MAY 2007 VOLU M E 1 2 N U M B E R 2 FEATURE STORY CelebrATING THE PAST, LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Oracle celebrates 30 years of history—and looks to a 20 future of innovation and customer focus. In honor of the company’s anniversary, Profit spoke with a range of executives at Oracle’s top ranks to get a snapshot of the company’s culture and plans. —By Aaron Lazenby and Margaret Terry Lindquist; Cover: Bob Adler additional editing by Marta Bright 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 ORACLE EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVES PRODUCT LINE PERSPECTIVES 22 Why Oracle will lead the next charge 36 Siebel and why transformation will be critical for every —Charles Phillips, President company —Ed Abbo, Senior Vice President, Applications Development 23 Why customers are king 38 Oracle E-Business Suite and what really matters for —Safra Catz, President global business success —Steve Miranda, Senior Vice President, Applications ORACLE TIMELINE Development, and Murali Subramanian, Vice President, Applications Development 26 Highlighting the most important moments in 39 JD Edwards EnterpriseOne and the importance of giving Oracle’s history, with commentary from the customers choices —Lenley Hensarling, Vice President and General Manager people who made it happen 40 JD Edwards World and Oracle’s commitment to its ORACLE FROM THE oUTSIDE customers —John Schiff, Vice President and General Manager 34 Technology’s impact and the early days at Oracle 42 PeopleSoft and what best-in-class business processes —Joshua Greenbaum, Founder, Enterprise Applications Consulting really mean —Doris Wong, Vice President and General Manager 43 How Oracle Fusion will leverage the best of all product lines —Jesper Andersen, Senior Vice President of Applications Strategy EDITOR’S NOTE LIFE SCIENCES 8 LOOKING BACKWARD, LOOKING FORWARD 53 FOUND IN TRANSLATION —By Margaret Terry Lindquist Windber Research Institute transforms translational medi- cine with an innovative use of software from InforSense VIEWPOINT 10 UPGRADE-A-PALOOZA and Oracle Database 10g. —By Jeff Erickson —By John Matelski MANUFACTURING 57 STAMP OF APPROVAL 15 FORWARD THINKING Pitney Bowes is gaining real business intelligence benefits ON DEMAND COMPUTING from Oracle’s Siebel software. —By Carol Hildebrand 47 INTERNAL STRATEGY, OUTSOURCED IT strategic tHinKing Adoption of on-demand computing is spurring innova- 64 CORE COMPETENCY tion and growth. Find out how three financial services Successful ideas share a few basic characteristics. Find companies are profiting. —By Ann C. Logue out why some ideas fade away—and others change the world. —By Kate Pavao PROFIT : THE EXECUTIVE ’ S GUIDE TO ORACLE APPLICATIONS 5 EDITORIAL EdiTor iN CHIEF Margaret Lindquist [email protected] SENior MANAGING EdiTor Caroline Kvitka FEATUREs EdiTor Aaron Lazenby CONTribUTING EdiTor Blair Campbell CONTribUTING wriTErs Marta Bright, Bobbie Hartman, Jeff Erickson, Leeann Myers, Katheryn Potterf, Fred Sandsmark SENior CREATIVE dirECTor Susan Olsen DEsiGN dirECTor Richard Merchán CONTribUTING dEsiGNER Ron Sellers oraCLE prEss Lisa McClain [email protected] PUBLISHING PUBLisHER Jeff Spicer [email protected] ADVERTISING SALES assoCiaTE pUBLisHER Kyle Walkenhorst [email protected], tel +1.323.658.6250 NorTHWEST & CENTraL U.S.—TECHNOLOGY Tom Cometa [email protected], tel +1.415.206.9855 soUTHWEST U.S. TECHNOLOGY aNd CoNSUMER Shaun Mehr [email protected], tel +1.323.658.6250 ext. 205 MidaTLANTIC U.S.—TECHNOLOGY aNd CONSUMER Dawn Becker and Lisa Rinaldo [email protected], tel +1.732.772.0160 NorTHEasT U.S./CANada—TECHNOLOGY aNd CONSUMER David and Ann Schissler [email protected], tel +1.508.394.4026 EUropE/MiddLE EasT/afriCA/asia paCifiC—TECHNOLOGY Mark Makinney [email protected], tel +44 (0) 1273.774.341 PRODUCTION AND OPERATIONS CirCULATioN dirECTor Jennifer Armstrong [email protected] SALEs aNd prodUCTioN dirECTor Jennifer Hamilton [email protected], tel +1.650.506.3794 SUBSCRIPTIONS ORACLE PRODUCTS Subscriptions are complimentary for qualified individuals who complete the form found in each issue or at oracle.com/profitmagazine. 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Other product and service names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners. 6 M A Y 2 0 0 7 <EDITOR’S N O T E LOOKING BACKWARD, LOOKING FORWARD More than half of this issue of Profit is taken up with a celebration of Oracle’s 30 years of software success and a look ahead at our future. In the course of develop- ing the 30th-anniversary story, I spent much more time talking to executives at my own company than to the customers and experts who agree to speak with us for the usual Profit article. And although I’ll be happy to turn my attention back to customers for the next issue, it was an eye-opening experience to spend time talking with people such as Safra Catz, Charles Phillips, Jesper Andersen, and all the general managers of our applications product lines. What struck me as a common theme was their passion and their patience. They love the products, the company, and especially the customers that they come into contact with every day of their working lives (which seems to be the same as every day of their lives—it’s not a path for the faint of heart). This customer-centric view is summed up by John Schiff, vice president and general manager for Oracle’s JD Edwards World. He told me, “My joke with my wife is that when we drive down the road, when we go to the grocery store, I always say, ‘That’s my customer, and that’s my customer.’ We get to know how all of it works.” And it’s that sense of engagement and interest, and that sense that what we do is important, that it affects the lives of so many people—businesspeople and consumers—that I find so interesting, and even a little inspiring. It was a fitting coincidence that the 30th anniversary of the company coincided with the announcement of major upgrades to all of our applications product lines—proof, if it was needed, that, as Charles Phillips said during his conversation with Profit, Oracle will always find a way to stay on the edge and lead the next charge. And the fascinating insights from Oracle executives weren’t the only great part about putting together this issue. My interview with industry analyst and former technology journalist Joshua Greenbaum, who covered Oracle in the early days, contains fascinating insights about the impact of technology and about Oracle’s past and future, and a great deal of work went into the Oracle timeline, which sheds multiple spotlights on the high moments in the company’s history, with quotes from the people who were there when it all happened—no, who ADLER made it all happen! BOB Margaret Terry Lindquist [email protected] 8 MAY 2 0 0 7 < USER GROUP BY JOHN MATELSKI UPGRADE-A-PALOOZA MULTIPLE PRODUCT LINE UPGRADES CONFIRM ORACLE’S COMMITMENT TO CUSTOMERS. CIOs are used to vaporware—it is, of stantial. When Applications Unlimited was first announced, course, an occupational hazard when many customers thought Oracle would throw in a little dealing with the folks who bring us soft- of this and a little of that and put out a lipstick upgrade. ware. But some vaporware provokes a Instead we’ve been given significant upgrades and function- queasier feeling than others. It’s one thing ality. What this offers me as a CIO is the gift of time and to wait for a tardy upgrade or software the freedom of choice. I am a JD Edwards EnterpriseOne release. It’s another thing altogether to wait 8.10 customer, and, looking at 8.12, I see some wonderful and wonder when the outcome affects the future of an entire enhanced reporting capabilities and some Oracle Fusion software platform. Middleware built into the application that might provide me All this brings me to Oracle’s announcement at its with some benefits.