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Muhammad Asif Ashraf - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Development Lead at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Easy to use with good performance and very good integrations
Pros and Cons
  • "The ease of use has been great."
  • "The product is pricey and expensive."

What is our primary use case?

Most of our applications are actually generating data on Oracle Database. They're connecting finance, HR, et cetera. Everything is on Oracle Database.

What is most valuable?

The stability has been very good. Its performance is excellent.

The ease of use has been great.

It's an excellent product. It's a pioneer.

The integration capabilities are very good.

What needs improvement?

The product is pricey and expensive. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using this product for well over a decade. We've used it for about 14 or 15 years.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of the product is very good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The product can scale. If a company needs to expand, it can do so.

We have both internal and external users. The amount of users ranges into the thousands. 

How are customer service and support?

We do use support. We actually pay for support and we have used them to assist us during implementation. They have been very helpful.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We have a Microsoft SQL Server as well, however, a different team is working on it. I don't deal with it directly.

How was the initial setup?

While I did not actually implement the solution, I don't see where there would be any problem with the solution. 

We have a technical team of 20 to 30 people who can handle deployment and maintenance. 

What about the implementation team?

We have paid support. When we did an upgrade recently, we got support from Oracle in case there were any issues. They also offer support during installation.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This is quite an expensive product. It's not cheap.

We pay a yearly licensing fee to Oracle. 

What other advice do I have?

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We've been very pleased with the solution over the years. 

If a company is considering implementing this solution, I would advise that they first look at their requirements. A company should look to see whether they actually need an Oracle Database or not as it's a costly solution. It may be possible that the unique company requirements may be able to be covered via a cheaper database. However, they won't know for sure until they properly do an evaluation.

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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reviewer1549332 - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Department at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Good in-memory and Data Redaction features, scales well, and the support is fast
Pros and Cons
  • "The Data Redaction feature is easy to use and we are quite happy with it."
  • "Sometimes, the patches supplied by Oracle to update the software do not work."

What is our primary use case?

We are a solution provider and Oracle Database is one of the products that we implement for our customers. We also use it ourselves. It is used to store large amounts of data including things such as customer data and shipment data.

We have our own private cloud so it is possible to host Oracle in that way, but we more commonly use an on-premises deployment because the size of the data is huge. In some ways, we have no choice but to host it on-premises.

What is most valuable?

The Data Redaction feature is easy to use and we are quite happy with it.

With Oracle, we are happy with the performance the majority of the time. It is only when we have a very large amount of data that it begins to slow down.

What needs improvement?

Sometimes, the patches supplied by Oracle to update the software do not work. Ultimately, we have a lot of issues because of this because we have to use trial and error to solve our performance issues.

We have a lot of performance issues, especially with a huge amount of data being using during a peak time.

In the future, we expect that Oracle will incorporate some NoSQL functionality. Right now, there is a lot of demand for storing JSON data. We would like to perform actions similar to that of Elasticsearch. One of the reasons that we choose Oracle is because they are quite aggressive when it comes to improving their product, and they are always providing new features.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Oracle Database for a couple of years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, Informix is better than Oracle. Oracle gives us patches to improve the product, but sometimes the patches do not work and we subsequently have issues. By comparison, Informix does not provide many patches. Instead, remains stable for a few years without needing many changes.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Oracle is quite good in terms of scalability. 90% of our applications run on Oracle, so we have a lot of users.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have bought quite a large number of licenses, so the support that we get is very good. They are fast, normally responding to us within one hour. This is according to an agreement that we purchased from them.

How was the initial setup?

When we purchase a server, it is another team that installs Oracle. After this, we create the database schema inside of Oracle.

What about the implementation team?

We have two types of people in the company who help us with Oracle. One handles the normal, day-to-day operations, whereas the other is used for deployment, setup, and maintenance.

When we buy a new server, the deployment team completes the installation and initial setup. After installation, they help us to fine-tune the database. When the application is deployed in production, they help us to troubleshoot day-to-day issues that we encounter.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We have a global license and it is renewed every two years. Seeing as a lot of our applications use Oracle, our team has been able to negotiate a better deal.

What other advice do I have?

In summary, this is a good product and I recommend it. For people who have a huge volume of data and they need good response time, Oracle is a good choice for them.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

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: Implementer
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December 2024
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Eva Kimathi - PeerSpot reviewer
ERP Database Administrator at PSKENYA
Real User
Top 10
Optimal performance, seamless install, and highly stable
Pros and Cons
  • "I have experienced good performance from the solution."
  • "Since the solution is from Oracle it tends to be complex when trying to integrate with other solutions."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solutions as a backend, essentially it runs the database. We have the database to support the ERP, which is our customers, and it is running on Java.

How has it helped my organization?

