manager (OEM) to manage the DBMS. With Oracle Database version 10g, Oracle Corporation introduced a web-based rewrite of OEM called "Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control". Oracle Corporation has dubbed the super Enterprise Manager used to manage a grid of multiple DBMS and Application Servers as "Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control".

Oracle Secure Enterprise Search

Oracle Secure Enterprise Search (SES), Oracle's enterprise-search offering, gives users the ability to search for content across multiple locations, including websites, file servers, content management systems, enterprise resource planning systems, customer relationship management systems, business intelligence systems, and databases.

Oracle Beehive

Released in 2008, the Oracle Beehive collaboration software provides team workspaces (including wikis, team calendaring and file sharing), email, calendar, instant messaging, and conferencing on a single platform. Customers can use Beehive as licensed software or as software as a service.[24]

Oracle Collaboration Suite

Oracle Collaboration Suite (OCS) contains messaging, groupware and collaboration applications. Oracle Beehive has superseded OCS.[25]

Development software

Oracle Corporation's tools for developing applications include (amongst others):

Many external and third-party tools make the Oracle database administrator's tasks easier.

Hardware

Application products

Besides databases, Oracle also sells a suite of business applications. The Oracle E-Business Suite includes software to perform financial- (Oracle Financials), manufacturing-, enterprise resource planning and HR- (Human Resource Management Systems) -related functions (Oracle HR). Users can access these facilities through a browser interface over the Internet or via a corporate intranet.

Following a number of high-value acquisitions beginning in 2003, especially in the area of applications, Oracle Corporation currently maintains a number of product lines:

Development of applications commonly takes place in Java (using Oracle JDeveloper) or through PL/SQL (using, for example, Oracle Forms and Oracle Reports). Oracle Corporation has started a drive toward "wizard"-driven environments with a view to enabling non-programmers to produce simple data-driven applications.

Third-party applications

Oracle Corporation works with "Oracle Certified Partners" to enhance its overall product-range.

The variety of applications from third-party vendors includes database applications for archiving, splitting and control, ERP and CRM systems, as well as more niche and focused products providing a range of commercial functions in the areas of human resources, financial control and governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC)

Vendors include:

Services

Marketing

Sales practices

In 1990 Oracle laid off 10% (about 400 people) of its work force because of a mismatch between cash and revenues. This crisis, which almost resulted in Oracle's bankruptcy, came about because of Oracle's "up-front" marketing strategy, in which sales people urged potential customers to buy the largest possible amount of software all at once. The sales people then booked the value of future license sales in the current quarter, thereby increasing their bonuses. This became a problem when the future sales subsequently failed to materialize. Oracle eventually had to restate its earnings twice, and also settled (out of court) class-action lawsuits arising from its having overstated its earnings. Ellison stated in 1992 that Oracle had made "an incredible business mistake".[34]

Competition

Although IBM dominated the mainframe relational-database market with its DB2 and SQL/DS database products, it delayedentering the market for a relational database on UNIX and Windows operating systems. This left the door open for Sybase, Oracle, and Informix (and eventually Microsoft) to dominate mid-range and microcomputers.

Around this time, Oracle technology started to lag technically behind that of Sybase. In 1990–1993 Sybase became the fastest-growing database company and the database industry's darling vendor, but soon fell victim to its merger mania and to technical issues with System X. Sybase's 1993 merger with PowerSoft resulted in its losing its focus on its core database technology. In 1993, Sybase sold the rights to its database software running under the Windows operating system to Microsoft Corporation, which now markets it under the name "SQL Server."

In 1994 Informix Software overtook Sybase and became Oracle's most important rival. The intense war between Informix CEO Phil White and Ellison made front-page news in Silicon Valley for three years. Ultimately, Oracle defeated Informix in 1997. In November 2005 a book detailing the war between Oracle and Informix appeared,[35] providing a detailed chronology of the battle of Informix against Oracle, and how Informix Software's CEO Phil White landed in jail because of his obsession with overtaking Ellison.

