Oracle
Oracle is a global technology company specializing in database software, enterprise software, hardware, and cloud applications and infrastructure.
Known for the world’s first autonomous database, Oracle was a pioneer in developing database and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. Over 40 years later, Oracle is one of the world’s largest software companies with several industry-recognized solutions addressing the next generation of data management, engineering, and hybrid infrastructure. Through its extensive portfolio of products and services, the enterprise vendor serves more than 400,000 clients worldwide.
This article looks at the vendor’s products, solutions, clients, competitors, channel program, industry recognition, and company background.
Oracle Products and Solutions
Cloud Infrastructure
The Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) portfolio is robust, with 13 solution areas covering 80 infrastructure and platform services helping clients migrate, build, and run workloads on cloud-native applications and platforms. Through the OCI Cloud Adoption Framework, clients have access to a comprehensive stack for Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS), SaaS, and packaged applications.
Designed to optimize application workloads, the OCI is ideal for migrating on-premises Oracle applications or hosting custom and independent software vendor (ISV) applications.
OCI Services
Analytics & Business Intelligence: ERP, HCM, and hybrid infrastructure analytics.
Application Integration: Integrate hybrid workloads with API management and SOA.
Application Security: Identity and access management (IAM), firewalls, and CASB.
Compute: Elastic capacity for Arm, GPU, HPC, and virtual machine (VM) processing.
Compliance: Secure data with virtualization, vulnerability scanning, and threat intelligence.
Containers and Functions: Microservices using functions, Kubernetes, and Docker.
Data Lakehouse: Big data management for catalog, flow, integration, and streaming.
Developer Services: Build, deploy, and provision cloud apps with a stack of developer tools.
ML & AI: Build and train deep learning models for products and services.
Networking: Isolated virtual cloud network (VCN) with VPN, load balancing, and DNS.
Observability & Management: Monitor and manage databases, Java, and app performance.
Open Source Databases: Managed MySQL service to run production-grade applications.
Oracle Databases: Run the company’s converged, multimodal database management system.
Storage: On-demand storage for local, object, file, block, and archive data systems.
Oracle Cloud Regions
As a leading cloud service provider (CSP), Oracle has an international network of data centers serving commercial and public clients in 37 regions between North America, EMEA, Latin America, and APAC. The enterprise vendor can satisfy various requirements for data sovereignty, disaster recovery, tenancy, and compliance.
Cloud Applications
Oracle’s portfolio of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) covers the gamut of software-aided business processes. Though known for serving enterprise clients, the IT giant’s cloud-based applications target organizations of all sizes with technologies for scaling and enhancing business models.
Enterprise Resource Planning
The Oracle Cloud ERP suite includes solutions addressing project management, procurement, performance, analytics, risk, and financials for the spectrum of enterprise software needs. The industry leader’s ERP coverage also extends to enterprise performance management (EPM) and supply chain management (SCM) software.
Read about pricing and features with Oracle Cloud ERP Pricing & Reviews on TechnologyAdvice.
Enterprise Performance Management
With IT systems playing an expanding role in modern business, the Oracle Cloud EPM platform consolidates, monitors, and analyzes enterprise processes’ technical and functional components. From long-range planning to tools for cost management, compliance, taxes, and data management, EPM aims to accelerate clients’ operational and financial modeling and business impact.
Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing
Physical and software supply chains remain critical to an increasingly globalized business ecosystem. The Oracle Cloud SCM & Manufacturing unit covers nine areas to ease and enable clients to navigate these complexities with management software for inventory, orders, product life cycles, and procurement. Administrators can reduce disruptions and create efficiencies with end-to-end visibility of production, demand, supply, and order data.
Human Capital Management
The Oracle Cloud HCM solution unifies human resources (HR), payroll, talent, and workforce management, to optimize employer and employee experiences. With Oracle ME – short for My Experience – organizations can consolidate employee communications, networking, workflows, and support into a single, open platform.
Customer Experience (CX)
As digital experiences drive user loyalty, Oracle has a handful of solution areas to address customer experience (CX), including advertising, marketing, sales, and channel services. Clients have access to tools for content management, IAM, low-code development, process automation, and user experience (UX) through the CX platform.
NetSuite
In 2016, Oracle acquired cloud computing company, NetSuite, solidifying its range of cloud-based software solutions. The global business unit offers almost as wide a range of cloud applications as its parent company, covering ERP, HR, analytics, and infrastructure.
Additional NetSuite solution areas include:
Accounting Software: Manage financials like general ledgers, cash, AR/AP, and assets.
Commerce: Manage inventory, orders, connectors, clients, and Points of Sale.
Customer Resource Management: Manage relationships and automate marketing and sales.
Global Business Management: Manage international business units and complexities.
Professional Services Automation: Manage project lifecycles from start to finish.
Learn more about the company’s offerings with Datamation’s Oracle Products & Services Data Portfolio.
Target Markets
As a comprehensive IT business vendor, Oracle’s market appeal covers at least 20 industries, including:
- Communications, high technology, and professional services
- Construction, engineering, and industrial manufacturing
- Consumer goods, food and beverage, hospitality, travel, and transportation
- Energy, water, oil and gas, and life sciences
- Financial services, government, education, and healthcare
Industry Recognition and Reviews
Oracle’s over four decades of experience and portfolio of solutions consistently receive industry recognition from analyst reports like The Forrester Wave, Gartner Magic Quadrant, and IDC MarketScape.
