What is our primary use case?
We are using it in our companies. We work with others, especially at the enterprise level.
What is most valuable?
The product is very light. By that I mean, in terms of response rate, it's light.
Oracle can handle a lot of data.
The implementation process is easy.
What needs improvement?
There are more freeware options out there these days that are less costly if you are a company that can work in the cloud environment. They are much better than Oracle in the price to value ratio.
Even though the solution can handle a lot of data, it's just too expensive currently.
There should be more analysis for debugging. Right now, this is only available in the Enterprise Edition. If you have the Standard Edition, like us, you're stuck with some limited functionalities. In order to access the best features, you need to level up to the Enterprise Edition.
The software comes with only four cores, which is not really very advisable. It doesn't really help in terms of the modern way of working. While the machines are getting better, at the same time they tend to run a lot of test databases, like virtual machines, and Oracle doesn't work well with all of that. It's only JBM that they work well with.
Technical support is not very helpful if you only have the Standard Edition.
They should work ell with other machines. If it could integrate better, it might be more user-friendly for businesses.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for more than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's stable. We've had hitches, however. We have been been using the Standard Edition, so there have been many hitches in that due to the fact that you need the Enterprise Edition and a diagnostic pack to do what we need in order to investigate. That's where we find most of our issues. It's very hard to populate. If you look at the other DBs in the same price range, the functionality is a lot more in terms of diagnostic tools, in terms of helping in resolving issues. The Standard Edition does not solve those problems.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable to an extent. If you look at the Enterprise Edition, yes, it's scalable at the cost, not scalable per se, just scalable at a huge cost. If you're meeting the revenues, if you're large enough to afford it, that's fine. Otherwise, no, it does not scale well.
We have three people, off and on, who work on the product. It doesn't have that many user requirements. We are still not such a huge company, so three people off and on are enough. We have one person on it during the day, one at night, and one extra that can cover.
How are customer service and support?
We need technical support sometimes, however, not much help is covered with the Standard Edition. The best advice we get is "Move to Enterprise, then we can solve all your problems." That's where it is. I wouldn't rate technical support that high.
How was the initial setup?
The implementation process was easy in terms of deployment, however, it's a physical installation which just adds to the overall cost of the solution.
It's not just the solution that's expensive, it's the resources you need to think about that are expensive. In COVID times, these costs were especially rough. It's hard to justify a huge cost, especially in an enterprise.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a customer. I'm not a partner or a reseller of Oracle.
I would advise potential new users to make a good business plan. Think about the cost, especially the per-transaction cost. And what size of database that you're going to need. Oracle is a Ferrari. A Ferrari is an unreliable and expensive machine. It's an expensive purchase. As you scale, the Oracle costs will also go up. It's not like you have a fixed cost now and you not going to have a fixed cost later. You will have a fixed cost on the Oracle and it will keep on increasing. From that perspective, the business plan needs to be right.
There are some regulatory areas that we happen to be in that means we can't move to the cloud. That is why we are still with Oracle. If we could move to the cloud, we would not be with Oracle.
My biggest consideration is the price/value ratio, especially nowadays. Oracle was good when the only other alternative was IBM, and now, not so much. I would say if you're a large business then maybe it's a seven out of ten. If you're a small business then maybe a four out of ten. In general, I would rate it a six out of ten.
*Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
