Government Exhibit P3173 [Non-designated testimony redacted]
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| 22 | Q. All right, sir. And could you
tell us |
| 00008 |
| 1 | what, if anything, you did to prepare for today's |
| 2 | deposition? |
| 3 | A. Met with counsel. |
| 4 | Q. And that would be Mr. Wall? |
| 5 | A. Yes. |
| 6 | Q. And when did you meet with Mr. Wall to |
| 7 | prepare for today's deposition? |
| 8 | A. Yesterday. |
| 9 | Q. And how long was that meeting? |
| 10 | A. Five, six, five hours. |
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| 6 | Q. All right, sir. You have a document in |
| 7 | front of you which, for identification purposes, |
| 8 | has marked been marked as Exhibit 550. It's a |
| 9 | multipage exhibit. It has numbered in the bottom |
| 10 | right-hand corner through page 48. The first page |
| 11 | has printed "Board Presentation on M & A |
| 12 | Opportunities," dated April 14th, 2003. |
| 13 | And I'll ask you if you have seen that |
| 14 | before? |
| 15 | A. I certainly may have. I don't recall |
| 16 | seeing the document. |
| 17 | Q. Do you recall Mrs. Catz giving a |
| 18 | presentation regarding potential M and A |
| 19 | opportunities in this time frame to the board? |
| 20 | A. Yes, I do, but I can't imagine it had |
| 21 | this many pages. I have never seen a presentation |
| 22 | of this length given to the board. |
| 00013 |
| 1 | Q. Well, let me ask you to turn to the third |
| 2 | page of the document where there is a heading |
| 3 | there "Enterprise Software Competitive Profile." |
| 4 | And then there are a list of technology and apps |
| 5 | on the left-hand side and across the top various |
| 6 | company names. |
| 7 | Do you see that? |
| 8 | A. Yes, I do. |
| 9 | Q. Have you seen this document before? |
| 10 | A. Again, I may have; I don't recall it |
| 11 | specifically. |
| 12 | Q. All right, sir. Now, on the left-hand |
| 13 | side there are -- like I said, there is a box that |
| 14 | says "Technology" next to a number of different |
| 15 | technological descriptors -- |
| 16 | A. Yes. |
| 17 | Q. -- starting with "Database" ending with |
| 18 | "Content Management." |
| 19 | Do you see that? |
| 20 | A. Yes. |
| 21 | Q. Would you read through those to yourself |
| 22 | first and tell me when you are finished, and I |
| 00014 |
| 1 | have a couple of questions about that information. |
| 2 | A. (Witness reviewing document.) |
| 3 | Okay. |
| 4 | Q. Are you familiar with the different types |
| 5 | of technologies listed there? |
| 6 | A. Yes, I am. |
| 7 | Q. And, first of all, database, the first |
| 8 | one, what do you understand that to mean? |
| 9 | A. General purpose software to manage the |
| 10 | storage and retrieval of information. |
| 11 | Q. All right, sir. And next to that, under |
| 12 | that, is the heading "App Servers." |
| 13 | A. Application server, yes. |
| 14 | Q. And what does that mean to you? |
| 15 | A. It is a development tool environment |
| 16 | whereby you create and run your applications. Let |
| 17 | me see if I can be a little more clear. In our |
| 18 | case it would be the Java language. You program |
| 19 | in the Java language and then we have -- so there |
| 20 | is a development environment and then there is the |
| 21 | execution or run-time environment for running your |
| 22 | applications, executing the Java programs. |
| 00015 |
| 1 | So it is the program logic. If the |
| 2 | database is the data-access portion of your |
| 3 | application, storing and retrieving information, |
| 4 | the program logic would be executed in the |
| 5 | application server. For example, the program that |
| 6 | says move that $50 out of the database -- out of |
| 7 | your savings account and into your checking |
| 8 | account. So those instructions, that portion of |
| 9 | your application, would be resident and run in the |
| 10 | application server. |
| 11 | Q. And then the term "Business |
| 12 | Intelligence," what, if any, meaning does that |
| 13 | have to you? |
| 14 | A. That, again, sits on top -- these all sit |
| 15 | on top of the database. Business intelligence |
| 16 | might look at your sales over the -- you know, the |
| 17 | last, you know, the first ten weeks of this |
| 18 | quarter and compare it to the first ten weeks of |
| 19 | the previous quarter and draw a graph for you. |
| 20 | Q. All right, sir. And "Development Tools," |
| 21 | what are they? |
| 22 | A. Those would be the development |
| 00016 |
| 1 | environment. Tools to help the programmer write |
| 2 | the Java code, very much -- you have a |
| 3 | word-processing editor you type in your documents |
| 4 | too. There is a similar editor for programmers |
| 5 | that allow them to type their computer |
| 6 | instructions into, and it will -- just like if you |
| 7 | have a spell checker, it would have the syntax |
| 8 | checkers to make sure that you are putting the |
| 9 | parentheses in the right place, as much as it |
| 10 | could. It also let's you test your program. So |
| 11 | it's the environment in which you write the |
| 12 | programs and test the programs. |
| 13 | Q. And "Application Integration," what does |
| 14 | that represent? |
| 15 | A. That's a piece of software, often has two |
| 16 | parts. One part is the part that allows one |
| 17 | program -- one computer program to talk to another |
| 18 | computer program. Let's say you are trying to |
| 19 | integrate SAP to Oracle, you know. Let's say it's |
| 20 | SAP manufacturing and Oracle financials. So you |
| 21 | have to have some way for the SAP application to |
| 22 | talk to the Oracle application. If you will, a |
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| 1 | cellphone. Just like if I need to contact you, |
| 2 | I can call you up on my cell phone. So there is a |
| 3 | software that makes the connection. |
| 4 | And the most popular form of that now is |
| 5 | called Web Services, allows me to actually just -- |
| 6 | one program to get in contact with another |
| 7 | program, but there still could be a problem though |
| 8 | because you might speak Hungarian and I speak |
| 9 | French. So there is the other part of the |
| 10 | integration software which has to translate how I |
| 11 | say "Let's have lunch on Thursday" in a way that |
| 12 | you can understand "Let's have lunch on Thursday." |
| 13 | And I think the met for is accurate. |
| 14 | So how Siebel stores customer records and |
| 15 | how SAP stores customer records and how we store |
| 16 | customer records is all different, so you need |
| 17 | something to translate these formats, these |
| 18 | customer record formats, into a common format so |
| 19 | the applications can understand one another. So |
| 20 | there is two pieces: The communication piece and |
| 21 | the translation piece. |
| 22 | Q. All right, sir. And the term "systems |
| 00018 |
| 1 | management," do you have any understanding of |
| 2 | that? |
| 3 | A. Sure. As these applications are running |
| 4 | on a daily basis, there are people in the data |
| 5 | center that have to watch the computers. They |
| 6 | make sure you don't run out of storage space, and |
| 7 | there are tools, consoles, whereby they can |
| 8 | monitor and manage the ongoing computer operation. |
| 9 | So let's say a disc drive should break |
| 10 | and they can -- they should know about that. |
| 11 | Sometimes that failure could be catastrophic, most |
| 12 | of the times it's not. The systems are relatively |
| 13 | fault-tolerant, but it does that you have to pull |
| 14 | that disc drive out and plug another one in at |
| 15 | some point in time. |
| 16 | So it's a set of tools to both monitor |
| 17 | and manage your software. Let's say your |
| 18 | Oracle -- or you're adding some antiviral software |
| 19 | to your e-mail systems, a new virus has just shown |
| 20 | up, and you need to upgrade your e-mail software |
| 21 | to protect yourself against this virus which is |
| 22 | spreading. So there needs to be management tools |
| 00019 |
| 1 | which allow you what's called a patch, to make |
| 2 | small changes to the software you are running, and |
| 3 | this is a management console that helps the people |
| 4 | in the data center apply that fix or that patch to |
| 5 | your software. So that's all part of system |
| 6 | monitoring and management. |
| 7 | Q. All right, sir. And "Storage |
| 8 | Management," what, if any, meaning does that have |
| 9 | to you? |
| 10 | A. Storage management is a subset of systems |
| 11 | management -- well, storage management can have a |
| 12 | couple meanings, but it's that subset of systems |
| 13 | management that has to do with disc storage space, |