Once it had overcome Informix and Sybase, Oracle Corporation enjoyed years of dominance in the database market until use of Microsoft SQL Server became widespread in the late 1990s and IBM acquired Informix Software in 2000 (to complement its DB2 database). Today Oracle competes for new database licenses on UNIX, Linux, and Windows operating systems primarily against IBM's DB2 and Microsoft SQL Server (which only runs on Windows). IBM's DB2 still dominates the mainframe database market.

In 2004 Oracle's sales grew at a rate of 14.5% to $6.2 billion, giving it 41.3% and the top share of the relational-database market (InformationWeek - March, 2005), with market share estimated at up to 44.6% in 2005 by some sources.[36] Oracle Corporation's main competitors in the database arena remain IBM DB2 and Microsoft SQL Server, and to a lesser extent Sybase and Teradata [37], with open-source databases such as PostgreSQL and MySQL also having a significant share of the market. EnterpriseDB, based on PostgreSQL, has recently made inroads [38] by proclaiming that its product delivers Oracle compatibility features at a much lower price-point.

In the software-applications market, Oracle Corporation primarily competes against SAP. On March 22, 2007 Oracle sued SAP, accusing them of fraud and unfair competition.[39]

Due to the expanding market for business-intelligence software, many other software companies — small and large — have successfully competed in quality with Oracle and SAP products. Some commentators expect that more products and business intelligence services will appear within the next 10 years.

Oracle and SAP

From 1988 Oracle Corporation and the German company SAP AG had a decade-long history of cooperation, beginning with the integration of SAP's R/3 enterprise application suite with Oracle's relational database products. The marketplace regarded the two firms' products as complementing one another, rather than as substitutes. Despite the current SAP partnership with Microsoft, and the increasing integration of SAP applications with Microsoft products (such as Microsoft SQL Server, a competitor to Oracle Database), Oracle and SAP continue their cooperation. According to Oracle Corporation, the majority of SAP's customers use Oracle databases.[40]

In recent years, however, competition between Oracle and SAP has increased, and as a result, the rivalry between the two companies has grown, even developing into a feud between the co-founders of the two companies, where one party would frequently voice strong negative comments about the other company.

In 2004 Oracle began to increase its interest in the enterprise-applications market (in 1989, Oracle had already released Oracle Financials). A series of acquisitions by Oracle Corporation began, most notably those of PeopleSoft, Siebel Systems and Hyperion.

SAP recognized that Oracle had started to become a competitor in a market where SAP had the leadership, and saw an opportunity to lure in customers from those companies that Oracle Corporation had acquired. SAP would offer those customers special discounts on the licenses for its enterprise applications.[41] Oracle Corporation would resort to a similar strategy, by advising SAP customers to get "OFF SAP" (a play on the words of the acronym for its middleware platform "Oracle Fusion for SAP"),[42] and also by providing special discounts on licenses and services to SAP customers who chose Oracle Corporation products.

Currently Oracle and SAP also compete in the third-party enterprise-software maintenance and support market (the latter through its recently acquired subsidiary TomorrowNow). On March 22, 2007, Oracle filed a suit against SAP. The complaint alleged that TomorrowNow, which provides discount support for legacy Oracle product lines, used the accounts of former Oracle customers to systematically download patches and support documents from Oracle's website and to appropriate them for SAP's use.[43] [44] Some analysts have suggested the suit could form part of a strategy by Oracle Corporation to decrease competition with SAP in the market for third-party enterprise software maintenance and support.[45][46]

On July 3, 2007, SAP admitted that TomorrowNow employees had made "inappropriate downloads" from the Oracle support web site. However, it claims that SAP personnel and SAP customers had no access to Oracle intellectual property via TomorrowNow. SAP's CEO Henning Kagermann stated that "Even a single inappropriate download is unacceptable from my perspective. We regret very much that this occurred." Additionally, SAP announced that it had "instituted changes" in TomorrowNow's operational oversight.[47]

Slogans

Media

Oracle Corporation produces and distributes the "Oracle ClearView" series of videos as part of its marketing mix.[49]

