According to Ellison, Oracle wants to change the way software is manufactured and sold. As a first step, the company has embarked upon a somewhat risky plan to consolidate its 75 different product offerings into two Web-centric packages. We engineer our products to work together. And Oracle has taken steps to prove it.
Users seem to be paying attention.
The fact that they use their own software is huge. However, the consolidation of products has both an upside and a downside, said Russom. Although it may simplify licensing and integration for many customers, he said, others may be forced to buy the application server in order to get the individual products they need, such as Oracle's reporting tool. And many long-time Oracle users say they aren't happy with pricing changes that have accompanied the new products. There are other risks to Ellison's long-term vision as well.