| 14 | running out of space, failures, backing up the |
| 15 | system. So periodically -- you've got a large |
| 16 | system, you want to make sure you make a copy of |
| 17 | all the data on that system in case of |
| 18 | catastrophic failure, so backing it up, adding |
| 19 | more storage as you need it. If there is a |
| 20 | performance problem, one disc drive is being |
| 21 | exercised excessively, you want to split that data |
| 22 | across two separate disc drivers to balance |
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| 1 | performance. |
| 2 | Q. And "Network and Service Management," |
| 3 | what meaning does that have to you, if any? |
| 4 | A. That would be the other end, again, of |
| 5 | this whole thing called systems management. That |
| 6 | would be looking at the network. In the case of |
| 7 | Oracle, we have a big data center in Texas, but we |
| 8 | have users of our system all over the world. So |
| 9 | attached to our Texas data center is this vast |
| 10 | private network that we've got, and sometimes we |
| 11 | can have -- if we want to know if there are |
| 12 | problems, performance problems, on the network, if |
| 13 | there has a failure of a device on the network. |
| 14 | So, again, it's a set of tools that let us look at |
| 15 | the state of the network, how its performing, if |
| 16 | there is any system failure, that allow us to, |
| 17 | again, monitor and fix faults in the network. |
| 18 | Q. All right, sir. And "Content |
| 19 | Management"? |
| 20 | A. Content management is an interesting, |
| 21 | relatively new term. It usually means -- it means |
| 22 | different things to different people. I guess the |
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| 1 | easiest way to describe content management is |
| 2 | looking at a lot of things that are on a typical |
| 3 | website. If you go to our website, there are a |
| 4 | lot of text files, there are a lot of references. |
| 5 | There might be an interview with a customer saying |
| 6 | how wonderful the Oracle products are. We |
| 7 | certainly wouldn't put up an interview if they |
| 8 | didn't say they liked our products. So keeping |
| 9 | track of customer references, customer interviews, |
| 10 | analyst reports, all sorts of things that are |
| 11 | not -- that are not traditional database data, |
| 12 | that aren't structured data, like these reports, |
| 13 | videos, interviews, images, all of those things |
| 14 | fall into this rough area called "content |
| 15 | management." |
| 16 | Q. All right. So now- |
| 17 | A. By the way, if I can just say, content |
| 18 | management, some content management runs on top of |
| 19 | a database and some content management runs on top |
| 20 | of file systems. |
| 21 | Q. I'm sorry, the last part? |
| 22 | A. Some content management runs inside of |
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| 1 | the database. Most of the stuff sits on top of |
| 2 | the database, but you can run it on a file system, |
| 3 | if you like. |
| 4 | Q. All right, sir. |
| 5 | A. Okay. |
| 6 | Q. Now, are you familiar with the term |
| 7 | "technology stack"? |
| 8 | A. Yes. |
| 9 | Q. And what does that term mean to you? |
| 10 | A. It's a collection of these -- it's a set |
| 11 | of these things listed as technology, with the |
| 12 | foundation, if you will, you can start at hardware |
| 13 | if you want to, say the computer and the disc |
| 14 | drives and then you put the operating system |
| 15 | software on that, is the most primitive, lowest |
| 16 | level piece of software; the database software on |
| 17 | top of that, the application server software on |
| 18 | top of that. And you can include business |
| 19 | intelligence, if you want, and all of those other |
| 20 | things as part of your technology stack. |
| 21 | Q. You use the term the "operating system |
| 22 | software." Is that listed somewhere in the |
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| 1 | documents you have got in front of
you? |
| 2 | A. No, it's not, but it's certainly part of |
| 3 | the technology stack. |
| 4 | Q. And the operating system software is the |
| 5 | software that actually runs the hardware? |
| 6 | A. That's correct. |
| 7 | Q. And gives the hardware the instructions |
| 8 | on what to do in order to manage and manipulate |
| 9 | the data? |
| 10 | A. Correct. |
| 11 | Q. Now, does Oracle supply that type of |
| 12 | software? |
| 13 | A. No, we don't. |
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| 22 | Q. Well, let's go back this way. Why don't |
| 00024 |
| 1 | you describe to me again what's in the technology |
| 2 | stack as you understand the term. |
| 3 | A. Okay. If I can separate the two things. |
| 4 | The technology stack would be again, by its very |
| 5 | nature, technical. The users of the technology |
| 6 | stack are professional programmers. So -- and |
| 7 | they build applications. So the two major areas, |
| 8 | two major software areas, are technology where the |
| 9 | consumers are professional programmers and |
| 10 | engineers, and application programs where the |
| 11 | users are everybody, you know. |
| 12 | So the technology stack, the |
| 13 | foundation -- starting with -- ignoring the |
| 14 | hardware and just going straight to the software, |
| 15 | the lowest level portion of the technology stack |
| 16 | is the operating system. On top of the operating |
| 17 | system would be data management, which is |
| 18 | separated into two pieces, a file system and a |
| 19 | database system, and both of those manage |
| 20 | information. One is much more powerful than the |
| 21 | other. One is much more easier to use than the |
| 22 | others. |
| 00025 |
| 1 | So on your PC, you just store a word file |
| 2 | and it's a file. It doesn't go into a database, |
| 3 | but you can't do content search. You can't |
| 4 | search -- there are a lot of limitations. It gets |
| 5 | lost periodically, which some people find |
| 6 | annoying. The database tries not to do that, so |
| 7 | the simplicity versus complexity, more features, |
| 8 | more complexity. |
| 9 | So operating system, data management made |
| 10 | up of database and file management. On top of |
| 11 | that, would be, if you will, your application |
| 12 | development software or application server, if you |
| 13 | prefer, and those are the three major pieces and |
| 14 | all of the other pieces here I would say are |
| 15 | somewhat important but peripheral to those three |
| 16 | major layers. |
| 17 | Q. All right, sir. In the documents you |
| 18 | have in front of you, the areas that would fit |
| 19 | within what you have just described would be the |
| 20 | application servers? |
| 21 | A. Absolutely. |
| 22 | Q. And then the systems management? |
| 00026 |
| 1 | A. Well, again, the three critical pieces, |
| 2 | if you are drawing a picture, operating system, |
| 3 | database and application server. Again, those to |
| 4 | me are the large pieces. Then there are |
| 5 | peripheral pieces. There are the system |
| 6 | management tools. And these are used by people |
| 7 | inside of the data center to kind of keep the |
| 8 | computer running every day. They do maintenance. |
| 9 | We have handed over this pile of stuff to them and |
| 10 | they have got to keep it running. So they have |
| 11 | basically gauges they watch to monitor what is |
| 12 | going on, and if something breaks they have tools |
| 13 | to fix what breaks. Those are the monitoring and |
| 14 | management tools and that includes for the |
| 15 | network, for the storage, for all the software, |
| 16 | for the applications, for all of it. So there is |
| 17 | a whole cluster of these management tools. |
| 18 | Content to management is really part of |
| 19 | the data management services. So if I was drawing |
| 20 | this picture, our operating system, then the |
| 21 | database -- then the data management services, |
| 22 | applications server, and then these -- other side, |
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| 1 | kind of the management tools to keep it running |
| 2 | and then the development tools. The programmers |
| 3 | have their own set of tools. There are two |
| 4 | different jobs here in building these. They are |
| 5 | people who build the applications and then the |
| 6 | people who run them every day. |
| 7 | Q. All right, sir. |
| 8 | A. So the development environment for the |
| 9 | builders and the monitoring and management tools |
| 10 | for the runners, if will you. |
| 11 | Q. On the document that you have in front of |
| 12 | you, Exhibit 550, on the column next to technology |
| 13 | what on there would be the equivalent of the |