Controversies

Trashgate

In 2000 Oracle gained attention from the computer industry and the press after hiring private investigators to dig through the trash of organizations involved in an antitrust trial involving Microsoft.[50] The Chairman of Oracle Corporation, Larry Ellison, staunchly defended his company's hiring of an East Coast detective agency to investigate groups that supported rival Microsoft Corporation during its antitrust trial, calling the snooping a "public service". The investigation reportedly included a $1,200 offer to janitors at the Association for Competitive Technology to look through Microsoft's trash. Asked how he'd feel if others were looking into Oracle's business activities, Ellison said: "We will ship our garbage to Redmond, and they can go through it. We believe in full disclosure."[51]

"Can't break it, can't break in"

Oracle Corporation markets many of its products using the slogan "Can't break it, can't break in", or "Unbreakable". This signifies the increasing demands on information safety. Oracle Corporation also stresses the reliability of networked databases and network access to databases as major selling points.

However, two weeks after its introduction in 2002, David Litchfield, Alexander Kornbrust, Cesar Cerrudo and others demonstrated a whole suite of successful attacks against Oracle products.[52][53] Commentators criticized the slogan as unrealistic and as an invitation to crackers, but Oracle Corporation's chief security officer Mary Ann Davidson portrayed the criticism as unfair. Rather than representing a literal claim of Oracle's products' impregnability, she saw the campaign in the context of fourteen independent security evaluations[54] that Oracle Corporation's database server had passed.

Relationship with John Ashcroft

In 2004, then-United States Attorney General John Ashcroft sued Oracle Corporation to prevent a contract acquisition. In 2005, Oracle hired Ashcroft's recently-founded lobbying firm, The Ashcroft Group, LLC. Oracle, with Ashcroft's lobbying, then went on to acquire the contract, a multi-billion dollar intelligence application.[55]

Recent news

Acquisition of Sun Microsystems

On January 27, 2010, Oracle announced it had completed its acquisition of Sun Microsystems - valued at more than $7 billion - a move that now makes Oracle a hardware company. The acquisition was delayed for several months by the EU Commission because of concerns about MySQL, however was unconditionally approved in the end.[56] This acquisition was important to some in the open source community and also to some other companies, as they feared Oracle might end Sun's traditional support of open source projects. Some now believe that these fears have been confirmed, as Oracle is apparently planning to discontinue OpenSolaris and also announced a lawsuit against Google over their newly acquired Java patents from Sun.

Justice Department lawsuit

On July 29, 2010, the United States Department of Justice filed suit against Oracle Corporation alleging fraud. The lawsuit argues that the government received deals inferior to those Oracle gave to its commercial clients. The DoJ added its heft to an already existing whistleblower lawsuit filed by Paul Frascella, who was once senior director of contract services at Oracle.[57]

Acquisition of Phase Forward

On August 11, 2010, Phase Forward, a company that developed data management systems for the pharmaceutical industry, became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oracle Corporation.[58] Some analysts believe this acquisition has a huge impact on the healthcare and life sciences software market. For example Loraine Lawson writes that "health care isn't just another vertical. It's the vertical to watch, an area where spending has stayed strong despite economic turmoil in other sectors. It's also primed for growth in the United States, where it's the focus of major government reform efforts."[59][60]

Lawsuit against Google

On August 12, 2010, Oracle announced a lawsuit against Google concerning patent and copyright infringement of Java in Google's development of Android. Oracle claims that "Google’s Android competes with Oracle America’s Java" and that "Google has been aware of Sun’s patent portfolio ... since Google hired certain former Sun Java engineers".[61][62] Oracle acquired the Java patents when it bought Sun Microsystems in January 2010. Google had developed the Android platform using Java features and concepts that are apparently not compatible with standard Java libraries. This may have been a violation of conditions under which Sun granted OpenJDK patents to use open source Java.[63] The lawsuit is currently ongoing and may take several years to reach a conclusion.[64]

Discontinuation of OpenSolaris

On August 13, 2010, an internal Oracle memo leaked to the Internet cited plans for ending the OpenSolaris operating system project and community.[65] Apparently Oracle now plans to develop Solaris only in a closed source fashion. Some observers were not surprised by this move, as Oracle had kept delaying the release of OpenSolaris 2010 (which was subsequently never released). However a fork of OpenSolaris development now continues as a project called Illumos, started by former OpenSolaris developer Garrett D'Amore.

