The solution is primarily used for any persistent storage of data. It's a database and Oracle is very strong on the relational database side. It's great for NoSQL. Oracle Database is a strong relational database management system.
Deputy General Manager at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Offers high availability and good third-party integrations, but is very expensive
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is stable."
- "Technical support quality has dropped recently. They aren't as helpful or responsive as they used to be."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The solution integrates well with third-party products.
The high availability that it provides is definitely one of a kind. It's active-active and high availability.
The solution is stable.
The scalability is good.
They have worked to make the initial setup a bit easier.
What needs improvement?
They have improved a lot, however, recently it has been known that Oracle Database is very complex to manage. You need skilled people to manage it these days in the industry. The databases, which are very prevalent, are very developer-friendly, and most of the tasks are automated. You don't need to have a specialized DBA to look at the database stuff. That said, the ease of management for non-technical individuals could be better.
Technical support quality has dropped recently. They aren't as helpful or responsive as they used to be.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been dealing with the solution for more than 15 years at this point. It's been a while.
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November 2024
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is very stable. It has good high availability and is very reliable. there are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have found the product to be scalable. If a company needs to expand it, it can do so. It's not a problem.
How are customer service and support?
Recently, I haven't had any experience with Oracle's tech support. However, I have heard it has gone down in quality. It's harder to get in touch with them. The support requests take a lot of time to resolve. On top of that, the kind of expertise or knowledge that someone would expect from the team is a little bit of concern now. They aren't as knowledgeable as they used to be.
How was the initial setup?
While the solution used to be quite complex and difficult, now they have improved it. It's easier. That said, I can say it is still on the complex side.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Generally, when you buy Oracle Database, and if you're buying it for your own data center on the on-prem side, you have to go by the processor cores and the list price is around $47,500 for the enterprise edition per core.
It is a perpetual license; it is not something that you worry about on monthly basis. That said, they do have options now for the subscription-based model, however, there are more data points to be looked at. They have an offering called the data cloud and customer which is a subscription-based model. They can give you hardware plus some software licenses as well.
When it comes to Oracle and all the licensing policy that they have is very complex, the type of audits that they do is not really something that people welcome.
What other advice do I have?
We are a customer and an end-user.
In terms of deployments, you have an option to host it purely on-prem and you can arrange it to have some workloads on the cloud as well, as a hybrid approach. It is as if you are posting your databases on a private cloud in your own data center that way.
Normally, if someone has to look at different database options available, they would prefer an open-source product. They would go with Oracle if the application they want to host is not supporting any other database but Oracle. If a company has to go with Oracle, it is best to look into the possibility of hosting it on some cloud rather than on-prem.
I'd rate the solution at a seven out of ten. As a solution, it is not bad. The technology is great. It provides you with the features that you need. It is just that the cost and then the type of lock-in contract that you get into is not very attractive. As a product, from features and functionality alone, I would rate it a nine out of ten. However, when it comes to cost and other things, I'd rate it lower as there are open-source database options that are very good.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Data Solution Architect at Econet Wireless Zimbabwe
Great performance, very scalable, very stable, and easy backups
Pros and Cons
- "I found the ease of backup, partitioning, and robust indexing most valuable. The main feature of Oracle is the structure of the database. The way your backups are taken on the online backup system and the way it restores and handles partitioning of your data are also valuable. Its performance is great, and it is also very flexible."
- "It should have flexible licensing across different platforms. It has got different licensing models for Intel Power and SPARC servers."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for different applications. We are using it for our data warehousing, ERP, and EBS systems.
What is most valuable?
I found the ease of backup, partitioning, and robust indexing most valuable. The main feature of Oracle is the structure of the database. The way your backups are taken on the online backup system and the way it restores and handles partitioning of your data are also valuable. Its performance is great, and it is also very flexible.
What needs improvement?
It should have flexible licensing across different platforms. It has got different licensing models for Intel Power and SPARC servers.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for more than 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is very scalable. You can start with a small server, and you can scale it up by just increasing your licenses.