| 14 | application server? I guess that's up at the top |
| 15 | where it says "App Server." |
| 16 | A. App server, yeah. |
| 17 | Q. And the data management system would be |
| 18 | equivalent to what other items listed here? |
| 19 | A. Database and content management. And |
| 20 | what's not listed there is file management. |
| 21 | Q. Okay. And then the other piece that you |
| 22 | mentioned -- data management, application server |
| 00028 |
| 1 | and the operating system. |
| 2 | A. And the operating system is not listed |
| 3 | here at all. Because, again, this is -- again, |
| 4 | this is a competitive profile and we just don't |
| 5 | compete in the operating system. So this was not |
| 6 | intended to be a complete list of the technology |
| 7 | stack, just the areas in which we compete. |
| 8 | Q. In the technology, would you include |
| 9 | software applications as part of the technology |
| 10 | stack? |
| 11 | A. No. |
| 12 | Q. And why is that? |
| 13 | A. Because the users are different. So in |
| 14 | one case in the technology stack the users are |
| 15 | data processing professionals. In the case of |
| 16 | applications, the users are everybody. Microsoft |
| 17 | Word is an example of a desktop application. Our |
| 18 | accounting systems are designed for professional |
| 19 | accountants, not for -- and employees of companies |
| 20 | to fill out expense reports on the internet. So |
| 21 | these are not aimed -- you do not have to be an IT |
| 22 | professional to use applications. You have to be |
| 00029 |
| 1 | an IT professional to use parts of the technology |
| 2 | stack. |
| 3 | Q. All right, sir. Now, in the portions -- |
| 4 | the parts of the technology stack that you |
| 5 | described, in which ones of those does Oracle |
| 6 | offer a product? |
| 7 | A. I think in everything listed here. So |
| 8 | this is our list. So we offer a product in |
| 9 | database, application server, business |
| 10 | intelligence, development tools, application |
| 11 | integration, systems management. I'm not sure I |
| 12 | would separate out storage management as separate |
| 13 | from systems management, but, you know, network |
| 14 | services management, content management. So those |
| 15 | are all areas in which we compete. |
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| 17 | Q. All right. Now, is there in the stack as |
| 18 | described it, is there a layer there that you |
| 19 | would equate with the term middleware? |
| 20 | A. Yeah, absolutely. |
| 21 | Q. And what layer is that? |
| 22 | A. The application server certainly, |
| 00032 |
| 1 | business intelligence, parts of content |
| 2 | management, application integration are all |
| 3 | middleware. |
| 4 | Q. And you offer those products that you |
| 5 | have described as part of middleware? |
| 6 | A. Yes. |
| 7 | Q. Who else out there offers products that |
| 8 | would fit in the category of middleware? |
| 9 | A. IBM, Microsoft, Sun, BEA, SAP. |
| 10 | Q. What middleware products does SAP offer? |
| 11 | A. They have a product called Net-Weaver. |
| 12 | And, again, since we last talked, SAP has |
| 13 | aggressively moved into the middleware business. |
| 14 | They used to just be in the middleware business |
| 15 | for SAP applications, but they have gotten very, |
| 16 | very aggressive with their Net-Weaver product and |
| 17 | they are now selling it. They have aggressively |
| 18 | entered the market in competition with IBM and |
| 19 | Oracle and Microsoft and a lot of others. |
| 20 | Q. And what do you understand their |
| 21 | Net-Weaver product to consist of? |
| 22 | A. It's got a Java-execution environment. |
| 00033 |
| 1 | It has an ABAP 4. SAP is written in a language -- |
| 2 | mainly in a language called ABAP 4. |
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| 5 | And it's got a Java environment in it. |
| 6 | It has business intelligence tools. It has |
| 7 | integration components. |
| 8 | BY MR. SCOTT: |
| 9 | Q. All right, sir. And what function -- |
| 10 | what does the SAP product do, as you understand |
| 11 | it? |
| 12 | A. Exactly what all of the middleware |
| 13 | software does. It's an environment for running |
| 14 | applications. In other words, they have their own |
| 15 | set of development tools, and you develop either |
| 16 | an ABAP 4 or Java. You write the instructions and |
| 17 | then you put the instructions into the application |
| 18 | server and the application server executes the |
| 19 | program, runs the SAP program. |
| 20 | Q. All right, sir. Is the Net-Weaver |
| 21 | product, does that operate software applications |
| 22 | other than SAP? |
| 00034 |
| 1 | A. Sure. |
| 2 | Q. And is there any that you know of that it |
| 3 | does not operate? |
| 4 | A. So it runs languages. So the best way to |
| 5 | describe it is, if you wrote a program in Java, |
| 6 | the Net-Weaver environment would run it. If you |
| 7 | wrote -- now, ABAP really is a proprietary |
| 8 | programming language to SAP. Java is not. Java |
| 9 | is an industry standard language. So it supports |
| 10 | both SAP's old proprietary language, ABAP, and |
| 11 | where SAP is going, which is Java. |
| 12 | Q. Now, your middleware products, what |
| 13 | language are they written in? |
| 14 | A. Very similar to SAP. Well, you shouldn't |
| 15 | say "written in." What languages do they run. |
| 16 | It's really a run-time environment. |
| 17 | So they run our old fashion forms |
| 18 | environment. We move to Java a long time ago, so |
| 19 | a lot -- so we were very early on on the Java |
| 20 | train. We were the first application company |
| 21 | really to go to the internet and we were the first |
| 22 | application company to adopt Java as its |
| 00035 |
| 1 | programming environment. So we support our older |
| 2 | environment forms, as well as our new environment, |
| 3 | Java. |
| 4 | Q. All right, sir. And we may have hit on |
| 5 | this, and if I have I apologize. I just want to |
| 6 | be clear. Does your middleware product operate |
| 7 | applications other an Oracle? |
| 8 | A. Of course. |
| 9 | Q. Now, are you aware of there being some |
| 10 | agreement reached recently between SAP and |
| 11 | Microsoft pertaining to the Net-Weaver product? |
| 12 | A. Yeah, I think so. |
| 13 | Q. And what, if any, understanding do you |
| 14 | have of that agreement? |
| 15 | A. I believe -- well, Microsoft has its own |
| 16 | project language called C-Sharp, and Microsoft has |
| 17 | been moving to improve its coexistence with its |
| 18 | competitors, to improve its relationships with its |
| 19 | competitors. And Oracle, SAP and even Sun have |
| 20 | signed agreements or announced agreements with |
| 21 | Microsoft supporting coexistence with Microsoft's |
| 22 | technology platform which is called .Net. |
| 00036 |
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| 7 | Q. All right, sir. You indicated that |
| 8 | Microsoft and Oracle had reached some agreement? |
| 9 | A. Right. |
| 10 | Q. And could you describe that agreement, |
| 11 | please? |
| 12 | A. Again, it's pretty much a coexistence |
| 13 | with Microsoft's .Net, specifically Microsoft's |
| 14 | development tools. Microsoft is very, very strong |
| 15 | in providing an environment called Visual Studio |
| 16 | for programmers. And sometimes programmers want |
| 17 | to program in Java, and if they want to program in |
| 18 | Java, that's great. We happen to have a Java |
| 19 | development environment ourself and a lot of other |
| 20 | people have a Java development environments, but |
| 21 | Microsoft has its own development environment for |
| 22 | C-Sharp and it's called Visual Studio. And we |
| 00037 |
| 1 | want to make sure if programmers would like to |
| 2 | program in Visual Studio they can still use the |
| 3 | Oracle database. So you can use Microsoft tools |
| 4 | to write applications and run those applications |
| 5 | on top of our database. So, again, it's to make |
| 6 | sure there is graceful coexistence between these |
| 7 | companies even though we compete. |
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| 14 | Q. What is your understanding of the deal |
| 15 | Sun has with Microsoft? |
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| 18 | THE WITNESS: Yeah. Again, I think |
| 19 | besides the fact that they settled their lawsuits, |
| 20 | again, it's all around coexistence. It's all |
| 21 | designed -- the general umbrella for all of this |
| 22 | is companies have different vendors' products |
| 00038 |
| 1 | inside the company and Microsoft would like to |
| 2 | make sure that their products work well with Sun's |
| 3 | products and their products work well with |