People

Offices

Oracle Corporation has its world headquarters on the San Francisco Peninsula in the Redwood Shores area of Redwood City, adjacent to Belmont, near San Carlos Airport (IATA airport code: SQL).

Oracle HQ stands on the former site of Marine World Africa USA, which moved from Redwood Shores to Vallejo in 1986. Oracle Corporation originally leased two buildings on the site, moving its finance and administration departments from the corporation's former headquarters on Davis Drive, Belmont, California. Eventually, Oracle purchased the complex and constructed a further four main buildings.

The Oracle Parkway buildings featured prominently as the futuristic headquarters of the fictional company "NorthAm Robotics" in the Robin Williams film Bicentennial Man (1999).[71]

500 Oracle Parkway at the Oracle Corp. headquarters in Redwood Shores, California.

Oracle Aoyama Center Building, with Lexus International Gallery Aoyama

Oracle HQ in Series

The Oracle Conference Center at the Oracle Corp. headquarters in Redwood Shores, California

Fountain in the Oracle lake, Redwood Shores

Oracle Corporation have a major business campus at Thames Valley Park in Reading, England

Oracle Corporation HQ

Sponsorships

BMW ORACLE Racing USA 71 moored at Oracle headquarters in Redwood Shores, California.

On 20 October 2006, the Golden State Warriors and the Oracle Corporation announced a 10-year agreement in which the Oakland Arena would become known as the "Oracle Arena".

Larry Ellison's sailing team competes as BMW Oracle Racing.

Sean Tucker's "Challenger II" stunt bi-plane performs frequently at air shows around the US. ((http://www.oracle.com/cluboracle/teamoracle/sponsors.html))