The original Oracle Database is good for us, especially because even if the ERP is running on Java, we still get good performances. We are able to tune the database to get more optimal performance out of it. For example, we are storing information on the database and we have not had anybody complaining about lag or degradation, it is really good for our company.

What is most valuable?

I have experienced good performance from the solution.

What needs improvement?

Since the solution is from Oracle it tends to be complex when trying to integrate with other solutions.

In a future release, I wish it was easier to run on other cloud services, not just Oracle Cloud. It is possible to run it on other cloud services but it is incredibly difficult to plan and deploy it. However, it is supported by many other cloud services, it is just not easy, but I think maybe that is the direction they are headed.

Additionally, they could make management for security a little more intuitive. It is good so far but it could be easier.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution has never crashed. I have never needed to call Oracle to get a support ticket.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have a really lightweight set up, we have the solution configured for 400 people.

How are customer service and technical support?

We were using Oracle partner support and they have been very good.

How was the initial setup?

The installation was easy, we had a lot of documentation. We installed the solution on Red Hat Linux and there were sufficient documents informing us on what to expect, hot to install it, and what to set up before you install. The install was seamless.

What about the implementation team?

The deployment did not take long because we installed the solution in our primary location. We did not have to co-locate, the total time was approximately two hours.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is a little high for the solution, especially when you try and configure it in certain ways. We are using the application-specific user license, which is a little inexpensive. We pay approximately $4,900 USD annually.

The licensing model is complex, you are charged for many configuration setting used. You could deploy the solution and expect a cheaper rate but you might have deployed the solution with some of the costly features and now have to pay for them.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Oracle Database an eight 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.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1442025 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Database Administrator Engineer at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Straightforward to install, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
  • "Oracle is a stable product and we plan to continue implementing it."
  • "The cost needs to be reduced because right now, all of our customers are asking us about how they can migrate to any open-source database."

What is our primary use case?

I support the backend and administration tasks for the databases in my organization, and for our clients, and Oracle is one of the products that I work with. The tasks I perform are things like creating the database and then maintaining it. I do not work with specific use cases but rather, provide support for them.

All of our databases are accessed remotely and are hosted on Linux servers. It is not always easy to manage, considering things like the firewalls that are in place, so we have our own scripts for this.

What needs improvement?

The cost needs to be reduced because right now, all of our customers are asking us about how they can migrate to any open-source database. This is a very common question and I have been checking our ability to migrate, as well as the tools that we have for doing so, to a product like PostgreSQL.

Oracle is an RDBMS, although most of our customers are now moving towards Big Data. There are open-source databases and you don't need a schema. You can store whatever you want. I would like Oracle to do more for Big Data in the future.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Oracle Database for more than 12 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Oracle is a stable product and we plan to continue implementing it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is a scalable solution.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We deal with many database products including Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and others.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is straightforward. We have both on-premises and cloud-based deployments.

The amount of time required for deployment depends on whether it is a single instance. This time of installation may take 30 minutes. Our installation scripts make it easy to do.

What about the implementation team?

We handle all of the administration tasks including implementation, installation, daily operation, as well as backup and recovery procedures.

In some cases, we have to provide high availability for our customers. Some of them may already have a cluster, so we would implement it. We also provide technical support to them.

We are a team of 10 database administrators.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

This is an expensive product.

What other advice do I have?

This is certainly a product that I recommend for large enterprises. However, for smaller companies, we can use an open-source database. That said, if you need something that is highly available and scalable then you have to choose Oracle Database.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

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: Implementer
PeerSpot user
it_user420015 - PeerSpot reviewer
President at Oraclewizard.com Inc
Video Review
Vendor
The enhancements to the PL/SQL language provide a way to secure data from SQL injection flaws.

What is most valuable?

I'm going to be discussing the enhancements to the PL/SQL language in what I'm going to call the bad old days, what we did was we put all of our application code and all of our application objects into one schema. What happened when you would do that is you would have say a SQL injection bug in one piece of code and you could easily point it to very sensitive information. As a matter of fact, I believe Barclay's said 97% of the data leakage is from SQL injection.

Oracle made an enhancement to the language. They added two things that were very powerful. One was the ability to add roles directly to a PL/SQL package. The other thing they added was an accessible by clause such that if I am going to have objects in one schema, instead of granting access to those objects to an entirely other schema such as your app code, I can just grant the access to that object to the program that actually calls it so I could have sensitive objects granted to a sensitive access code. Anybody else tries to get to it, you're not going to be able to get to it.

Then they added one other thing because what you want to do is you want to layer your security. Then they said make it accessible-by. When you accessible-by clause in, the object that is granted access to it, it'll execute, but if anybody else tries to execute that package to get to the object, they're going to get failures. That is what's got me most excited right now about the Oracle language and what they've been working with.

