Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • Database

    Oracle Posts 20% Growth in Q4

    By
    Renee Boucher Ferguson
    -
    June 26, 2007
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Oracle reported a booming fourth quarter, with the company posting net income of $1.6 billion, or 31 cents per share, up from $1.3 billion or 24 cents per share for the same quarter a year ago.

      During its earnings call June 26, Oracle said its profit and sales for the 2007 fiscal fourth quarter that ended May 31 jumped more than 20 percent in a period that is seasonally strong. Total revenues were $5.85 billion, up from $4.85 billion in the same quarter last year.

      New license revenue—the number analysts look at to predict growth—was up 17 percent to $2.48 billion. Database and middleware new license revenue, up 18 percent, fared better than applications license revenue, which was up 13 percent.

      CEO Larry Ellison pointed to the companys acquisition strategy—which differs markedly from SAPs organic growth strategy, he said—as the reason for the quarters success. Oracle, based in Redwood Shores, Calif., has acquired nearly 30 companies in the past three years.

      This past quarter alone, Oracle bought two companies and shares in another. In March, Oracle paid $3.3 billion to buy business intelligence software maker Hyperion, a deal that closed in April. In May, Oracle said it would pay PLM (product lifecycle management) vendor Agile Software for $495 million, in a deal expected to close in July, and it acquired a minority stake in Sophoi, an intellectual property management software company.

      /zimages/2/28571.gifClick here to read why Oracle CEO Larry Ellison is convinced his company is on track to surpass SAP in the enterprise applications market.

      The “buy versus build” strategy in the applications sector is one that will carry Oracle through a growth curve in the coming years, according to Ellison.

      “Were looking at a number of deals in the coming quarter where the driver of the transaction was a vertical application,” Ellison said. “When [customers] make a decision for one of our vertical applications, it greatly enhances our ability to sell other things. We think it will enhance our growth in years to come. And thats where we are going to enhance our vertical growth strategy, and were going to do that through acquisitions. Thats compared to SAPs strategy.”

      Oracle executives rarely, if ever, have a public discussion without bringing up SAP—or Microsoft, IBM and Salesforce.com, all of which were compared to Oracles results in the fourth quarter call.

      In Oracles fierce rivalry with SAP, Oracle has employed a “surround SAP” strategy that boils down to buying a plethora of best-of-breed software vendors whose products SAP customers may use—transportation software from G-Log or PLM from Agile, for example— to get a foot in the door in SAP shops.

      The goal, according to Ellison, is not to have SAP customers rip and replace their ERP (enterprise resource planning) implementations, but rather to look to Oracle to provide everything outside of ERP.

      “Maybe if we all we had was HR, customers might consider” best of breed, Ellison said. “Now with G-Log, Hyperion, PeopleSoft, etc., its very clear that [SAP customers] are not going to replace all those products [from SAP]. Its just not feasible. So customers are going to a two-vendor strategy and relying on Oracle, not SAP, to make all the pieces work together. …We form very good relationships and are now able to sell new applications to customers that wouldnt talk to us about new apps.”

      /zimages/2/28571.gifRead details here about Oracles massive data theft and copyright infringement lawsuit against SAP.

      There is a potential chink in Oracles fourth-quarter earnings report. Application sales in North America—a key area for SAP as it looks to expand its business—look fairly weak compared with past years, according to an analyst who asked Oracles executives during the earnings call Q&A session to characterize the fourth-quarter applications performance relative to past years.

      “Its a very, very tough comparison,” Ellison said. “The North American business had a complete blowout last year, plus a soft first quarter. We had spectacular growth a year ago and that was a tough comparison.”

      Ellison said he expects the applications business to grow in the coming year.

      /zimages/2/28571.gifCheck out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis about productivity and business solutions.

      Renee Boucher Ferguson
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×