Trivia

The closest airport to the Oracle World Corporate Headquarters, San Carlos Airport, uses the IATA code "SQL". This coincidence has nothing to do with the SQL Language: the airport acquired its code well before the founding of the Oracle Corporation.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Oracle.com FAQ, oraFAQ.com
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "Financial Tables". Oracle Corporation Investor Relations. http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=ORCL+Income+Statement&annual. Retrieved 2010-02-18. 
  3. ↑ Verberne, Balder (2008-08-07). "Software Top 100: Highlights". Software Top 100 website. Software Top 100 Foundation. http://www.softwaretop100.org/highlights2008.php. Retrieved 2009-07-19. "The Top 10 saw little changes in 2008. [...] All companies in the first 7 positions stayed in their seats. Microsoft leads the Software Top 100 as it has done for at least five years in a row. The company extended its lead over IBM and Oracle. [...] Oracle –number 3- stayed on its acquisitive path and grew revenues with 14%." 
  4. ↑ NY Daily News: Oracle's Larry Ellison grabs top spot on best-paid list
  5. ↑ CEOWorld Magazine:University of Illinois drop out Lawrence J. Ellison of Oracle: highest paid Technology CEO
  6. ↑ [1], page 1. Retrieved 2010-07-16
  7. ↑ Codd, E.F. (1970). "A Relational Model of Data for Large Shared Data Banks". Communications of the ACM 13 (6): 377–387. doi:10.1145/362384.362685. http://www.acm.org/classics/nov95/toc.html. 
  8. ↑ Oracle anniversary timeline, page 4. Retrieved 2008-05-15
  9. ↑ Oracle Systems Corporation Renamed Oracle Corporation
  10. ↑ Oracle anniversary timeline,
  11. ↑ Oracle Content Management SDK oracle.com
  12. ↑ http://www.sans.org/press/oracle_pass.php Oracle Password Hashing Algorithm Weaknesses and Vulnerability
  13. ↑ http://awads.net/wp/2005/11/10/oracle-responds-to-the-password-hashing-algorithm-paper/ letter to customers
  14. ↑ Brian Carr et al, "Oracle 11g Security Enhancements," Oracle 11g New Features, Rampant Tech Press, North Carolina, 2008.
  15. ↑ "Oracle Sues SAP". Oracle Corporation. http://www.oracle.com/sapsuit/index.html. Retrieved 2008-11-11. "On March 22, 2007, Oracle filed a lawsuit in U.S. Federal District Court in the Northern District of California against SAP. Among the claims made against SAP are violations of the Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and California Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, Unfair Competition, Intentional and Negligent Interference with Prospective Economic Advantage and Civil Conspiracy." 
  16. ↑ Oracle to Acquire BEA Systems Press release via prnewswire.com Jan 16 2008
  17. ↑ Oracle Introduces The HP Oracle Database Machine: Delivering 10x Faster Performance Than Current Oracle Data Warehouses
  18. ↑ "Oracle and Sun" oracle.com
  19. ↑ Oracle Buys Sun Press release 20th April 2009, oracle.com
  20. ↑ Oracle launches Enterprise Manager Ops Center
  21. ↑ "Oracle Buys Phase Forward". Taume News. 2010-04-18. http://news.taume.com/World-Business/Auto/alfa-romeo-giulietta-to-debut-at-the-2010-geneva-motor-show-13845. Retrieved 2010-04-19. 
  22. ↑ Oracle indicted for Fraud by the Department of Justice
  23. ↑ Physical user guide
  24. ↑ Eric Lai (2009-05-04). "Oracle aims at Microsoft with upgraded Beehive collaboration". Computerworld. http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9132500&intsrc=news_ts_head. Retrieved 2009-05-15. 
  25. ↑ "Oracle Collaboration Suite". Basex: TechWatch. Basex. 2009. http://www.basexblog.com/2009/05/06/in-the-briefing-room-oracle-beehive/. Retrieved 2009-05-06. "We recently had our first look at the new version of Beehive, Oracle’s collaboration solution and replacement for the Oracle Collaboration Suite." 
  26. ↑ Grancher, Eric (2009-05-15). "Oracle and storage IOs, explanations and experience at CERN" (PDF). CERN-IT-Note-2009-005. Geneva: CERN. p. 4. http://cdsweb.cern.ch/record/1177416/files/CHEP2009-28-24.pdf?version=2. Retrieved 2010-01-17. "The Oracle Exadata storage server version 1 is a solution developed by Oracle and HP in which part of the processing, normally performed by the database instance, is performed at the storage system level." 
  27. ↑ "Q Software: The JD Edwards Security People". Q Software Global Limited. 2009. http://www.qsoftware.com. Retrieved 2009-10-30. "Q Software is the first Oracle Certified Partner to provide security, risk management and compliance software with Oracle-validated integration to JD Edwards EnterpriseOne and World." 
  28. ↑ "Oracle Academy". oracle.com. https://academy.oracle.com/. Retrieved 2009-06-04. 
  29. ↑ Oracle University oracle.com
  30. ↑ "Global Customer Support Security Practices" (PDF). Oracle Corporation. 2008-04-01. pp. 1. http://www.oracle.com/support/collateral/customer-support-security-practices.pdf. Retrieved 2008-08-25. "Your registration on MetaLink uses a unique Customer Support Identifier (CSI) linked to your Support contract." 
  31. ↑ "Global Customer Support Security Practices" (PDF). Oracle Corporation. 2008-04-01. pp. 1. http://www.oracle.com/support/collateral/customer-support-security-practices.pdf. Retrieved 2008-08-25. "GCS is a global operation, with Service Request (SR) management based on global competencies" 
