Along with Microsoft and IBM, Oracle is one of the three largest
software companies in the world. It specializes in database and
middleware software, as well as applications, but also has a large
consulting business through which it offers strategy and analysis,
business process optimization, product implementation, enhancements
and upgrades, and ongoing managed services.
The firm was founded by Larry Ellison in 1977 as Software
Development Laboratories. The name, of course, didn't stick. After
a brief run from 1979 to 1982 as Relational Software, it became
Oracle Systems, reflecting the success of its flagship product, the
Oracle Database. The firm's history in the consulting biz doesn't
go back quite as far, however, having developed out of a sales
force split in 1992 that divided sales personnel into those selling
database software and those selling applications. During the tech
boom of the late 1990s, applications and consulting services were
in such high demand that the firm's services division tripled its
revenue and became a major practice area.
Seeking the Oracle
The firm is active in an enormous range of industries, including
aerospace and defense, automotive, chemicals, communications,
consumer products, education and research, energy, engineering and
construction, financial services, health care, high tech, homeland
security, industrial manufacturing, life sciences, professional
services, public sector, retail, travel and transportation, and
utilities. Its client list features corporations starting with
every letter of the alphabet, with AstraZeneca, BP and Coca-Cola at
the start to Xerox, the YMCA and Zebra Technologies bringing up the
rear. Oracle claims that its technology is a component of the
databases of 99 of the Fortune 100.
Because the firm is a major software vendor, it is frequently in
a position to offer consulting services to clients who have
purchased licenses or application packages. It's common in the
industry for IT companies to separate their services and software
lines, but Oracle is up front about tying the two together. The
firm often strikes deals to implement and maintain the software it
has just sold. This creates a dual relationship not only with its
clients, but also with its rivals. Oracle holds alliances with a
number of other vendors, such as Accenture, HP and IBM, with whom
it also competes.