In terms of the number of users, for our data warehouse, there is only one application user. Other users interact with the database through the application. After you log onto the application, the application logs in to the database with a single user ID.
How are customer service and technical support?
Oracle technical support is a bit tricky. They want you to first use all the available resources, such as the online knowledge base and so on. After you have exhausted those, you can approach your technical person by logging in to the system.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used other database systems, such as MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server.
How was the initial setup?
Its installation requires someone who actually knows the database setup, such as an Oracle DBA. For a production system, you would need an experienced person.
You first need to set up the environment such as servers, storage, etc. It might take you two days to set up the environment. The installation of the database might take you a day or two depending on the features that you want to add. If it is just a straightforward database, it would normally take a day. If you want to do partitioning and replication, it would take another two or three days.
What about the implementation team?
I handle the installations. Its deployment and maintenance are minimal. You need three people: one specialist in hardware, one specialist in operating systems, and one specialist in database software.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
You buy it initially, and then you pay for yearly support if you need support. If you don't need support, you can also use it without the support.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution. We plan to keep using this solution.
I would rate Oracle Database a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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November 2024
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Developer at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
Reliable, stable, and easily scalable
Pros and Cons
- "The solution can scale well."
- "It takes a significant amount of time after submitting an initial SR with Oracle Tech Support before your case reaches a technical expert with whom you can actually work on the issue resolution. Before that, you have to deal with people who are not experts."
What is our primary use case?
The solution is primarily used for support servicing. The whole IT infrastructure uses Oracle. Oracle is a focal point. It's transactional processing as well as data warehousing.
What is most valuable?
The solution's most valuable aspect is its reliability. It just works. You never have to worry about it.
I've worked with the solution so well, I have a very strong understanding of it as a whole. I know everything about it. I'm very comfortable with it.
The solution can scale well.
The stability of the product is excellent.
What needs improvement?
Installing, configuring, and supporting an Oracle RAC system is a very complex task that requires special skills. A novice who has never done it before will struggle. Therefore, I think that in the future all Oracle RDBMS customers will gradually switch to cloud databases, preferably, to Oracle cloud.
It takes a significant amount of time after submitting an initial SR with Oracle Tech Support before your case reaches a technical expert with whom you can actually work on the issue resolution. Before that, you have to deal with people who are not experts.
Oracle RDBMS is expensive.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with Oracle since 1994. I have a long history with the solution.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of the solution is excellent. The performance and reliability are great. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's very good overall.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Oracle is very, very scalable. If a company needs to expand the solution, it can do so.
Our organization is quite large. There are hundreds of IT personnel using Oracle.
How are customer service and technical support?
I've dealt with technical support in the past and I personally do not find them to be very good.
Usually, it starts very slowly. Before you get to the right people, you go through the people who hardly understand the problem and they keep asking stupid questions. Then only after a couple of weeks, you finally get in touch with the person who really understands. It's at that moment that your work starts. However, before that, you have to go through the process of finding someone to answer your question.
They need to make the process faster or hire people who understand the solution better.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Currently, our organization is moving away from Oracle. They're moving to Amazon AWS and they're considering several databases, as a potential alternative. This is due to the fact that Oracle is very expensive.
In truth, I'm not sure the company will ever be able to get rid of Oracle, as it would require rewriting everything. Currently, Oracle is the basis for everything. Just to switch to something else, they would have to rewrite everything. It will be a huge undertaking, and it would take several years.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is not exactly straightforward. Real-life Oracle installation is very complex and a regular non-proficient person can hardly do that. I am not an Oracle DBA, however, many years ago I was an Oracle DBA. I don't have the certification. However, when I tried to install Oracle on a cluster of Linux machines to do some cleaning, it took me several weeks. I had to go through Oracle documentation, and I was trying and failing. Finally, I made it work, however, it was really difficult. Even for me, with so much knowledge of the system, Oracle installation is really difficult. Years from now, likely nobody will be doing it at all. Everybody will be using Oracle cloud instead.
We have quite a few people maintaining the solution, as we are a sizable organization.
What about the implementation team?
