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.

Strategies & Market Trends : VOLTAIRE'S PORCH-MODERATED -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (53694)	7/11/2002 3:22:28 PM
From: Dealer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

ORCL--Oracle Takes Aim at Microsoft Thu Jul 11, 2:00 PM ET Teri Robinson, www.NewsFactor.com Issuing a direct challenge to Microsoft ( Nasdaq: MSFT - news), Oracle ( Nasdaq: ORCL - news) chairman and CEO Larry Ellison introduced new collaboration software that he claims will cost customers a fraction of what they would pay for Microsoft Exchange. IDC analyst Mark Levitt told NewsFactor that he is "optimistic" that Oracle will succeed in "providing an alternative for customers," but notes that the Oracle Collaboration Suite might not necessarily persuade users to make the switch from Exchange. The Oracle software includes e-mail, workflow, calendar and real-time conferencing capabilities, as well as file system support and voicemail. The company claims that it will offer users "relief" from what it calls Microsoft technology "pain points" by providing security, reliability, integration and universal access. Big Maybe The collaborative software market is poised for change, according to IDC's Levitt, who expects "steep competition" in the future. Oracle hopes to exploit the perceived weaknesses of powerhouse Microsoft, which has made great strides in collaboration but has drawn criticism for its expensive offerings. "Collaboration has become mission-critical for companies, but software hasn't kept pace due to lack of competition in the market," said Charles Rozwat, executive vice president of Server Technologies at Oracle. And the lack of choices has kept prices relatively high. But Oracle claims it will change all of that with a low-cost alternative to Microsoft. "The real questions are: Are companies running Exchange really hurting to the extent that they want to replace it, and is Oracle the database they want to replace it with?" said Levitt. "The answer to the first is maybe -- and to the second a bigger maybe." Exchanging Moans For all the users complaining about Exchange's limitations, many companies have not even moved to Exchange 2000, which would alleviate many of those problems. With its suite, officially due later this year, Oracle takes a centralized approach to collaboration by housing the software suite in a database. The company has integrated various forms of communication, including e-mail and voicemail. The company also has added search capabilities to let customers search with phrases, dates or other descriptors to find documents from e-mail to voicemail. While Levitt praised the integration aspect and acknowledged that "the idea that companies want to put all their users on one server is a concept that is interesting," he said that reality might prove different. "Companies don't push the limit on the number of users per server." Instead, Levitt noted, they generally limit it to a few hundred so that if one server goes down it does not take all the users with it. Centralized Complexity Oracle's centralized, integrated approach is backed by an aggressive pricing plan that charges the enterprise US$60 per named user. That price includes voice support and does not vary according to the number of devices a user employs. The company will also provide the suite on a subscription basis for $15 annually per user. Companies can outsource to Oracle for an additional $10 per user per month. According to Oracle, the strategy puts a $450,000 price tag on a collaborative offering that supports 5,000 users. This price is much less than the $1.28 million that Oracle says it would take to buy into a Microsoft solution. But Levitt said that Oracle's per-user fee is not necessarily cheaper. Depending on what a company's volume is, the price could go up or down. However, in terms of long-term total cost of ownership, Oracle is banking on customers seeing significant savings by reducing the number of Exchange server databases to a smaller amount of databases using Oracle's collaborative plan. "It will bring staffing and management down, but companies have already paid for Exchange and even if Oracle only costs a dollar per user, they still would be paying more," said Levitt. Industry Feedback The Oracle suite has drawn positive feedback from beta users, who claim the offering is right on track. "Oracle's centralized database architecture is consistent with how we plan to deliver applications to users in the future," said Emerson vice president and CIO Greg Carmichael. "And we anticipate it will enable us to greatly reduce server and administration costs." And Levitt noted that Oracle has been using the suite in-house for quite some time, which goes a long way toward proving its viability. "But we have to wait and see if [the suite] can go beyond Oracle."

To: stockman_scott who wrote (53694)	7/11/2002 5:27:42 PM
From: BirdDog	Respond to of 65232

Oh my, Scott.... John McCain? I am definitely Republican. Geesh... If he were President, we may very well be deep into world war three right now. The guy gets too hot headed. No matter who is President right now. Provided he did anything in investing or business. He would be under investigation concerning any hints of any kind of tie to any of the bankruptcy scandals. It's a given... Our current has nothing to worry about. They have integrity... BirdDog@Prairie.com

To: stockman_scott who wrote (53694)	7/11/2002 5:55:09 PM
From: RR	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 65232

Who wouldn't be under investigation? Get a grip. What do you REALLY know they did? Didn't fill out a form? Why? GUILTY! AS CHARGED! Ever done business tax, business law, SEC filings? Oh yeah, it's real black and white. Do you use a CPA for taxes? Why not do it yourself? After all, it's simple, just black and white. I'm amused by all the talk on SI of those that have turned on a dime on the current admin. Life goes on. RR

To: stockman_scott who wrote (53694)	7/12/2002 12:27:36 AM
From: Raymond Duray	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

MCCAIN ISN'T EVEN SCRATCHING THE SURFACE - POLICE STATE TACTICS IN NEW YORK "A nation of the crooks, by the crooks and for the crooks." scott, You might want to read and let others know that the Dept. of Justice appears to be involved in an active police state operation to suppress information regarding Operation 911. In the face of the hundreds of Unanswered Questions unansweredquestions.net the news that the DoJ is using legal maneuvers and the cover of "national secrets" to prevent citizens from learning the truth is become something to be alarmed about. scoop.co.nz This is serious business. The Bush team appears to be well on the way to completing their transformation of the U.S. into a fascist police state. A rogue nation where criminals who are in the President's inner circle are protected from any prosecution, no matter how heinous their crime. By the way, did you catch the news from Argentina today? Jeff Skilling, unindicted criminal who fleeced millions and lost billions is on a ski holiday with his new bride. Reminding us that in America, crime pays. Unless you are trying to steal your child's next meal. Then you get 25 years in the penitentiary. "A nation of the crooks, by the crooks and for the crooks." God Help America. -Ray