There's an Office suite vendor. Because of that reasoning, Ellison believes Commerce One and Ariba may not survive as standalone players in the e-business software market. Ellison said companies that offer a full range of business software, such as rival SAP, will survive, but that smaller companies, such as Commerce One and Ariba, will not because they don't offer a suite of products. Commerce One and Ariba develop software that helps link companies with their suppliers, customers and partners through online marketplaces and trading exchanges. They may be bought out by larger companies, or potentially become bit players, Ellison said.
People like to get all the pieces that fit together.
SAP will certainly be a survivor. Ariba and Commerce One representatives could not be reached for immediate comment. And if Oracle misses the deadline, the company will pay for all consulting costs after the 90 days, he said. Taking into consideration the new 90-day guarantee, Oracle will be able to install software much faster than rivals Siebel and PeopleSoft, Ellison said. Ellison also said Oracle will release on May 15 its next-generation 9i database, the company's flagship software that stores and collects corporate and Web data.