It's best to have a professionally licensed individual assist in the implementation process.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is extremely high. It's one of the reasons our organization is looking for an alternative. They would like to move away from Oracle to lower their costs.
What other advice do I have?
I'm a customer and end-user.
I would advise organizations considering Oracle to not do on-premises. The best way, nowadays, is just to pay money to Oracle and use Oracle-managed databases from the cloud. They don't require a data center for the hardware. Cloud computing, is what people should do instead.
I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten. That said, I am aware that it is quite an expensive option for most organizations. Even our company, which is quite sizeable, finds the overhead costs high.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Product manager at Metrodata Electronics Tbk PT
Great for building disaster recovery systems, very stable, and offers good scalability
Pros and Cons
- "On-prem, Oracle is the number one database technology."
- "Oracle needs to improve its cluster technologies. They need to improve in the cluster technology using ARC due to the fact that sometimes people think that they have a redundant server when they are using ARC with the cluster and think that will increase the performance. In reality, if they are using ii with a big workload, sometimes the performance is not increasing, and can sometimes actually impacts it in such a way that there's some degradation in the performance."
What is most valuable?
The best feature on Oracle Database is the Data Guard. It's great if you want to build some sort of disaster recovery solution.
ARC is one of the best features. It's quite simple and flexible. It offers really simple guidance that helps make using it a breeze.
On-prem, Oracle is the number one database technology.
What needs improvement?
Oracle needs to improve its cluster technologies. They need to improve in the cluster technology using ARC due to the fact that sometimes people think that they have a redundant server when they are using ARC with the cluster and think that will increase the performance. In reality, if they are using ii with a big workload, sometimes the performance is not increasing, and can sometimes actually impacts it in such a way that there's some degradation in the performance.
Oracle has covered all the aspects of the market requirement. Let's say someone who searches for a security solution that has high availability, security, manageability, and performance. That's all of the IT requirements, basically, and they are all covered by Oracle. There aren't features lacking, in that sense. That said, while that's a true statement in terms of on-premises deployments, and Oracle really is is the number one database technology, when it comes to the cloud, it's still a question about how good Oracle really is. Most of our customers are using Azure or maybe AWS. Not Oracle. That's the one area that Oracle should improve.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with the solution for 11 years. I mostly only handle the core technology.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Right now, I would say that Oracle is one of the best solutions for our customers in terms fo stability. If they handle big productions or process a lot of paper, this is the perfect choice for them.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
If they need to, companies can easily add more nodes to the cluster. It's easy to use its cluster technology to scale. I would say it's rather easy to expand the solution if you need to.
How are customer service and technical support?
If we talk about the MOS, My Oracle Support, it's more of a self-service. Currently, sometimes it's not as reliable as we wish it was. Mostly, our internal team handles support as we can't really rely on Oracle. We'd only go to them if the problem is related to the product, for example, if it's got some bugs or something like that. For troubleshooting, our customers come to us for assistance. From a technical aspect, we are quite confident that we can support all of the customer's needs ourselves without using Oracle.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used MySQL, although that too is an Oracle solution. It's part of our portfolio alongside Oracle DB.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
When people talk about Oracle, especially Database, most of them mention that Oracle is an expensive product. However, if it's suitable or not or if it really is "expensive" depends on their requirements. Today, Oracle is one of the best choices, regardless of pricing.
Even though on paper their pricing looks expensive, everything can be negotiated. Companies may be able to come to an understanding with Oracle at a price point they can accept.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
In our market, there are a lot of open-source products like EnterpriseDB. There are also commercial products like PostgreSQL. With Postgre you have to have MySQL with it right now.
If a customer prefers to use an open-source product, I'm quite confident with MySQL.
What other advice do I have?
We are an Oracle Platinum Partner.
I'd first advise any company considering Oracle to learn the benefits first before they talk about the pricing. We like to do an assessment with the customer right away. The first thing we need to know is their pain points and basic requirement and also if they have a common problem in their system. I will judge that against the benefits of Oracle's technology, which is in the database. At the end of the day, if the features can solve your problem, then money comes as a secondary concern.
