Giant company blues
And now for something a bit different. This one goes out to Dennis Howlett and David Terrar and provides a disturbing insight into the mindset of a giant company.
For those not in the know there is something of a battle going on in the software industry. salesforce.com has seen spectacular growth with its totally web browser based software. It's has gained an impressive client list including AOL, Cisco, Nokia and Merrill Lynch. This has not gone unnoticed by the giant company Oracle. Oracle have a history of buying rivals (Peoplesoft, Siebel etc). However, according to a recent BBC article salesforce.com will not be the target of takeover. The reason as the president of Oracle explains is:
"In this case, I think it would be more fun to crush them"
Oracle is a $11,000m+ company and the official message from the top is it's fun to crush our rivals. I find that very poor and disappointing. Large corporations should act responsibly, not sound like the school bully. These large corporations have a massive impact on our lives both locally and globally. I believe it's going to be vital for the future that these companies are forced to behave both ethically and environmentally. What kind of message is being sent out to Oracle's employees?
I wish salesforce.com well in their David and Goliath battle.
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It's odd that the "history" between Salesforce and Oracle is not explored in the article you link to. Larry Ellison (according to stories from around 2000 that are easily Googled) was an original investor in Salesforce.com and was asked to be on its Board. He was "disinvited" to be on the Board when Oracle launched a direct competitor.
Posted by: Rex Hammock | 27 February 2006 at 21:06
Rex, thanks for the background information. I also found an intiguing recent article. According to the article http://www.insidebayarea.com/businessnews/ci_3528366 "Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison is also a large shareholder in both NetSuite and Salesforce.com."
It was however Charles Phillips, the president of Oracle who made the comment. Personally, whatever way I look at it I think it is an most unstatisfactory public comment.
Posted by: Philip Woodgate | 28 February 2006 at 05:54
Philip,
I agree with you that Phillips' comment is quite appalling and amazing. Just to confirm something. Larry Ellison was one of the co-founder's of NetLedger that became NetSuite, which is independent, privately owned and started out as an Oracle business partner, but isn't anymore. I understand Larry still owns 51% of the company, and if you go to Management Team section on their About Us page he is still listed as founder and majority owner.
Mark Benioff of Salesforce.com and Zach Nelson, President and CEO of NetSuite are both ex-Oracle guys, and regularly disparage their old company in their presentations. Zach often uses the phrase "the stone age vendors like Oracle", and Mark is just as scathing. I understand inside Oracle, NetSuite is never mentioned (maybe because of Mr. Ellison's involvement) but Salesforce.com is quite a thorn in their side.
The fact that they can make these kind of statements in public, along with their general comments about on-demand (which they sell too) only shows they are rattled, and should give heart to we SaaS vendors.
Posted by: David Terrar | 28 February 2006 at 11:10
Come on guys - I've met Larry O and Chuck P - they're showmen. The point that you's all missing is the story about the elephant and the mouse. If you can't remember it try: the 34-minute time and expense app - thingamy, then see what happened to my traffic last week after AccWEB took the hump and for a finale - how's about looking at a few stats. New golden rules. And if that doesn't convince you then Philip - just why are you betting on Twinfield? :)
The Living Dead are screwed. they just don't know it yet.
Posted by: Dennis Howlett | 01 March 2006 at 02:55
Links that didsn't work in the text above:
elephant and mouse/34-minute app: http://www.accmanpro.com/?p=529
stats: http://www.accmanpro.com/?p=532
Posted by: Dennis Howlett | 01 March 2006 at 02:56
Personally, I think the showmanship should be left to the likes of Robbie Williams and Presidents of giant corporations should act responsibly. Still you are right they do know how to generate publicity.
Posted by: Philip Woodgate | 01 March 2006 at 06:27
I just noticed the photo - ironic overtones of David and Goliath? Classic!
So...is it fair to say that you can see through the hoop-lah ra-ra stuff, is it a distraction or is it irrelevant? The reality is the Americans love a show and are no longer worried about choice of words if it gets headlines. What amazes me is there's been no talk of libel.
Posted by: dahowlett | 01 March 2006 at 14:37
Showmanship aside, I believe these huge economic entities need to behave, if just for environmental and social reasons. What I would like to see is messages coming from the Board that are inspiring rather than bullying. For example, I like what American Express have done with the Red Card. If Oracle were selling credit cards I wouldn’t be using one.
Posted by: Philip Woodgate | 01 March 2006 at 20:45