Customer satisfaction with Oracle products and services has
increased significantly during the past year and the recession may
be the reason why, according to a survey from the database giant's
UK user group.
An independent survey of members of the UK Oracle User group
(UKOUG) has shown significant increases in user satisfaction with
the company's Internet application server, development tools and
database administrator tools.
Oracle CRM also got the thumbs up with 44.5% of customers saying
they were "happy" or "very happy". The survey also showed increased
satisfaction with Oracle's Gold support and Premium services
offerings.
Ronan Miles, chairman of the UKOUG, said there were two reasons for
the results. "First, Oracle has made an investment in customer
satisfaction during the last year, which has clearly been good for
users.
"Second, the recession is causing people to look more closely at
getting value from the systems they have."
Analysts and investors have commented on the fact that Oracle has
not yet rolled out a successor to its 9i database and 9i
application server, but Miles said, "User familiarity with these
products appears to breeding a more profitable use of existing
assets."
Improvements in Oracle's education and training offerings were well
received by user group members, while satisfaction with Oracle's
consulting arm stabilised. Fewer users were very unhappy, but fewer
were very happy, the survey found.
While the overall perception of Oracle has improved, said Miles,
"the traditional issues are still there. Users want cheaper
products they can use more flexibly, with better support".
The full survey will be published at the UKOUG annual conference in
Birmingham on 9 December.