What is our primary use case?
I use the solution in my company for developing applications, of course, with the ERP in place, along with the different modules that are related to the financial system, HR's internal functionalities, project management, and invoicing. My company uses it more for the in-house development of IT applications.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of the solution is database management, which is good, along with the backup. The server-based programming, PL/SQL, is good.
What needs improvement?
The high price of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required. In general, the product should be priced more economically for users.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Oracle Database for thirty years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a very stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution. You can always tune the parameters and decide on how much to scale based on the memory available. You can configure your SGA along with memory, and once you outgrow it, you can always reconfigure and re-initiate it, making it a scalable tool.
Over a long period of time, my company has been dealing with a user base of various sizes. There are times when the user base can go up to 200 people.
The product is extensively used, and my company plans to increase its use in the future.
How are customer service and support?
I have used the product's online community to get answers to the questions I post related to the tool.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have experience with Ingres. My company started to use Oracle Database because of its flexibility and the availability of more tools. The overall comprehensiveness provided by the tool was good.
How was the initial setup?
The product's initial setup phase was very easy. There are no real challenges in the setup phase, as it is a sophisticated product.
For the product's deployment phase, if you have your operating system ready, you can decide whether you want to put Oracle Database in Microsoft or Linux, after which you need to make the prerequisites available for JRE or Microsoft's .NET platform. Once the prerequisites are in place, you can download a suitable VM, and the deployments can be done.
The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.
There is no need for a team to take care of the deployment and maintenance of the product since the tool is well-documented and a lot of information is available in it. In the past, the deployment and maintenance of the product used to be a bit tough. Over a period of time, the deployment and maintenance of the product have become quicker and easier.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The product is costly. You need to pay for all the product components that you use. You can go for an annual or multi-year subscription model, depending on your requirements.
What other advice do I have?
Currently, my company uses the tool for record-keeping purposes, specifically for some information. My company uses Power BI for real-time data analytics.
The critical applications our company runs on Oracle Database are attached to areas involving invoicing and financial systems.
The security features of Oracle Database are good, reliable, and stable.
The cloud-based solution available is good for those who plan to start using the tool. Instead of choosing the on-premises version, people can go with the tool's cloud-based version. Potential uses of the product should attempt to start small, and then when the need arises, they can grow the tool's usage capacity. The tool offers fallback, resilience, and redundancy features, which you can always add whenever required.
Though I have never tried to use the migration capabilities of the product, I know that there is a process for using it, which is not very difficult but sometimes time-consuming.
I rate the product an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.