As database sales slow, Oracle adds functionality to bolster its
place in the market, writes Nick Langley
What is it?
Number five in the SSP/Computer Weekly
survey of the most in-demand IT skills, Oracle is the leading
relational database in terms of market share. Oracle tends to be
strongest on Unix, with Microsoft increasingly grabbing the small
to medium-sized NT-user market, and IBM dominant in the datacentre,
particularly on its own platforms.
Database sales increased in 2000/2001 and, until the first quarter
of 2002, Oracle was faring less badly than most IT companies in the
difficult economic climate. Explaining the company's worse than
expected results for the first few months of this year, Jeff
Henley, Oracle's chief financial officer, said Oracle was not
losing market share, but the markets where it is strong - dotcoms,
telecoms and IT manufacturing - have been the hardest hit by the
downturn.
Henley says companies are buying Oracle 9i Standard Edition now in
preparation for Enterprise Edition later. However, although Oracle
9i was released last year, many users are still working to install
Oracle 8/8i. An International Oracle User Group survey found that
20% of users have already installed 9i and 77% intend to do so in
the next year.
What's it for?
In a report published in December 2001
in which it compares the leading databases, Bloor Research says,
"In evolutionary terms, Oracle 8 was about objects, 8i was about
browsers, Java and the Internet, and 9i is about deployment."
Oracle 9i Enterprise Edition is the corporate version, and 9i
Standard Edition is for workgroups and departments. There is also
9i Personal Edition for single-user development and 9i Lite for
mobile devices.
Where did it originate?
Launched in 1977, Oracle was
the first relational database management system (RDBMS) on the
market, beating IBM by a couple of years. Oracle's user base grew
spectacularly through the 1980s and early 1990s. This global
success was driven by sales models developed in the UK.
Oracle is the database of choice for many enterprise resource
planning system suppliers. The shortage of skills and high rates of
pay created a booming market for contractors, although this is now
starting to slow.
What does it run on?
NT, Unix and, increasingly,
Linux.
What makes it special?
Bloor's report says, "While we
have rated IBM overall leader and leader in terms of application
support, we have scored Oracle highest for underlying technology."
It adds, "[Oracle's strategy is] devoted to centralisation, whereas
IBM's approach is geared towards federation. That is, IBM's
approach is about managing data wherever it currently is, whereas
Oracle's approach is about centralising information into a single
location."
Like other database suppliers, Oracle has been putting more
functionality into the database, most recently it has addressed
datawarehousing and content management.
How difficult is it?
Following either the database
administrator or developer skills routes will take four to six
weeks of intensive and expensive classroom training.
Where is it used?
Oracle is promoting its product as
more than just a database - it is also an application server (which
can be bought separately, but overlaps and is closely linked to the
database), a mail server, a platform for content management, an XML
database and a datawarehouse.
Don't confuse -
Oracle's Pro*C with Coracle, a version
of C for traditional boat builders.
Few people know -
According to Partridge's Dictionary
of Historical Slang, "to work the oracle" means "to raise money".
It certainly worked until the last quarter.
What's coming up?
The next release of 9i, with
additional XML and datawarehousing support. New Intel/Linux servers
that should offer lower costs and a more stable environment than
Windows NT.
Rates of pay: Oracle
Systems analyst £30,000
Senior systems analyst £44,000
Systems developer £34,000
Senior systems developer £42,000
Technical support manager £42,000
Project manager £44,000
Development manager £54,000
Source: SSP/Computer Weekly Survey of Appointments Data and
Trends
Training
Oracle offers a range of
classroom, CD and Web-based training (see
http://education.
oracle.com). There is also a thriving independent sector
offering general and specialist courses. Try
www.intelinfo.com/free_oracle_training.