Oracle Emphasizes Enterprise 2.0 Credentials

A year on from staking a claim on the "Enterprise 2.0" landscape, Oracle last week sought to re-emphasize its credentials by briefing analysts and customers on its progress to-date.

The terms Enterprise Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 are often used interchangeably to describe the application of Web 2.0 ideas and technologies within the enterprise. However, a clear distinction exists between the use of these two terms, and this differentiation is important to maintain going forward, as it enables more meaningful discussions to be had when examining the future role of IT within the business.

Building on the somewhat vague and yet particular usage of the term Web 2.0, Enterprise Web 2.0 describes a fresh, and some would say new, approach to the design and provision of business applications that incorporates aspects such as social networking, collaboration, and real-time communication.

In addition, Enterprise Web 2.0 places more emphasis on the user’s "experience" or "joy of use", something of a novelty in enterprise IT these days.

By comparison, Enterprise 2.0 focuses on the composition and architecture of the IT ecosystem, and the associated business models that will support Enterprise Web 2.0 applications. Oracle’s decision to use the tag of Enterprise 2.0 sits comfortably with this terminology, as for the most part Oracle’s primary offerings sit at the infrastructure layer.

Viewed from the perspective of a potential customer, Oracle’s recent acquisition spree has left it with a number of overlapping products, solutions, and technologies in this area. Last week’s briefing therefore provided the company with an opportunity to reposition and re-emphasis its strategy.

Oracle has clearly been busy these past 12 months as evidenced by the release of several offerings that bring the power of Web 2.0 technologies to the enterprise. The company now offers a growing range of integrated tools and services for delivering "context-aware" applications, effectively collaborating, and simplifying the management and archiving of unstructured content. These are the products and technologies previously associated with Plumtree, BEA, and Stellent, all of which have now been subsumed by Oracle.

Oracle WebCenter Suite, one of four portal offerings from Oracle, provides the foundation for the company’s Enterprise 2.0 strategy. This user interaction and portal platform can be used to support and integrate ad hoc and structured business processes, and is also suited to custom and packaged enterprise applications.

Oracle’s new collaboration platform, Oracle Beehive, is an open platform for integrated and secure collaboration, and marks Oracle’s third attempt to break into the enterprise collaboration market. Oracle recently acquired the intellectual property assets of California-based Tacit Software for an undisclosed sum to expand its collaboration platform, and so it will be interesting to see where this takes Oracle.

It is clearly a mistake to think that Web 2.0 is all about technology, and likewise Enterprise Web 2.0. But it is also a mistake to dismiss the technology altogether. Selecting and implementing enterprise social software solutions, next-generation collaboration solutions, and Rich Internet Applications requires careful thought, consideration, and planning.

Organizations must now consider Oracle’s credentials and capabilities along with those of its competitors in this important new area.

Author: Richard Edwards @ www.computerwire.com

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Oracle vs. SAP revisited

Much of the Oracle vs. SAP talk we’ve heard recently has centered on the $1 billion lawsuit filed by Oracle against SAP.

But what about the Oracle vs. SAP battle outside the courtroom?

The two software giants have had a more longstanding feud in the applications space, and a new Forrester research report just declared a new winner. The report ranks Oracle’s application strategy ahead of SAP’s, a change from two years ago when Forrester said SAP was winning its war with Oracle.

The 2006 report credited SAP for the momentum it was gaining from its NetWeaver platform. That, along with SAP’s strong partnership strategy and customer base, put the company ahead of Oracle, Forrester analysts said.

Now, it looks like the promise of Fusion Applications is putting Oracle on top, at least in the eyes of analysts. The new Forrester report says that while SAP is simply focused on getting customers on its latest ERP software release, without looking ahead to the future, “Oracle’s vision for the future of its apps business is now clearer and more compelling,” according to this ITWorld article.

But whether Oracle stays on top is up to them: “If Oracle Fusion Applications fall flat, SAP wins by forfeit,” the report said.

Oracle may be winning the ERP applications battle, but let’s take a look at some other areas, many in which the fight is tough to call — who do you think emerges as the winner?

Customer Relationship Management (CRM )

Last year, analysts named SAP as No. 1 in CRM, ahead of Oracle’s Siebel CRM. It was reported that while Siebel was more widely deployed, SAP’s strategy of bundling CRM with ERP and other deals helps them drive in more revenue. Gartner’s 2008 Magic Quadrant report also showed SAP gaining the most ground in CRM.

What about the future? While Oracle is adding social networking to its CRM offerings, SAP’s hiring of former Oracle executive John Wookey, who has a strong CRM background, just may keep SAP on top.

Business Intelligence (BI)

SAP and Oracle both recently made major BI acquisitions, but it may be awhile until we see just how successfully they play out. SAP purchased Business Objects last year, and at this year’s TechEd conference, the CEO of Business Objects, John Schwarz, announced that the SAP BI product line will be supported through at least 2016. However, it will eventually merge with Business Objects to become one product line. Schwarz said that the company “brings new value for SAP customers by giving business users access to information without IT having to become involved.”

After Oracle acquired Hyperion last year, Charles Phillips, Oracle’s president said, “”We now have the most comprehensive BI product line.” Oracle executives also said the acquisition would allow them to offer a more holistic approach to BI, even when faced with the challenge of “addressing fragmented business challenges.” It should be interesting to see how.

Web 2.0

Since this is a relatively new area, and organizations are just starting to jump into Web 2.0, it should be interesting to see how Oracle and SAP choose to do so. In September, Oracle previewed new Web 2.0 and social CRM applications at Oracle OpenWorld. Earlier this year, SAP expert John Reed thought SAP had not yet caught up to Oracle:

”The problem is that SAP has yet to build a Web 2.0 tool set for its own customers that is fully integrated into SAP. In my opinion, this is one of the few areas where Oracle, with its WebCenter 2.0 toolkit, is well ahead of SAP. But SAP will get there,” Reed said.

There are endless ways we could compare these two software giants, but what do you think? In these areas (or in areas I didn’t address) who do you think is stronger — Oracle or SAP? Or does choosing one over the other simply depend on the needs of your organization?

Author: Shayna Garlick @ eyeonoracle.blogs.techtarget.com

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Oracle: Barclays Trims Ests, Target; But Stays Bullish

Barclays Capital software analyst Israel Hernandez this morning trimmed EPS estimates for Oracle (ORCL), while cutting his price target on the stock to $22 from $27. His EPS estimate for the May 2009 fiscal year drops to $1.44 from $1.55; for FY 2010, he goes to $1.55, from $1.76. The new numbers are below the Street at $1.49 and $1.66, respectively.

For FY Q2 ending November, he now sees 33 cents, down from 36 cents, and below the Street at 35 cents.

Hernandez wrote in a research note that the lower estimates reflect - surprise! - the deteriorating macro environment and currency headwinds. He sees ‘09 license growth down 4%; he previously had been expecting 10% growth. But Hernandez says that maintenance growth should provide offset to a decline in new license.

Hernandez asserts that “it is prudent” to lower estimates here, given “lower closure rates” anbd a contraction in IT spending over the next several quarters. He also notes that the current Oracle guidance for Q2 came in mid-September, before the height of the financial and credit crisis.

Nonetheless, he maintains an Overweight rating on the stock.

ORCL today is up 39 cents, or 2.4%, to $16.77.

Source: Eric Savitz @ blogs.barrons.com

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