I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. There isn't a perfect solution on the market, however, this comes pretty close.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
Storage Solutions Expert at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
It enables us to comply with our security guidelines
Pros and Cons
- "It enables us to comply with our security guidelines, and it is automated."
- "The product could be cheaper."
What is our primary use case?
Oracle Database is a database for electronic channel. We use the solution to collect transaction data from banks, financial institutions, and potential customers.
How has it helped my organization?
It enables us to comply with our security guidelines, and it is automated.
What needs improvement?
The product could be cheaper.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Oracle Database for 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is like a real application cluster.
I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution’s scalability is good from a technical perspective. We are shifting to other products because of the basic cost.
Around 4,000 users are using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
The organization provide top-notch support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is neither easy nor complex. With DB experience and product support, it is quite easy. It would be complex for a new guy.
What was our ROI?
Oracle Database is a very expensive solution, but it is very stable. Financial institutions are moving to online channels. It can handle traffic very well.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend leveraging Oracle's logging capabilities, as it can efficiently offload tasks such as reporting, backups, and more. This allows for utilising commodity platforms, reducing reliance on proprietary systems and enabling the adoption of internal IMD platforms.
Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Last updated: Mar 25, 2024
Flag as inappropriateSystem/Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
Mature, stable, and easy to deploy
Pros and Cons
- "It is a mature product. It is pretty stable. I've got a lot of experience with it, so it is pretty easy to use."
- "The software really doesn't need any improvement, but the way they do the billing should be improved. They charge by all the chips on the server, whether you use them or not. If you have a server that has 64 chips on it and you use one chip, they charge you for 64, and that's a terrible business model."
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for inventory control. We have about 220 servers running Oracle Database, but we're migrating from Oracle to Postgres.
How has it helped my organization?
We've had it for a very long time, and up until they changed the way they do the billing, we were happy. A few years ago, they changed the way they charge for the product, and they hit us with a $6 million bill for one year, and that was it. People got very unhappy.
What is most valuable?
It is a mature product. It is pretty stable. I've got a lot of experience with it, so it is pretty easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The software really doesn't need any improvement, but the way they do the billing should be improved. They charge by all the chips on the server, whether you use them or not. If you have a server that has 64 chips on it and you use one chip, they charge you for 64, and that's a terrible business model.
Their support is terrible and should be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Oracle Database for probably 20 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is very stable. It has been around for a very long time, and it is stable now.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It scales vertically. So, the more stuff you want to do, you have to get a bigger server. That's okay if you can do that, but the strategy now is that everybody is scaling horizontally because you can buy a ton of cheap servers and spread them out all over the network.
We have about 10,000 users, and they're doing inventory control. We don't plan to increase its usage. We are planning to decrease its usage and go to Postgres.
How are customer service and support?
Their support is terrible. I stand a better chance talking to my four-year-old grandson than talking to them. At least, he pays attention.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
They weren't using any other product previously. They have been using Oracle for maybe 20 years.
How was the initial setup?
It is very straightforward. It takes about three or four hours.
What about the implementation team?
We do it ourselves. For its maintenance, there are probably seven or eight people.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its cost is astronomical. They charge by the size of the server rather than what you're actually using. It is just a terrible business model.
It has got a ton of features that are great, but you have to pay for them, and we don't want to spend a lot of money.
If you use any of their additional products, you have to pay for those. Almost everything extra is at an additional charge. We also use RAC, and there is an additional charge for that.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I guess they did evaluate other products, but I wasn't there.
What other advice do I have?
If money is no object, it is a great product, but if you're worried about your budget, find another solution.
I would rate it a 10 out of 10. It is a great product. It has been around forever. It works, but it is too expensive.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Hyperion Systems Architect at County of Loudoun Virginia
The advantage of using Oracle's RDMS solution is that it is integrated with Oracle's other products, including our ERP and EPM solutions.
What is most valuable?