The Forrester Wave
| Industry Report | When | What |
| B2B Standalone Customer Data Platforms | Q4 2021 | Leader |
| Digital Experience Platforms | Q3 2021 | Leader |
| Dynamic Data Masking Solutions | Q3 2021 | Contender |
| Sales Force Automation Solutions | Q2 2021 | Leader |
| Cloud Human Capital Management Suites | Q2 2020 | Leader |
Gartner Magic Quadrant and Peer Insights
| Industry Report | When | What |
| Cloud ERP for Product-Centric Enterprises | 2021 | Leader |
| Cloud AI Developer Services | 2021 | Niche Player |
| Cloud Core Financial Management Suites | 2021 | Leader |
| Oracle Cloud Application Services | 2021 | Niche Player |
| Enterprise Integration Platform as a Service | 2020 | Leader |
Oracle has one of the most substantial presences on Gartner Peer Insights, with more than 8,800 client reviews and an average score of 4.3 out of 5 stars. The vendor holds reviews in over 56 solution categories, with five actively featured as Customer Choices by Gartner.
Below are the company’s most reviewed and highest-ranked solution categories (>100 reviews):
Most Reviewed Solutions
- Cloud Database Management Systems
- Analytics and Business Intelligence Platforms
- Cloud ERP for Product-Centric Enterprises
- Human Capital Management Suites
- Sales Force Automation
Highest Ranked Solutions
- Enterprise Low-Code Application Platform
- Cloud HCM Suites for Large Enterprises
- Cloud Financial Planning and Analysis Solutions
- Configure, Price, and Quote Application Suites
- Application Platforms
Clients highlight general reliability and scalability, interoperability with other popular solutions, and depth and breadth of features in customer reviews.
IDC MarketScape
| Industry Report | When | What |
| Worldwide Industrial IoT Platforms and Applications | 2021 | Major Player |
| Worldwide Manufacturing Field Service Mgmt Apps | 2021 | Leader |
| Worldwide Advanced Authentication Identity Security | 2021 | Major Player |
| Worldwide SD-WAN Infrastructure | 2021 | Major Player |
| U.S. IT Training | 2021 | Major Player |
Hear from company leader Ross Brown on Oracle Cloud and Multicloud on eWeek.
Oracle Competitors
- Adobe
- Amazon Web Services
- Dell Technologies
- HPE
- IBM
- Microsoft
- SAP
- Snowflake
- Teradata
Partner Program and Alliance Ecosystem
The Oracle Partner Network (OPN) is an extensive list of over 12,000 channel partners and alliances with top IT solution providers, including global system integrators (GSI) of Accenture, Deloitte, KPMG, and PwC, and thousands more across independent software vendors (ISV), cloud service partners, cloud resellers, and license and hardware partners.
Some notable partners across the IT products and services ecosystem include:
| Atos Capgemini Cognizant DXC Technology Fujitsu |
IBM Infosys Litmus LTI NTT Data |
Perficient Tata Consultancy Services Tech Mahindra Wipro Zoom |
Companies looking to join the OPN can choose between three tracks for cloud business models or the License & Hardware Track for utilizing Oracle’s software or hardware products.
| Cloud Track | Description |
| Build | Develop and sell products and services built with Oracle Cloud. |
| Sell | Resell Oracle Cloud or License & Hardware products. |
| Service | Implement, deploy, and manage Oracle Cloud services. |
Learn why Oracle’s new cloud AI services aim to bring out-of-the-box machine learning to the SMB masses on TechRepublic.
Oracle: Company Background
In 1977, three software engineers led by Larry Ellison established Software Development Laboratories (SDL). Two years later, the budding database company changed its name to Relational Software Inc (RSI) before landing on Oracle Systems Corporation in 1983. First developed for the CIA, the commercial release of the Oracle Database Management System (DBMS) would set the foundation for the company’s dominant position in data management.
Growth, Acquisitions, and Financials
Oracle’s dominance is partly due to a proactive M&A strategy in the 21st century, boasting $80 billion spent on more than 150 acquisitions. Some of the enterprise company’s most notable additions include:
| Company | Business | Value | Year |
| PeopleSoft | Enterprise software solutions. | $10.3 billion | 2005 |
| Siebel Systems | Customer relationship management. | $5.9 billion | 2006 |
| Hyperion | Enterprise performance management. | $3.3 billion | 2007 |
| BEA Systems | Enterprise application and middleware. | $8.5 billion | 2008 |
| Sun Microsystems | Computer, server, and software solutions. | $7.4 billion | 2010 |
| NetSuite | Cloud enterprise resource planning. | $9.3 billion | 2016 |
| Cerner | Health IT services, devices, and hardware. | $28.3 billion | 2021 |
Other recent acquisitions show an ongoing commitment to customer-centric, cloud-based, and AI technologies while bolstering Oracle’s NetSuite segment.
For the fiscal year ending in 2021, Oracle reported total revenues exceeding $40 billion. As of April 1, 2022, the enterprise company’s market capitalization was almost $219 billion.
Oracle supports over 430,000 customers in 175 countries with a workforce of 133,000 associates. As a leading innovator, the company employs more than 41,000 developers and engineers, holds over 18,500 patents globally, and has invested $56 billion in research and development since 2012.
Recent Coverage
- New Oracle rewards program pays customers to adopt more cloud | TechRepublic
- Oracle vs SQL Server: RDBMS Comparison | Datamation
- Oracle adds employees experience products to its HCM suite | TechRepublic
- Oracle BlueKai Data Management Platform | Datamation
- Oracle Data Integrator vs SAP Data Services | TechRepublic
- Oracle Relational Database Management System Review | Datamation
- SAP BusinessObjects vs Oracle BI | BI Tool Comparison | TechRepublic
