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

To: joe who wrote (9196)	12/18/1998 8:19:00 AM
From: John Wright	Respond to of 19080

Joe, thanks for your informative response. I agree, one of the big benefits from using a central application server is definitely the TCO argument. I also agree that their will " always be a certain part of the corporate world that will pay the big $$ for the big hardware/software (that nobody else can afford) because it's important enough for them" As a former employee of a large multinational(Lipton (Unilever)) these guys/gals are always looking at ways to squeeze costs, including MIS costs, from their operations and infrastructure. If a central application server accessed through a universal thin client browser provides the solution then they will seriously look at it. If management/complexity of the apps can be pushed off the desktop and onto the application server it becomes less of a labour intensive management process. This 3 tier approach also seems to open up many other web based opportunities for business(big and small) as well. Integrated Front and Back Office web applications should alow businesses the ability to harness the inexpensive mass communication features of the web to transact many businesss-to-business and business-to-customer functional business processes such as sales, inventory, order entry, shipping and handling, bill and pay.....through the web. Oracle's vision and focus of "Enabling the Information Age through Internet Computing" seems to provide leadership in a part of the industry that is still very much in its infancy. Obviously I'm sold on the vision! On a different but related note, Oracle currently has a mkt cap of about $34b. I believe MSFT is somewhere close to $350b(correct me if I'm wrong). If one believes Oracles vision and what they are doing "Enabling the Information Age through Internet Computing" is the future then whether the current share price is $38 or $40 is somewhat academic. The question should be "where will Oracle's business, sales, profitability and share price be 5 years from now?" In my opinion, the sky's the limit. Thoughts, opinions, anyone? John P.S. If my ISP can one day offer me multidimensional web based applications through my browser rather than me having to go out and buy the software, bring it home, and have to load it on my hard drive I'm all for it.