Oracle: Don't Hate the Player, Hate the Game
Lots of you say you hate Oracle. But based on their latest financials, you don't hate 'em enough to leave.
In light of Oracle's bountiful fourth-quarter and fiscal year 2010 results, I could not think of a better way to sum up the company that Oracle has become than with this: "Don't Hate the Playa, Hate the Game."
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That description, for the unhip, is best defined by the Urban Dictionary: "Do not fault the successful participant in a flawed system; try instead to discern and rebuke that aspect of its organization which allows or encourages the behavior that has provoked your displeasure."
Oracle has a legion of former customers and frightened competitors who harbor more than just a little "displeasure" toward the enterprise computing giant, toward celebrated CEO Larry Ellison, and toward Oracle's unabashed financial success. (That would be nearly $9 billion in "operating cash flow" this quarter. Bank.)
And I believe the Oracle folks love that "us against the world" mantra. They eat that enmity for breakfast.
But in light of the aforementioned phrase I introduced, let us not confuse 21st-century business reality with Disney-ified customer utopia. Definition 2 from the Urban Dictionary states: "Don't dislike someone for their actions, consider instead the situation that causes it."
Oracle is simply playing "the game" today better than most others—despite analyst, customer and competitor grumblings, Oracle has this enterprise computing market figured out.
Oh, you can mutter under your breath about Oracle's non-negotiable 22 percent maintenance and support fees all you want. Throw your hands in the air bemoaning how locked in you are to Oracle's stack. Bitch about the lack of innovation (other than by acquisition) emanating from Redwood Shores. And kvetch to colleagues about how your Oracle sales rep doesn't understand your business's needs.
But you let it all happen. You enabled Oracle's continued existence.
If you, as an Oracle customer, are pissed off because of any or all of that, then make a change, however small or large. Vote with your feet.
With these most recent results, I don't see too much angst in Oracle's customer base. I don't see any customers leaving in droves. In fact, I see that new software license revenues, long considered a significant indicator of growth, rose 14 percent to $3.1 billion in the last quarter.
Sure, Oracle slashed and burned its way through Sun's workforce to rake in that $400 million in operating income from Sun during the quarter. But other than some compelling Sun workers' stories, there's not much drama to Oracle's M&A strategy. We've seen it time and again. We've witnessed them play the game so damn well.
But please, don't hate the playa.
Don't like the game Oracle's playing? Then change the rules.
Do you Tweet? Follow me on Twitter @twailgum. Follow everything from CIO.com on Twitter @CIOonline.
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