The value is in locking down your data, every time we turn around, we see on TV, GAO got hacked. Somebody's losing their information. You have companies out there going, "We'll protect your private information if you ever lose your information." We shouldn't have to do that. As stewards of this sensitive data, we need to build a security solution around what's sensitive and now Oracle's given us more and more powerful tools in order to implement that.

How has it helped my organization?

The biggest benefit is you're closing holes to SQL injection bugs. If I have a program, say program unit A has a PL/SQL injection bug, and you haven't implemented this, if I can inject into A, I can get to the sensitive information. But now by granting the role to the package and also granting accessible by, saying this package is only accessible by this other package, if A tries to get in, it says no, you don't even have rights to execute the code to get to the data.

What needs improvement?

In the next release, I'd like to see the ability to shred ghost data. I'd like to see the ability to when you run a data pump export of encrypted data and you did not specify encrypted in the command line, the data will be saved unencrypted and it'll spit up an error message, but it's just a warning saying, "otherdata is unencrypted." That does not get into the audit trail. That needs to be in the audit trail so an auditor can later go and say, "Why did we save data unencrypted that's sensitive?"

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is fabulous. I have one customer that has scaled this out and the application's now reaching over 100,000 users and we have not had any problems with it.

How are customer service and technical support?

Oracle's technical support, I use it about once or twice a year. Normally, if I call support, we've got a real problem and they've always been very helpful.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

My current customer, it's because a law was passed. This is a new architecture. Similar in terms of the language, but it's enhancements to the language, but what we're doing is building an architecture on top of what the language is now giving us.

What about the implementation team?

It is much easier to set up this solution, designing it in from the beginning because if you try to go back and retrofit your code, it can be done, but it's much more labor intensive. You should always build your security in upfront. Retrofitting code, it's difficult. It can be done because you have to separate your stuff out and sometimes, it may seem like trying to pull the salt out of soup. It depends on just how tightly integrated it is.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Considering the work was already being done in the Oracle and PL/SQL, this was just an enhancement to what we were already doing.

What other advice do I have?

I would give it a 9 because when we first started doing it, we found just little irritating niggles. I wish they had implemented it a little bit different, but overall a 9.

Absolutely do it because if you value your data, you want to be able to secure your data from SQL injection flaws.

Disclosure: PeerSpot contacted the reviewer to collect the review and to validate authenticity. The reviewer was referred by the vendor, but the review is not subject to editing or approval by the vendor.
PeerSpot user
ICT officer at Basaba
Real User
Top 5
Has valuable security features, but they could provide ease of data migration
Pros and Cons
  • "The platform's security features and stability are commendable."
  • "They could provide ease of migration and competitive pricing for the database."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the product to store textual data and support applications like our HR and case management systems.

What is most valuable?

The platform's security features and stability are commendable.

What needs improvement?

They could provide ease of migration and competitive pricing for the database.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Oracle Database since 2005.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the product's stability a nine. We haven't encountered significant issues.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Around 500 users access Oracle Database regularly in our company. We haven't faced scalability issues; it's more than enough for our current needs. 

How was the initial setup?

Once you're familiar with the product, setup becomes easier. Single-node setups are quick, but integrated configurations can take more time.

What about the implementation team?

We get help from integrators to set up the database.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The platform is highly-priced. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate the security features an eight or nine.

I would hesitate to recommend Oracle Database solely due to its high cost. If pricing were more competitive, I'd be more inclined to recommend it.

Overall, I rate the product a six 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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MahmoudMohamed1 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Data Engineer at Tatweer Educational Technologies Company - TETCO
Real User
Top 5
A stable solution for data storage but has poor support

What is our primary use case?

Oracle database stores system data accessed by desktop users, primarily for HR and ERP systems. I plan to implement some custom functionalities for standard operations.

What is most valuable?

Oracle Database is suitable for large enterprises.

What needs improvement?

Some applications use specialized hardware to optimize query processing. I've received customization requests for call recordings and other features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Oracle Database for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The product is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Many team members are using this solution.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support takes longer time to respond.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is complex.

I rate the initial setup two out of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy.

What other advice do I have?

You need an experienced Oracle administrator to maintain the solution.

Overall, I rate the solution a six out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
IT Supervisor at Nebeaelhate IT
Real User
Has good scalability and is stable
Pros and Cons
  • "The scalability is very good, and it is stable."
  • "The interface is not reliable because the GUI is old."

What is our primary use case?

It is our core for bank processes.

What is most valuable?

The scalability is very good, and it is stable.

What needs improvement?

The interface is not reliable because the GUI is old.

It needs to be more attractive.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is very good.

We have about 120 users.

What about the implementation team?

It was implemented by a vendor.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We have a yearly license.

For us as a bank, the price is not too high, but for a small business, it would be an expensive solution.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Oracle Database at nine on a scale from one to 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.
PeerSpot user
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