Eric,
"I said its a commodity as a base platform for the apps. That means if you are a baan shop, and you have orcl as a dbms, vs. ifmx you see no real difference as a user".
This is a quote about the state of affairs TODAY. There is no perceived value in the engine for an apps user today. This is because the leading apps vendors want it that way - and Orcl is no longer a leading apps vendor. Otoh if orcl had exploited the position they had 5 years ago with a leading dbms AND a leading app, which they had at that time, the world would be a different place today. Orcl had the same opportunities 5 years ago to make Oracle apps standard as Msft has in making its apps standard. Remember, back then performance,locking etc. was a real problem and Orcl had a lot more to offer there than psft or sap.
SAP/Oracle/PSFT are all lacking in that area and they are all partnering with I2/MANU. Oracle and PSFT will come out with their own supply-chain software soon. So it is really not true that Oracle is losing to SAP and PSFT because of the lack of SCM.
You are correct, Oracle is losing for numerous reasons, only one of which is weak logistics, etc. However, understand that Oracle is #3 in a 3 horse race. They cannot afford to do things as well as SAP at this point. They need to gain mkt share, or they will decline - rapidly. SCM is an emerging area worth hitting - unless you have a better idea?? Psft is aggressive in the supply chain area and has investments in a number of scm-related startups (Ariba, etc) and they have purchased Red Pepper (finite cap scheduling). Sap says SCOPE will be ready Dec 1998 (too aggressive, I think). When is this SCM product you are talking about due from Orcl? A month? 3 months? Wheres their finite scheduling package? Last I saw, you couldn't even DROP SHIP from Oracle mfg!!
So overall, I take it you think the status quo is acceptable for Oracle to maintain its position in the industry?
Michelle |