| 4 | Oracle's product and their products work well with |
| 5 | SAP products. |
| | |
| 7 | Q. Does .Net work well with Oracle's ERP |
| 8 | application? |
| 9 | A. Well, it depends what you mean by "work |
| 10 | with." Oracle's ERP applications are either |
| 11 | written in forms or written in Java. They are not |
| 12 | written in .Net. It doesn't mean you can't write |
| 13 | a program in .Net and integrate it too and have it |
| 14 | talk to Oracle applications. So it's back -- you |
| 15 | go through our integration layer to go ahead and |
| 16 | do that, but, yes, we certainly can coexist, and |
| 17 | if you have a Web Services program over here |
| 18 | written in .Net and our programs are web-service |
| 19 | enabled, and they are, and they are written in |
| 20 | Java, those programs can communicate and coexist. |
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| 6 | Q. Microsoft -- what portions of the |
| 7 | technology stack does Microsoft supply? |
| 8 | A. Microsoft and IBM are the two companies I |
| 9 | can think of that pretty much supply the entire |
| 10 | stack. So they have the operating -- everything |
| 11 | you have in here, plus the operating system, you |
| 12 | name it, they have got it. Those two companies |
| 13 | are the only companies I can think of that |
| 14 | participate in every area of the stack. |
| 15 | Q. And, again, I'm not trying to misstate |
| 16 | you, so if I have got the terminology wrong please |
| 17 | tell me. I understand, for example, with your |
| 18 | product, there is a middleware product upon which |
| 19 | your applications are placed and then they work |
| 20 | directly off that middleware product; correct? |
| 21 | A. Correct. |
| 22 | Q. Would your product be able to be put |
| 00041 |
| 1 | directly on top of the Microsoft middleware |
| 2 | product and be able to operate? |
| 3 | A. Could our applications? |
| 4 | Q. Yes, sir. |
| 5 | A. Okay. No. Because our applications are |
| 6 | written in Java and the Microsoft middleware |
| 7 | doesn't understand Java. In fact, that was the |
| 8 | big argument between Sun and Microsoft. So |
| 9 | Microsoft doesn't support Java. You come and |
| 10 | speak Hungarian to Microsoft, they have no idea |
| 11 | what you are saying. So no, you couldn't rehost |
| 12 | or you couldn't recompile or you couldn't take our |
| 13 | applications and have it run natively on top of |
| 14 | the Microsoft middleware because they wouldn't |
| 15 | understand the language we were speaking, because |
| 16 | we're speaking Java and they speak C-Sharp. |
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| 9 | Q. Now, the on-demand service that you are |
| 10 | offering you used to call outsourcing? |
| 11 | A. We used to call it outsourcing. |
| 12 | Q. So you are actually running somebody's |
| 13 | software for them on your machines? |
| 14 | A. It's usually our software, but it's not |
| 15 | exclusively our software. So as distinguished |
| 16 | between IBM that does outsourcing and Oracle that |
| 17 | does outsourcing, we try to -- we specialize in |
| 18 | running our own software. IBM really will run |
| 19 | anyone's software. We run our own software |
| 20 | primarily, but we will run third-party |
| 21 | applications and we will run custom applications |
| 22 | as well as part of a larger suite. |
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| 13 | Q. In your outsourcing service does the |
| 14 | customer buy the software? |
| 15 | A. Yes, they do. |
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| 13 | Q. All right, sir. Now, you indicated |
| 14 | earlier, and, again, please correct me if I have |
| 15 | gotten this wrong, that in addition to Microsoft, |
| 16 | IBM has what you would call all the components of |
| 17 | the stack? |
| 18 | A. Yes. |
| 19 | Q. And which of the components offered by |
| 20 | IBM does your application software work with? |
| 21 | A. Which do we work with? |
| 22 | Q. Yes, sir. |
| 00055 |
| 1 | A. Well, again, we coexist. Now, IBM's |
| 2 | application server supports Java. Most of the |
| 3 | application servers support Java. In fact, the |
| 4 | only application server that I know of that |
| 5 | doesn't support Java is Microsoft's. |
| 6 | So we can -- an application written on |
| 7 | top of Web Sphere, which is the name of IBM's |
| 8 | application server, an application written on top |
| 9 | of Web Sphere is likely written in Java, and it |
| 10 | can communicate through Web Services with an |
| 11 | Oracle application. You can actually take an |
| 12 | application written on top of the Oracle |
| 13 | application server and run it on top of the IBM |
| 14 | application server. You can't do that with |
| 15 | Microsoft. We talked about that before, but you |
| 16 | can actually lift one of our Java programs off our |
| 17 | application server and run it on -- without |
| 18 | modification run it on the IBM application server. |
| 19 | Q. Do your applications, if you put them on |
| 20 | the middleware that's offered by IBM, would they |
| 21 | operate? |
| 22 | A. The Java -- so if our applications were |
| 00056 |
| 1 | written 100 percent in Java, which they will be at |
| 2 | some point in time in the future, the answer would |
| 3 | be yes. But since they are not, since our |
| 4 | applications are written in a combination of Java |
| 5 | and an older language called Forms, the Java |
| 6 | portion would, but the Forms position would not. |
| 7 | Q. Now, you indicated that at some point in |
| 8 | time that your software would be written entirely |
| 9 | in Java? |
| 10 | A. We think so, yes. |
| 11 | Q. And when do you project that to occur? |
| 12 | A. Oh, every last bit, it would be years. |
| 13 | Q. And what percentage of your application |
| 14 | software is currently written in Java? |
| 15 | A. I'm guessing 30 percent. |
| 16 | Q. Now, when did you begin first producing |
| 17 | it using Java? And, again, talking about your |
| 18 | application software. |
| 19 | A. Just starting five years ago. |
| 20 | Q. And why did you begin using Java to write |
| 21 | your application software? |
| 22 | A. We are a great believer in industry |
| 00057 |
| 1 | standards and interoperability, so our database |
| 2 | was based on a standard language called SQL, and |
| 3 | we will invent proprietary languages only in so |
| 4 | far as that there is no standard out there that we |
| 5 | can adopt. So we much prefer a adopting standard |
| 6 | languages. |
| 7 | Actually, to promote a proprietary |
| 8 | language you really have to be the gorilla in the |
| 9 | marketplace, and the only companies that have |
| 10 | promoted these proprietary languages successfully |
| 11 | was IBM when they were number one and Microsoft |
| 12 | now because they are number one. |
| 13 | Q. Now, the Microsoft -- the Microsoft stack |
| 14 | you said doesn't operate on Java. |
| 15 | A. Correct. |
| 16 | Q. As your software becomes more and more |
| 17 | Java enriched -- |
| 18 | A. Yes. |
| 19 | Q. -- for want of a better term, will that |
| 20 | make it easier for it to operate on the IBM stack? |
| 21 | A. Sure. On the IBM middleware. On the IBM |
| 22 | Web Sphere. Let me clarify that. |
| 00058 |
| 1 | Q. Sure. |
| 2 | A. On the IBM middleware, yes. |
| 3 | Q. Now, you have used the term "IBM Web |
| 4 | Sphere a couple of times. |
| 5 | A. Yes. |
| 6 | Q. What is that? |
| 7 | A. That's IBM's brand name for their |
| 8 | middleware. |
| 9 | Q. And that's a Java-based product? |
| 10 | A. Yes, it is. It's Java plus many other |
| 11 | things. |
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| 20 | Q. All right, Mr. Ellison. Let me ask you, |
| 21 | if you would, to turn back to Exhibit 550 to your |
| 22 | deposition. |
| 00059 |
| 1 | A. Yeah. |
| 2 | Q. Still on page 3. |
| 3 | A. Yes. |
| 4 | Q. And just so that -- because we've been |
| 5 | over a number of topics, so the record is clear on |
| 6 | this, could you describe what database product |
| 7 | Oracle currently has available? |
| 8 | A. The Oracle database, it's actually called |
| 9 | Oracle, same as the name of our company. We have |
| 10 | a couple -- three versions actually: Enterprise |
| 11 | Edition, Standard Edition and Standard Edition 1. |
| 12 | Q. All right, sir. And the difference |
| 13 | between those products is what? |
| 14 | A. You have the most features in Enterprise |
| 15 | Edition, and you can run the most number of |
| 16 | processors with Enterprise Edition. So it's |
| 17 | scaled. It's just designed for a larger number of |
| 18 | users, larger databases. |
| 19 | Q. And IBM's database products, what are |
| 20 | they? |