The best aspect of Oracle Database is that it allows integration of our ERP and EPM suite of applications and databases. It's integrated tightly together, and we prefer that, as we think it's best to stick with a single vendor as much as possible to avoid dealing with multiple vendors in case of any issue. We can scale it up, upgrade and it is supported by Oracle's customer support program. It is secure and reliable, which gives us peace of mind. If we went with a third-party tool, there's always the issues of compatibility. If we do upgrades and there are issues, we'd have to talk to both the third-party vendor and Oracle.
I think that avoiding complications and compatibility issues is the biggest advantage of keeping our Oracle ERP and EPM products together. I work with a lot of the compatibility settings, and Oracle has done a great job with the matrix inter-dependencies and patch-up ligation. For example, I just upgraded our Hyperion system so I had to got through all the settings and configurations for databases, browsers, Java, OS, and servers. I, as an administrator, have to have enough technical knowledge to understand all the inter-dependencies.
That's the advantage of using Oracle's RDMS solution -- we can use other Oracle products.
What needs improvement?
It needs a better, less technical interface. I'm not an expert on our RDBMS as we have our own database administrator, so especially on a Linux environment Oracle needs to make progress on the user-friendliness of the UI.
In my opinion, I've found Microsoft SQL Server to be more user-friendly than Oracle Database. Even though the latter is more complex, more robust, and has more capacity, from a user perspective, especially those who are naive or functional, it needs to be more user-friendly.
I've asked my DBA to do something for me so I can try to learn from him, but if it were more user-friendly with a more graphical implementation that tells you all the variation criteria and failure messages, that would be much better.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
We've had no issues deploying it. It's quite simple.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's quite stable for being capable of doing so many things. It's powerful, fast, reliable, and secure.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have had no issues scaling it for our needs.
What other advice do I have?
You should consider whether you're going to go physical or virtual, Windows or Linux, etc. You should do your due diligence and know what you want.
We decided to put Essbase and Database on Linux. We put everything else on Windows, the reason being that our databases needed more resources and liability. Linux provides more security for databases, and it's a more robust setup for a Linux admin. So be sure to consider this before jumping into an implementation of the Oracle RDBMS solution.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Database administrator at OS Labs
Secure, scalable, stable, and easy to implement RDBMS, with good technical support
Pros and Cons
- "RDBMS with good performance and technical support. It's a scalable, stable, secure, and easy to implement solution that can be deployed both on cloud and on-premises."
- "The usage and security are okay for Oracle Database, but its pricing is more expensive when compared to its competitors."
What is our primary use case?
We use Oracle Database for running ERP systems and for managing clients.
What is most valuable?
What we like most about Oracle Database is its security, scalability, and ease of implementation. We also like the performance of the solution.
What needs improvement?
The cost of the license of Oracle Database is more expensive, so we have clients who chose to use a different solution, because of the cost. This is an area for improvement for Oracle Database. The usage and security are okay for Oracle Database, but its pricing is more expensive when compared to its competitors.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been dealing with Oracle Database for 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Oracle Database is a stable solution, and I never had any incidence of instability using it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Oracle Database is scalable, e.g. if your company is growing well, you can easily reach the requirements of the company according to the number of users and performance when using the solution.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support for Oracle Database is perfect. Whenever we contact their support, it could take time to get feedback from them, or get the solution from them, but in the end, they're able to provide it.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up Oracle Database was straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The license cost of Oracle Database is more expensive, and this could result in some clients moving away from it. When it comes to the licensing for the processor, it becomes more expensive, but it could become cheaper when you know how to use an ODA. When you're using other servers, the licensing becomes more expensive.
Additional charges could also come from Oracle technical support, but there is a lot of documentation on the website, and you can also get solutions from the Oracle Community as a workaround.
What other advice do I have?
We are using Oracle Database and Oracle Storage, and those are the products we are mostly using. We are using the 12c version of Oracle Database, and it's on the cloud. The solution can be deployed both on cloud and on-premises.
Oracle is our partner, but not a full partner.
I would recommend Oracle Database, especially to financial institutions, e.g. entry-level or mid-level.
On a scale of one to ten, I'll give Oracle Database an eight.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
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Good information.