  32. ↑ "Oracle Introduces Next-generation Customer Support Platform: My Oracle Support". Oracle Press releases. California: Oracle Corporation. 2008-09-22. http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/017506_EN.doc. Retrieved 2008-09-25. "My Oracle Support integrates Oracle's [...] support portal, Oracle MetaLink, with its [...] configuration management platform, Oracle Software Configuration Manager, to deliver [..] support capabilities" 
  33. ↑ Critical Patch Updates and Security Alerts. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
  34. ↑ Oracle cuts rewards for last-minute deals Gilbert, Alorie (2002-06-20). CNET News.com via zdnetasia.com
  35. ↑ The Real Story of Informix Software and Phil White Author: Steve W. Marting, Website: storyofinformix.com Amazon link
  36. ↑ http://www.oracle.com/corporate/analyst/reports/infrastructure/dbms/idc-201692.pdf
  37. ↑ [2]
  38. ↑ Vonage places call for EnterpriseDB database Eric Lai, 20th Nov 2006, computerworld.com
  39. ↑ Karen Gullo and Connie Guglielmo (March 22, 2007). "Oracle Claims Rival SAP Stole Software and Data (Update4)". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=atMLL7_FAEkw. Retrieved 2007-03-22. 
  40. ↑ "Oracle – the #1 Database for Deploying SAP Applications". Oracle Corporation. http://www.oracle.com/newsletters/sap/index.html. Retrieved 2008-11-11. "Two thirds of SAP customers around the world, in every industry, choose to run their applications on Oracle databases." 
  41. ↑ Safe Passage Program
  42. ↑ Oracle Helping SAP Customers to get "OFF SAP" Oracle press release, 14th Jun 2005, oracle.com
  43. ↑ Oracle sues SAP Oracle press release, 22 March 2007, oracle.com
  44. ↑ Oracle sues SAP 3rd July 2007 oracle.com
  45. ↑ Gohring, Nancy; Elizabeth Montalbano. "Maintenance Contracts at Heart of Oracle, SAP Dispute". CIO India. http://www.cio.in/news/viewArticle/ARTICLEID=3017. Retrieved 2008-06-09. 
  46. ↑ The lawsuit As barometer: SAP finally scores big with TomorrowNow Joshua Greenbaum, 22nd Mar 2007, blogs.ZDNet.com
  47. ↑ SAP Responds to Oracle Complaint
  48. ↑ Davidson, Mary Ann (February 2002). "Unbreakable: Oracle's Commitment to Security" (PDF). Redwood Shores, California: Oracle Corporation. p. 2. http://www.cgisecurity.com/database/oracle/pdf/unbreak3.pdf. Retrieved 2010-03-21. "Beginning in November 2001, Oracle began a marketing campaign: Unbreakable. The security portions of the campaign reference Oracle’s 14 independent security evaluations [...]" 
  49. ↑ "Executive Strategy Weekly Edition". Oracle Information inDepth Newsletters. Oracle Corporation. 2009-01-07. http://www.oracle.com/newsletters/information-indepth/executive-strategy-weekly/jan-07-09/index.html. Retrieved 2009-09-21. "In the first installment of the Oracle ClearView video series, host Richard Levitt explains how Oracle Exadata—the combination of superfast HP hardware and supersmart Oracle software—is bringing powerful benefits to the enterprise." 
  50. ↑ Oracle Rethinks Its Dumpster-Diving Ways 29 April 2004, Lisa Vaas, eweek.com
  51. ↑ Swing Shift Column, San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, California) (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News) (December , 2000)
  52. ↑ The Register: "Oracle security claim"
  53. ↑ The Register: "How to hack unbreakable Oracle"
  54. ↑ Oracle list of major Security certifications Oracle list of major Security certifications
  55. ↑ Chicago Tribune: "Ashcroft breaks with tradition by lobbying, has earned $269,000"
  56. ↑ [3] Commission clears Oracle's proposed acquisition of Sun Microsystems
  57. ↑ http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-20012193-92.html
  58. ↑ http://www.faqs.org/sec-filings/100811/Phase-Forward-Inc_8-K/
  59. ↑ http://www.itbusinessedge.com/cm/blogs/lawson/oracles-health-care-power-play/?cs=40770
  60. ↑ http://www.sacramentopress.com/headline/25072/Health_IT_MA_Impact_of_Oracle_Acquisition_of_Phase_Forward
  61. ↑ http://news.cnet.com/8301-30684_3-20013546-265.html
  62. ↑ http://mobile.venturebeat.com/2010/08/12/oracle-sues-google-over-android/
  63. ↑ http://tirania.org/blog/archive/2010/Aug-13.html
  64. ↑ http://www.fiercecio.com/story/oracles-lawsuit-against-google-could-have-far-reaching-ramifications/2010-08-15
  65. ↑ http://pastebin.com/YtuvZkUJ
  66. ↑ http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-20012631-56.html
  67. ↑ Vance, Ashlee (August 9, 2010). "Oracle Chief Faults H.P. Board for Forcing Hurd's Resignation". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/technology/10hewlett.html?_r=1&ref=business. 
  68. ↑ Naudé, Frank. "So, who is Scott?". FAQ about Oracle Corporation. Oracle FAQ. http://web.archive.org/web/20080116210119/http://www.orafaq.com/faqora.htm#SCOTT. Retrieved 2009-09-09. "Bruce Scott was one of the first employees at [...] Software Development Laboratories [...] Bruce was co-author and co-architect of Oracle V1, V2 and V3. The SCOTT schema (EMP and DEPT tables), with password TIGER, was created by him. Tiger was the name of his cat." 
  69. ↑ 69.0 69.1 Kennedy, Helen (2010-01-22). "Billboard with Charles Phillips and mistress YaVaughnie Wilkins yanked from Times Square". New York Daily News. http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/01/22/2010-01-22_billboard_with_charles_phillips_and_mistress_yavaughnie_wilkins_yanked_from_time.html. Retrieved 2010-01-22. 
  70. ↑ May, Patrick (2010-01-22). "Oracle exec's dirty laundry hung up on Times Square". San Jose Mercury News. http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14250251. Retrieved 2010-01-22. 
  71. ↑ IMDb: Trivia for Bicentennial Man