| 21 | A. DB2. IBM has some older ones called IMS, |
| 22 | but they are no longer relevant. |
| 00060 |
| 1 | Q. And the IBM DB2 product is a product that |
| 2 | your Oracle database product competes with? |
| 3 | A. Yes. |
| 4 | Q. And Microsoft, what database products do |
| 5 | they offer? |
| 6 | A. It's a product called Sequel Server. |
| 7 | Q. All right, sir. And that is roughly |
| 8 | equivalent to your Oracle database product? |
| 9 | A. Yeah, we don't think it's as good, but... |
| 10 | Q. That's why I said "roughly." |
| 11 | A. Roughly. |
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| 16 | Q. Does Oracle's applications product work |
| 17 | with the IBM DB2 database? |
| 18 | A. No, it does not. |
| 19 | Q. Does Oracle's applications products work |
| 20 | with the Microsoft Sequel Server database product? |
| 21 | A. No, it does not. |
| 22 | Q. All right, sir. Now, in the application |
| 00062 |
| 1 | server, what products does Oracle offer? |
| 2 | A. We have a product called the Oracle |
| 3 | Application Server. |
| 4 | Q. And that product is essentially what? |
| 5 | A. It is integration software. Our Java |
| 6 | run-time environment, business intelligence |
| 7 | software. Again, I'm not sure what I have already |
| 8 | mentioned. Forms, Java, business intelligence, |
| 9 | integration, those things. |
| 10 | Q. And when you say integration software in |
| 11 | the context of your application server product, |
| 12 | what do you mean? |
| 13 | A. It actually has connectors to Siebel |
| 14 | systems and SAP Systems and PeopleSoft systems and |
| 15 | Lawson systems and Cerner systems and all sorts of |
| 16 | other systems for connecting up these systems. |
| 17 | Q. To your database? |
| 18 | A. No. To connect a Siebel system, Siebel |
| 19 | application system, to an Oracle application |
| 20 | system. To connect a Lawson system to an Oracle |
| 21 | system. It's that software we talked about before |
| 22 | where there is two portions; one allows them -- I |
| 00063 |
| 1 | used the cell phone metaphor; one piece allows |
| 2 | program A to connect to program B so you can talk, |
| 3 | and then there is the translation piece. |
| 4 | Q. All right, sir. And the IBM App Server |
| 5 | product, do you know what that is? |
| 6 | A. The IBM application server product? |
| 7 | Q. Yes, sir. |
| 8 | A. Called Web Sphere. |
| 9 | Q. And does the Oracle applications, the ERP |
| 10 | software, work with that product? |
| 11 | A. No. I think you asked me, but it would |
| 12 | runs the -- it would run the Java portion of our |
| 13 | applications but not the portion in written Forms. |
| 14 | So the intent is to get our applications to |
| 15 | 100 percent to Java, and I said that will take |
| 16 | years. At that point it should run on the IBM |
| 17 | application server. |
| 18 | Q. And the Microsoft, their application |
| 19 | server product is called what? |
| 20 | A. Just Windows. |
| 21 | Q. And Oracle's ERP software does not run |
| 22 | with that application software? |
| 00064 |
| 1 | A. They don't support the Java language. So |
| 2 | it couldn't execute. It couldn't run -- we can |
| 3 | coexist, coexisting versus running on, but, no, we |
| 4 | will never be able to run on the Microsoft |
| 5 | application server because Microsoft has no |
| 6 | intention of supporting the Java language. |
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| 7 | Q. And IBM, does it have an application |
| 8 | integration product that is over and above what is |
| 9 | offered in its application server? |
| 10 | A. "Web Sphere" is one of these terms like |
| 11 | "On Demand." It's a big umbrella term and IBM |
| 12 | throws almost everything with the kitchen sink |
| 13 | underneath it. So when IBM says our Web Sphere |
| 14 | revenue was so many dollars, I believe it includes |
| 15 | all their integration software. But it really -- |
| 16 | Web Sphere is many different products, including, |
| 17 | so Web Sphere is not exactly a product. It's, |
| 18 | again, this umbrella term under which lots of |
| 19 | products are listed. And it includes -- and all |
| 20 | their integration software falls under the |
| 21 | category of Web Sphere products. |
| 22 | Q. Does IBM offer an integration software |
| 00066 |
| 1 | product that is independent of its application |
| 2 | servers? |
| 3 | A. They offer integration software |
| 4 | independent of their Java server. Again, what IBM |
| 5 | calls an application server, it's like a menu. |
| 6 | It's just like you can put this list of products |
| 7 | on a menu and we'll call this menu Web Sphere, and |
| 8 | so it's this name of this list -- Web Sphere is a |
| 9 | name of a list of products. IBM would like you to |
| 10 | believe it's a product, but it's really a bunch of |
| 11 | products written by different people at different |
| 12 | times and they just aggregate it together as this |
| 13 | conceptually aggregate thing together. |
| 14 | Q. And Microsoft, what do they have in the |
| 15 | way of application integration software that's |
| 16 | available? |
| 17 | A. Windows Event Server. |
| 18 | Q. Is that part of the application server? |
| 19 | A. It's part of a Windows Event Server, |
| 20 | which is an application server, and that is a |
| 21 | product. |
| 22 | Q. Now, BEA, what type of application server |
| 00067 |
| 1 | product do they offer? |
| 2 | A. Again, it's Java-based. The name of the |
| 3 | product is WebLogic and they have integration |
| 4 | software and portal software and it's got the same |
| 5 | thing. We all compete in these areas. |
| 6 | Q. Now, BEA does not have a database |
| 7 | product? |
| 8 | A. They do not. |
| 9 | Q. Their application server, what databases |
| 10 | are you aware of that that will operate with? |
| 11 | A. All of the majors. Most all of them. I |
| 12 | mean IBM, Oracle, Microsoft, Sybase. Probably |
| 13 | more than that. |
| 14 | Q. And will your application software |
| 15 | operate on -- operate with a BEA application |
| 16 | server? |
| 17 | A. Will our application software coexist -- |
| 18 | Q. Can you run your application server |
| 19 | software on a BEA system application server? |
| 20 | A. If it's written in Java. So same thing |
| 21 | with IBM. So the Java portion of the application |
| 22 | can run on the BEA application server, but the |
| 00068 |
| 1 | Forms portions cannot. |
| 2 | Q. And going down the chart, we have on page |
| 3 | 3 of Exhibit 550, it shows BEA having a circle |
| 4 | half black and half white, which indicates |
| 5 | "player" at the top next to application |
| 6 | integration. |
| 7 | Do you see that? |
| 8 | A. Yes, I do. |
| 9 | Q. Do you have any idea what that means? |
| 10 | A. I guess, you know, they're a relatively |
| 11 | new player in applications integration. |
| 12 | Q. What integration product does BEA have? |
| 13 | A. Again, it's around -- it's built around |
| 14 | web services. Again, it has a lot of the |
| 15 | characteristics of ours. It's built around Java |
| 16 | Web Services and specific application translators. |
| 17 | Q. And WebLogic that you talked about, the |
| 18 | product that BEA, has what is that? |
| 19 | A. WebLogic is the name of their Java |
| 20 | application server, but it also now includes -- |
| 21 | they have expanded it again since we last talked. |
| 22 | They have added a lot of integration software, |
| 00069 |
| 1 | they have added portal software, so they have |
| 2 | expanded their footprint. |
| 3 | Q. And the integration software that BEA has |
| 4 | added since we last talked, what does that consist |
| 5 | of, what does it do? |
| 6 | A. It's more connectors to more -- you know, |
| 7 | to more databases, more application systems. It's |
| 8 | a more capable portal. A portal takes data from |
| 9 | lots of separate systems and puts them on the same |
| 10 | web page. |
| 11 | Q. Now, you mentioned Web Services is a |
| 12 | means of application integration; correct? |
| 13 | A. Yes. |
| 14 | Q. And how long have Web Services been a |
| 15 | significant means of doing that type of |
| 16 | application integration? |
| 17 | A. For years. |
| 18 | Q. Beginning approximately when? Well, let |
| 19 | me ask you -- |
| 20 | A. Four years ago. |
| 21 | Q. Let me ask this follow-up question. Who |
| 22 | was the first one that offered Web Services as a |
| 00070 |
| 1 | way of doing application integration? |
| 2 | A. Sun BEA. |
| 3 | Q. And was that offered for a particular |
| 4 | type of product? |
| 5 | A. For their Java -- for their Java server. |
| 6 | Q. When did Oracle first begin offering Web |
| 7 | Services as a means of application integration? |
| 8 | A. Very shortly thereafter. |
