Oracle’s growth has skyrocketed as it ventures into cloud infrastructure and software-as-a-service business. Oracle is also betting big on generative AI with its major investment in Cohere, an AI startup specializing in creating images and text from scratch.
Nipun Agarwal, Senior Vice President for MySQL Database and HeatWave at Oracle, discusses these developments exclusively with theCUBE in an exclusive interview.
Its Database Software
Oracle has become known for their database software, which helps businesses store and retrieve large volumes of data. They also offer software applications designed to assist companies manage operations, relationships with customers, suppliers and employees as well as utilize cloud computing offerings so companies can access and analyze information from any device with Internet access.
Early on in its existence, Oracle struggled financially. By 1989, however, when they started targeting larger enterprise customers instead of individual consumers for support they managed to rebound financially and successfully rebound from any difficulties. Focusing on larger customers enabled the company to provide superior service and support, thus improving customer retention and loyalty. Furthermore, product development initiatives were undertaken, improving existing products while adding new features. Oracle introduced several innovative features with version 7, such as stored procedures and triggers, grid computing (allowing organizations to virtualize resources on low-cost commodity servers), online backups, case sensitive passwords and automated storage management ( as examples). Finally, version 12c brought several further enhancements such as automated storage management capabilities.
Oracle took advantage of its growing market share to expand their business through acquisition. PeopleSoft and Siebel Systems added to the company’s human resource management and customer relationship management software offerings; NetSuite added cloud ERP solutions.
As part of its software offerings, the company has also invested in hardware. Hardware revenues accounted for approximately 15% of total company revenue in 2021.
Oracle’s hardware business may not make up a substantial percentage of their total revenues or provide much in terms of diversification; nonetheless, it provides revenue sources as well as diversification.
Oracle has recently transitioned from selling licenses and subscriptions for database software to providing cloud services. Their cloud applications and platform services help companies reduce IT costs, enhance operational efficiencies and innovate more rapidly while remaining scalable to meet the needs of any business. Oracle’s success in the cloud has allowed it to increase revenue and profits while rival services such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform and IBM Cloud remain fierce competitors.
Its Applications
Oracle quickly expanded beyond database software to offer enterprise applications, which enable businesses to manage finance, human resources and supply chain management more efficiently. They also produced software for business intelligence and analytics – and now offers a comprehensive suite of cloud-based business software and platform services.
Oracle first acquired PeopleSoft, a leading player in HRM and CRM systems markets, to compete against SAP which led the ERP market and was one of the biggest CRM players. Oracle later purchased Siebel Systems – another leader in CRM – as well as BEA Systems which offered middleware to enterprise IT, giving Oracle an even stronger presence in business applications markets.
Today, Oracle technology powers many of the world’s most advanced enterprises and is used by millions of users worldwide. Their software supports numerous operating systems – UNIX, Linux and Windows among them – while they also produce hardware such as servers and storage.
Oracle continues to innovate and expand its product lineup, with an emphasis on business software and cloud computing. More recently, they have made significant investments in artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to better understand customer needs and offer greater value.
Oracle uses multiple marketing techniques to promote its products and services, including social media marketing, digital advertising, event sponsorships and working with influencers to spread word of its technologies and engage potential customers. Furthermore, the company is expanding globally by offering multicloud capabilities which allow customers to deploy applications on the cloud of their choice.
Oracle will continue to innovate and broaden its offerings in the near future, striving to provide industry-leading business applications across major industries, with particular attention being given to healthcare and retail. To facilitate integration of its software with hospital electronic health records and national public health systems for early detection of emerging pathogens before they become pandemics. In addition, cloud services will be integrated with on-premise software installations while autonomous database maintenance services will also be offered by this global giant.
Its Cloud Computing
Oracle provides its customers with an expansive suite of software and services to manage and analyze data, streamline operations, and enhance decision-making. Their broad product offering, coupled with their respected brand has allowed Oracle to remain an industry leader.
The Oracle Corporation was established in 1977 to offer software and services to business and technology professionals. Their main products include database management systems, application development tools and cloud computing services; while their consulting and support services also cater to both small businesses as well as larger corporations. They have their headquarters in Redwood City, California.
Oracle’s multiyear business restructuring has solidly transitioned the company towards cloud computing. In 2022, it acquired health care giant Cerner as part of its longstanding acquisition spree and made significant investments into its cloud infrastructure. Oracle exceeded revenue expectations but fell short on profit estimates for fiscal second quarter earnings report as software license and hardware sales fell while cloud services and support increased.
Oracle remains well positioned for long-term success despite these obstacles, with growth remaining steady and strong. Their core products remain highly sought-after while cloud offerings provide companies with cost-cutting and flexible alternatives to on-premise solutions. Their strong brand and deep investment in R&D have ensured Oracle remains a market leader in enterprise software.
Oracle will need to continue investing in new technologies to stay competitive, but their extensive product lineup, global presence and commitment to customer service should help secure their position as leaders in database and cloud computing industries.
Oracle utilizes various marketing channels – search engines, email, social media and content marketing – to promote its products and services to potential clients. Their strategies aim to build trust among prospects while raising brand recognition and driving traffic to its website. They utilize various tracking tactics in real-time for each of their marketing campaigns.
Its Services
Oracle has developed an array of services that complement its software offerings. Their technology solutions assist businesses of all sizes with managing data and streamlining operations, while its cloud services enable companies to take advantage of more cost-effective computing models. As these services have expanded so has Oracle’s earnings per share growth.
Database software market leader Oracle remains an uncontested leader on enterprise applications markets as well. They have taken an early lead by making strategic acquisitions. Furthermore, they have taken steps to make their on-premise software compatible with cloud applications.
Engineered Systems created by this company are pre-integrated systems designed to address specific business requirements, such as big data management or storage and management. Furthermore, there is a network of partners who sell or integrate its products, with sales enablement programs developed specifically to support them with marketing materials and support programs designed to enable sales.
At its core, Business Intelligence Middleware empowers users to make more informed business decisions by providing solutions that allow users to develop strategies, plan projects and optimize business processes more accurately; its solutions can also analyze data alerts, create reports and perform predictive analyses.
Oracle also offers cloud-integrated systems that help developers tackle issues associated with corporate application development, such as Tuxedo for app-service interactions and Java development tools that allow developers to select an ideal development strategy and manage complex apps efficiently.
Company executives have made significant inroads into artificial intelligence. Oracle is an investor in several generative AI startups, such as Cohere’s software that generates text, images and videos with simple human input. Ellison noted during an earnings call that customers had signed up for billions of capacity on what he refers to as its second-generation cloud – that will support Cohere in producing creative assets for customers.
Oracle may have struggled to remain profitable in a competitive cloud market, but thanks to their long history as innovators they should remain poised for continued success in years ahead. When the economy recovers their high margin products and diverse revenue streams should fuel significant growth.