External links

Oracle Corp.
Corporate Directors:
Jeffrey Berg · H. Raymond Bingham · Michael Boskin · Safra A. Catz · Larry Ellison · Hector Garcia-Molina · Joseph Grundfest · Jeffrey O. Henley · Mark Hurd · Jack F. Kemp · Donald L. Lucas · Naomi O. Seligman
Annual Revenue: $26.82 billion USD 2010 · Employees: 105,000 · Website: www.oracle.com
Companies of the NASDAQ-100 index

Activision Blizzard · Adobe · Airy · Akamai · Altera · Amazon.com · Amgen · Apollo Group · Apple · Applied Materials · Autodesk · ADP · Baidu · Bed Bath & Beyond · Biogen Idec · BMC Software · Broadcom · C.H. Robinson · CA · Celgene · Cephalon · Cerner · Check Point · Cintas · Cisco · Citrix · Cognizant · Comcast · Costco · Dell · Dentsply · DirecTV · Dish Network · eBay · Electronic Arts · Expedia · Expeditors International · Express Scripts · Fastenal · First Solar · Fiserv · Flextronics · FLIR Systems · Foster Wheeler · Garmin · Genzyme · Gilead Sciences · Google · Henry Schein · Hologic · Illumina · Infosys · Intel · Intuit · Intuitive Surgical · J. B. Hunt · Joy Global · KLA Tencor · Lam Research · Liberty Media · Life Technologies · Linear Technology · Logitech · Marvell · Mattel · Maxim Integrated Products · Microchip Technology · Microsoft · Millicom · Mylan · NetApp · News Corporation · NII · Nvidia · O'Reilly Automotive · Oracle · Paccar · Patterson Companies · Paychex · Priceline.com · Qiagen · Qualcomm · Research In Motion · Ross Stores · SanDisk · Seagate · Sears · Sigma-Aldrich · Staples · Starbucks · Stericycle · Symantec · Teva Pharmaceutical · Urban Outfitters · VeriSign · Vertex Pharmaceuticals · Virgin Media · Vodafone · Warner Chilcott · Wynn Resorts · Xilinx · Yahoo!