| 9 | Q. And what products did you offer that |
| 10 | integration service for? |
| 11 | A. For our application server. It came as |
| 12 | part of our application server. |
| 13 | Q. And when you say it came as a part of |
| 14 | your application server, what does that mean? |
| 15 | A. Well, it means if you use our tool set, |
| 16 | if you build - if you build your applications |
| 17 | using our Java development environment and you run |
| 18 | our application server, those -- and program |
| 19 | according to the Web Services standards, I mean, |
| 20 | programmers have to -- it's a set of standards the |
| 21 | way you program to, then program A will be able to |
| 22 | communicate with program B across the internet. |
| 00071 |
| 1 | Q. And does SAP offer similar type services? |
| 2 | A. Yes, they do. |
| 3 | Q. And do you recall when they began doing |
| 4 | that? |
| 5 | A. Sometime after -- they adopted Java later |
| 6 | than we did, but two years ago. |
| 7 | MR. WALL: I'm sorry, what is the "that"? |
| 8 | I'm not clear what the antecedent is. |
| 9 | MR. SCOTT: The web integration through |
| 10 | Web Services. |
| 11 | THE WITNESS: So - and it depends where |
| 12 | it shows up in the stack. You might have the |
| 13 | ability to support Web Services in your |
| 14 | application server or your applications might not |
| 15 | be written to the standards, so Web Services are a |
| 16 | set of standards you have to write to. |
| 17 | So first you would create the technology |
| 18 | for Web Services and then you would adapt your |
| 19 | applications to support Web Services. So first |
| 20 | comes the technology then the applications have to |
| 21 | be modified. |
| 22 | |
| 00072 |
| 1 | BY MR. SCOTT: |
| 2 | Q. And were your applications modified to |
| 3 | work with Web Services at the time you offered |
| 4 | that product? |
| 5 | A. The very beginning -- no. The answer is |
| 6 | no. It took more time for us. And it's an |
| 7 | ongoing process. We because have a lot of |
| 8 | application code and a lot of application code has |
| 9 | to be updated and updated to support Web Services. |
| 10 | Q. And does PeopleSoft offer integration |
| 11 | through Web Services? |
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| 13 | Q. And are you aware of any other software, |
| 14 | ERP software, vendor who has developed their |
| 15 | software to the point where integration can take |
| 16 | place through Web Services? |
| 17 | A. I think everyone is doing this, but I |
| 18 | just don't know the status of each vendor |
| 19 | separately. |
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| 10 | Q. How was software integration done before |
| 11 | the possibility of doing it through Web Services |
| 12 | was introduced to the market? |
| 13 | A. Again, all Web Services are is a standard |
| 14 | protocol. I hate -- I think the metaphor holds. |
| 15 | It's just a way of program A, you know, |
| 16 | establishing a connection to program B. So for |
| 17 | years we've been able to -- we've had different |
| 18 | techniques called remote procedure calls, RPCs, |
| 19 | where a program in computer A could issue a remote |
| 20 | procedure call and talk to computer B. But now |
| 21 | that the internet has become a standard way of |
| 22 | lacing these computers together, and now that we |
| 00075 |
| 1 | have -- it's really about standards. |
| 2 | We have always been able to have a |
| 3 | program -- program A and program B agree on how to |
| 4 | communicate through what's called a remote |
| 5 | procedure call. What's different about Web |
| 6 | Services now is there is a global standard for |
| 7 | interconnecting machines called the internet, and |
| 8 | there are intranets and private internets and all |
| 9 | these other things, but it's a global standard. |
| 10 | Now that there is this global standard for |
| 11 | interconnecting machines, we can build a program |
| 12 | that uses these standards and these are called Web |
| 13 | Services that adopts that standard way of |
| 14 | interconnecting. |
| 15 | It's as if every cellular telephone -- |
| 16 | and there is not -- there is not a global standard |
| 17 | for cellular telephones. The reason you need a |
| 18 | different cell phone in Europe is because there |
| 19 | are different ways, you know, different |
| 20 | technologies, but there is -- so there is no |
| 21 | standard way of cell phones communicating |
| 22 | globally. There is a standard way for computers |
| 00076 |
| 1 | to communicate globally. So now we can say, all |
| 2 | right, we're all going to go to this standard |
| 3 | protocol called Web Services to establish a |
| 4 | connection. So any program that can communicate |
| 5 | with any other program on any computer any place |
| 6 | in the world just as long as they are attached to |
| 7 | an internet or intranet or connected in this |
| 8 | standard way. |
| 9 | It does not solve the problem of, okay, |
| 10 | now once we have established a connection, you |
| 11 | know, just like me calling someone in Budapest, if |
| 12 | I don't speak Hungarian and they don't speak |
| 13 | English, we've got a problem. |
| 14 | Q. And that would bring into play the |
| 15 | translation point of the integration that you |
| 16 | talked about earlier? |
| 17 | A. Correct. |
| 18 | Q. And is that translation point something |
| 19 | that's available through the web or is that |
| 20 | something that is available through the |
| 21 | application server? |
| 22 | A. It's definitely not available through the |
| 00077 |
| 1 | web. It would be available through the |
| 2 | application server and perhaps even the |
| 3 | applications themselves have to adapt. |
| 4 | Q. And when you say the applications |
| 5 | themselves may to have adapt, what does that mean? |
| 6 | A. We've recently introduced this thing |
| 7 | called the customer data hub, and the customer |
| 8 | data hub recognizes that companies would like to |
| 9 | have -- our big thrust in the e-business suite, |
| 10 | the holy grail, the way I sold the e-business |
| 11 | suite, one of the great things about it, was all |
| 12 | your customer data was in one database. So think |
| 13 | about get all your data in one database and then |
| 14 | kind of attached the applications to this data. |
| 15 | The problem with the e-business suite is |
| 16 | it requires customers to get the bulk of their |
| 17 | applications from Oracle, and a lot of companies |
| 18 | have existing -- have lots of different |
| 19 | applications from lots of different vendors. They |
| 20 | have been buying applications for the last 10 |
| 21 | years and they don't want to switch out all those |
| 22 | applications and bring in only Oracle, but they |
| 00078 |
| 1 | love the idea of having all their customer data in |
| 2 | one place. |
| 3 | So we said, all right, as an alternative |
| 4 | to the e-business suite, I think we can solve the |
| 5 | problem another way. And solving the problem |
| 6 | another way is saying, all right, keep your Siebel |
| 7 | and keep your SAP and keep your whatever you got, |
| 8 | your PeopleSoft, who knows what you got, all this |
| 9 | different stuff, keep it all, the Oracle |
| 10 | financials, I mean live in this environment, but |
| 11 | we will refer to it as a spoke system and we will |
| 12 | have at the center this database called the |
| 13 | customer data hub, and every time a salesman |
| 14 | enters a new customer into the Siebel we'll make a |
| 15 | copy of that data, if you will, it goes from the |
| 16 | hub to the spoke. Every time the billing system |
| 17 | notes that a customer is late in paying, we'll |
| 18 | make a copy of that, that customer information, |
| 19 | put that in the customer data hub. |
| 20 | So you are going to collect all much this |
| 21 | information from all of these spoke systems into |
| 22 | this hub system and you can interconnect them |
| 00079 |
| 1 | using Web Services to establish the connection and |
| 2 | then the translation software to -- and then |
| 3 | Oracle provides what is called a data model for a |
| 4 | very rich database. So we can handle sales |
| 5 | information and billing information and marketing |
| 6 | information and service information for all |
| 7 | different kinds of customers in all different |
| 8 | kinds of industries. |
| 9 | Q. Do you see this product as a replacement |
| 10 | for your application software? |
| 11 | A. No. No. |
| 12 | Q. Then what is the purpose of it? |
| 13 | A. It's -- not everyone is going to buy |
| 14 | Oracle's application software. Not everyone is |
| 15 | going to buy only Oracle application software. |
