Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Oracle Corporation (ORCL) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Boplicity who wrote (13663)	4/11/2000 6:06:00 PM
From: Bipin Prasad	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 19080

Some say, like forest research, that market is big enough for a few players. It can be some threat if only IBM can move as nimble as ORCL. I think IBM has almost every thing to be a bigger player than now except "Oracle spirit" and "Larry's drive". Haven't we seen Enough good companies with every thing, but without "Drive and Winning Spirit"? ZZZZZZ...... that's what they do for a long time! In short, not much threat so far, imho. later, InSook Prasad

To: Boplicity who wrote (13663)	4/11/2000 11:11:00 PM
From: lml	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 19080

How much of a threat is IBM? IBM is always a threat, and so are the likes of CMRC, SEBL, ITWO. An outstanding company like ORCL is always mindful of the competition. To borrow from Andy Grove, "only the paranoid survive." And you will agree ORCL is undoubtedly a survivor. But the uniqueness of ORCL, and what one should also weigh when evaluating the threat of competition is vision. IMHO, IBM's foray into database management for Internet-based applications is reactionary one rather than visionary one. IBM likely sees continued rapid growth in Internet-based computing as a serious threat to its lucrative high-end mainframe business. It perceives a need to establish some form of bulkhead in Internet-based computing to fend off a likely eroding market share of combined server and mainframe business as more & more business operations presently running on mainframe, slowly migrate to Internet-based computing. So how successful will IBM be? Well, I think IBM will be successful in terms of achieving a greater market share of combined server & mainframe computing than it would otherwise but for making a foray into Internet-based database software at this juncture. At a very minimum, I think IBM would view success if it is merely able to retain market share in terms of combined Internet-based and mainframe database computing going out five years. I think the presumption is that internet-based computing is growing much more rapidly than mainframe computing, and that if IBM does not soon establish itself with a viable product in this high growth segment, it will be unable to attain the type of growth Gerstner hopes to achieve for his company. Ellison is a man of vision who has led ORCL to new high growth markets; Gerstener is a man who, IMHO, is more focused on the bottom line, and if he sees opportunities to grow IBM's business, as shown by Ellison"s guiding light for example, he's not going to put his ego in the way of realizing future corporate profits. He's going to go after the growth opportunity. JMO.