| 16 | Very large companies, even if they decided to go |
| 17 | the e-business way, would take them years to get |
| 18 | from where they are today to get to the e-business |
| 19 | suite, and they would like to take advantage of |
| 20 | having that 362-degree view of their customers. |
| 21 | They like the idea of all their customer |
| 22 | information in one place. So it is something |
| 00080 |
| 1 | that's very attractive to large customers who live |
| 2 | in an environment of heterogenous technologies and |
| 3 | heterogenous applications. |
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| 21 | Q. Now, do you -- in implementing the data |
| 22 | hub and product, do you see that as a means by |
| 00096 |
| 1 | which you could end up selling more or less |
| 2 | application software? |
| 3 | A. More. |
| 4 | Q. And how is that? |
| 5 | A. Again, we think it's a very |
| 6 | interesting -- there are two kinds of barriers -- |
| 7 | there is two problems with selling the e-business |
| 8 | suite. One is the conceptual problem which is, |
| 9 | gee, I don't want to throw away all my existing |
| 10 | applications and go to Oracle, just get out of my |
| 11 | office, I'm not going to do it. The other is, I |
| 12 | love the idea, but how do I get from here to |
| 13 | there. It's going to take years. |
| 14 | Q. How do I get from here to there in |
| 15 | relation to what? |
| 16 | A. How do I go from my heterogenous |
| 17 | environment of thousands of separate systems to |
| 18 | this nirvana you're talking about of this Oracle |
| 19 | e-business suite. I don't know how I gracefully |
| 20 | migrate from where I am today. I don't know how |
| 21 | to get there. Tell me how I get there. |
| 22 | And a customer data hub is designed to |
| 00097 |
| 1 | address both of those customers. Where the |
| 2 | e-business suite has been very successful is |
| 3 | smaller companies where the cost and the time |
| 4 | required to put in the e-business suite is just |
| 5 | not onerous. |
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| 15 | Q. The data hub product you believe will |
| 16 | allow you to sell more application software |
| 17 | because it will give a mechanism for customers who |
| 18 | want a central database to transition from having |
| 19 | a lot of systems to the e-business suite and get |
| 20 | the benefit of having a central database during |
| 21 | that process? |
| 22 | A. Correct. |
| 00098 |
| 1 | Q. And then for other customers who are not |
| 2 | in the market to change because they don't want to |
| 3 | go buy a system, it will allow them to centralize |
| 4 | their data in one area and allow you to sell some |
| 5 | application software to operate on top of the hub? |
| 6 | A. Right. Right. Otherwise that customer |
| 7 | would just be closed to us for some time. |
| 8 | Clearly, we would have opportunities in very large |
| 9 | companies. You have opportunities to sell this |
| 10 | division and that division and this application, |
| 11 | but it's nice to not be on the periphery. It's |
| 12 | nice to be in the center. |
| 13 | Q. When was the data hub product rolled out |
| 14 | by Oracle? |
| 15 | A. In the last six months. |
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| 14 | Q. When your deposition was taken last year, |
| 15 | you had decided to roll out the data hub product? |
| 16 | A. What was the date of my deposition? |
| 17 | Q. January 20th, 2004. I misspoke. This |
| 18 | year. |
| 19 | A. This year, right. Probably. |
| 20 | Q. Do you have a specific recollection as of |
| 21 | the time of your deposition that you had decided |
| 22 | to roll out the data hub product? |
| 00115 |
| 1 | A. I don't. |
| 2 | Q. Would there be documents within Oracle |
| 3 | that would indicate when you had decided to roll |
| 4 | out that product? |
| 5 | A. Well, clearly we roll -- it was shortly |
| 6 | before we announced it. Shortly, as I say, no |
| 7 | more than 60 days before we announced it and maybe |
| 8 | as soon as -- the decision might not have been |
| 9 | made -- may have been two weeks before, so I just |
| 10 | don't remember. |
| 11 | Q. Well, certainly when your deposition was |
| 12 | taken in January 20th, 2004, you were aware of the |
| 13 | data hub product being under development at |
| 14 | Oracle? |
| 15 | A. Yes, probably, yeah. |
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| 00120 |
| 1 | Q. Now, does the data hub only handle |
| 2 | customer-related information? |
| 3 | A. Yes, but that's a little bit misleading |
| 4 | because when you keep track of customers, you |
| 5 | would like to know what products those customer |
| 6 | buy. So when you say I'm just going to keep track |
| 7 | of customer data, you are forced to keep track of |
| 8 | product information. |
| 9 | Q. For example, does the data hub and the |
| 10 | software that comes with it, does that support |
| 11 | what we will call human resource functionality? |
| 12 | A. In a narrow sense. For example, you |
| 13 | might want to know who are the customer support |
| 14 | people that support General Electric, right, so |
| 15 | the answer is yeah, kind of. |
| 16 | Q. Okay. Well, does the data hub product, |
| 17 | as currently constituted, support things like |
| 18 | payroll and benefits and information and functions |
| 19 | related to a company's own employees? |
| 20 | A. Well, the answer is we are coming out |
| 21 | with a product shortly called the Employee Data |
| 22 | Hub, something like that, but, again, these things |
| 00121 |
| 1 | are all - the trouble - everything is connected. |
| 2 | So one of the things you would like to know is how |
| 3 | much am I spending selling to General Electric. |
| 4 | So to find that out you would have to know who are |
| 5 | the salespeople, how much they make, what you pay |
| 6 | to them in commissions. So, in other words, |
| 7 | you're asking the question show me my most |
| 8 | profitable customers, show me my most unprofitable |
| 9 | customers, how much did GE buy, how much should we |
| 10 | spend supporting General Electric, selling to |
| 11 | General Electric, all of those things. So you can |
| 12 | argue that's all customer data, that's all -- is |
| 13 | that customer data or HR data. |
| 14 | Q. Well, you said you are going to come out |
| 15 | at some point with something you are calling the |
| 16 | HR data hub? |
| 17 | A. Right. |
| 18 | Q. What is that? |
| 19 | A. That is -- again, a lot of people have |
| 20 | separate -- I think it's called an Employee Data |
| 21 | Hub, and there is a lot of the employee |
| 22 | information that you might not necessarily keep in |
| 00122 |
| 1 | your HR system. For example, you're authorized to |
| 2 | approve purchases over $10,000 -- up to $10,000. |
| 3 | That might be stored in your accounting system. |
| 4 | So your -- your territory includes all of the |
| 5 | State of Maine for sales. Well, that might be |
| 6 | stored in the sales system. So there is a lot of |
| 7 | information that's tied to people that you don't |
| 8 | think of necessarily being part of the HR system. |
| 9 | Q. Well, first of all, when did you start |
| 10 | developing the employee hub? |
| 11 | A. We are just -- it's a work-in-progress |
| 12 | right now. |
| 13 | Q. Do you have an estimated time of arrival |
| 14 | for that to hit the market? |
| 15 | A. We might, but I don't know what it is. |
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| 22 | Q. Does the current data hub handle |
| 00125 |
| 1 | financial management support, things such as |
| 2 | general ledger, accounts payable, accounts |
| 3 | receivable, asset management, those types of |
| 4 | functions? |
| 5 | A. No. |
| 6 | Q. Do you have any plans to roll out a |
| 7 | product that will do that in a data hub context? |
| 8 | A. No. The general ledger in a sense is a |
| 9 | data hub. There is what's called a consolidated |
| 10 | general ledger. Our general ledger product |
| 11 | actually allows you to have several different |
| 12 | companies in your -- General Electric uses it. |
| 13 | They have several different businesses, lots of |
| 14 | different businesses and they do what is called a |
| 15 | consolidation inside of their general ledger, |
| 16 | which is a hub function, statutorily required. |
| 17 | Q. So I take it that you're not coming out |
| 18 | with a financial data hub that will do that type |
| 19 | of thing? |
| 20 | A. It would be duplicative. |
| 21 | Q. Of your current products? |
| 22 | A. Yes. |
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| 13 | Q. All right, sir. Looking at page 3 on |
| 14 | Exhibit 550 again, the pieces that go in the |
| 15 | technology stack that you have defined would |
| 16 | include database, application servers and |
| 17 | application integration, correct? |
| 18 | A. The three primary chunks I would describe |
| 19 | would be operating system at the bottom, database |
| 20 | in the middle, and application server on top. We |
| 21 | put application integration as one of the |
| 22 | components of application server. |
| 00129 |
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| 10 | Q. All right, sir. Now, in relation to |
| 11 | operating systems -- or the technology stack |
| 12 | generally, as you have defined it, operating |
| 13 | systems, database and application server, would |
| 14 | the acquisition of PeopleSoft allow you to compete |
| 15 | better with Microsoft? |
| 16 | A. Absolutely. |
| 17 | Q. And how so? |
| 18 | A. Well, Microsoft's -- that's a very -- to |
| 19 | compete with Microsoft, we think -- Microsoft |
| 20 | relies on its scale to compete. So they sell |
| 21 | software in high volume at a low price. And what |
| 22 | enables you to sell software at a low price is |
| 00130 |
| 1 | high volume, because you have a very high fixed |
| 2 | cost and almost insignificant or nonexistent |
| 3 | marginal cost. So if you can amortize your fixed |
| 4 | cost over a large number of customers, you're able |
| 5 | to lower prices. That's why the biggest software |
| 6 | company in the world has very low prices. So to |
| 7 | compete with Microsoft, and the driving force for |
| 8 | this acquisition, is for us to get larger, for us |
| 9 | to have more customers, so we can compete on price |
| 10 | in what's going to be an increasingly |
| 11 | price-competitive market. |
| 12 | Q. All right. Now, let me back up here. |
| 13 | The idea of the PeopleSoft acquisition assisting |
| 14 | you in competing with Microsoft is a function of |
| 15 | scale? |
| 16 | A. Largely a function of scale. |
| 17 | Q. And in that context, you define "scale" |
| 18 | as meaning what? |
| 19 | A. More customers. |
| 20 | Q. And more customers would help you compete |
| 21 | with Microsoft how? |
| 22 | A. Okay. So let's say in order to build an |
| 00131 |
| 1 | application it costs you a million dollars. Let's |
| 2 | say you have one customer. You only got one |
| 3 | customer for the application. You have got to |
| 4 | charge at least a million dollars for it or you |
| 5 | lost money. Let's say you have a million |
| 6 | customers for it. You could make two dollars for |
| 7 | it and make a lot of money. |
| 8 | So the development costs are fixed. In |
| 9 | our business the development costs are different |
| 10 | than almost any other business in the world. We |
| 11 | have very, very large fixed costs and we have to |
| 12 | get back the money on the fixed costs by selling |
| 13 | more than one copy. The more copies we sell, the |
| 14 | more we can lower the price. |
| 15 | So if we think that price competition is |
| 16 | going to increase, and whenever Microsoft gets in |
| 17 | the neighborhood price competition increases, |
| 18 | guaranteed. As price competition increases, what |
| 19 | enables us to compete is having more customers, |
| 20 | because then we can charge a lower price. |
| 21 | And -- but, again, it's obviously more |
| 22 | complicated than that. We can also spend more on |
| 00132 |
| 1 | innovation and engineers and engineering and |
| 2 | enhancements. So if we have more customers -- if |
| 3 | we have one customer we can't spend a million |
| 4 | dollars on the product. You can't do it because |
| 5 | no one is going to pay you a million dollars for |
| 6 | the product. But if you have a million customers |
| 7 | or 10,000 customers, you can spend more. |
| 8 | So it's a combination. So as you get |
| 9 | more and more customers two things happen. You |
| 10 | spend more on R and D and you lower the price and |
| 11 | you kind of split the difference and, God willing, |
| 12 | your profits increase also. So that's the |
| 13 | dynamic. That's why Microsoft is so profitable. |
| 14 | They have low prices, but they have a huge number |
| 15 | of customers. They spend a lot of money in R and |
| 16 | D. They spend more money in R and D than anybody. |
| 17 | They have the lowest prices, just in general. |
| 18 | That's how they beat all their competition in the |
| 19 | PC application business. They just had the lowest |
| 20 | prices. And the way they get away with that is |
| 21 | they have lots and lots of customers. They make |
| 22 | it up in volume. |
| 00133 |
| 1 | For us to compete -- and that's who we're |
| 2 | competing with. So here comes Microsoft. What do |
| 3 | you do? You have to have lots of customers. |
| 4 | Because you have to increase your spending in R |
| 5 | and D and you have to lower prices simultaneously, |
| 6 | and the only way you can do that is to get to |
| 7 | scale, is to get more customers. |
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| 20 | Q. Now, in relation to - again, looking at |
| 21 | exhibit -- page 3 of Exhibit 550 -- |
| 22 | A. Right. |
| 00138 |
| 1 | Q. -- on the column at the end -- |
| 2 | A. I have memorized this page now. |
| 3 | Q. I would hope so. |
| 4 | At the last column there is the heading |
| 5 | "PSFT," which I take it stands for PeopleSoft? |
| 6 | A. Yes. |
| 7 | Q. And under that it indicates that |
| 8 | PeopleSoft has some presence, though according to |
| 9 | the key, not significance presence in business |
| 10 | intelligence, developmental tools and application |
| 11 | integration. |
| 12 | Do you see that? |
| 13 | A. Yes, Ido. |
| 14 | Q. Does the technology -- or do you know |
| 15 | anything about the technology they have in those |
| 16 | areas? |
| 17 | A. Yeah. There development tools are -- |
| 18 | they have this proprietary language called |
| 19 | PeopleTools and they built business intelligence |
| 20 | on top. Their programs are written in this |
| 21 | language called PeopleTools. And this is all the |
| 22 | stuff that's around PeopleTools. Because it's |
| 00139 |
| 1 | unique to PeopleSoft, they have to build their own |
| 2 | integration pieces and their own development |
| 3 | environment. |
| 4 | Q. And I take it that since those are |
| 5 | proprietary, obtaining that technology is not what |
| 6 | is driving you to do this deal? |
| 7 | A. No. No. |
| 8 | Q. Okay. |
| 9 | A. No. |
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| 5 | Q. Is there a particular size or scale that |
| 6 | you have as a target out there that you want to |
| 7 | achieve either through this acquisition or some |
| 8 | other mechanism? |
| 9 | A. Yeah, you have to -- I mean, our |
| 10 | problem -- our problem is, you know, in the |
| 11 | technology area is IBM's a little bit bigger than |
| 12 | us in software and Microsoft is a lot bigger than |
| 13 | us in software. So we certainly have to -- you |
| 14 | know, and those are our two major areas in the |
| 15 | technology stack, two major competitors in the |
| 16 | technology stack. And we have to get -- if you |
| 17 | take away Microsoft's X box business or MSN, we |
| 18 | have to get close to their size in software. So |
| 19 | if we're 10 billion dollars now, I would be much |
| 20 | more comfortable that we could defend ourself if |
| 21 | we were 20 billion, than 10. We would probably |
| 22 | have to be twice as large as we are now. |
| 00153 |
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| 13 | Q. So you see the world as we go forward |
| 14 | ending up being Microsoft on one side and |
| 15 | essentially everybody else on the other? |
| 16 | A. Microsoft versus mankind with Microsoft |
| 17 | in the lead. |
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| 00160 |
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| 9 | Now, based on your earlier testimony, I |
| 10 | take it that you have competed with Microsoft in |
| 11 | the database arena for quite sometime? |
| 12 | A. Yes. |
| 13 | Q. And how long have you folks been going |
| 14 | head to head in database products? |
| 15 | A. Certainly over a decade. |
| 16 | Q. Were they in first or were you? |
| 17 | A. We were. |
| 18 | Q. And how much of a lead did you have on |
| 19 | them timewise? |
| 20 | A. We had a huge lead, but they actually |
| 21 | purchased their product from Sybase. They bought |
| 22 | the code from Sybase, very much like they bought |
| 00161 |
| 1 | NetVision and, you know... |
| 2 | Q. All right, sir. And over time, do you |
| 3 | have any -- as of today, do you have any idea, |
| 4 | roughly, of what your share is versus their share |
| 5 | in the market? |
| 6 | A. We're definitely -- |
| 7 | MR. WALL: "The market" defined as what? |
| 8 | MR. SCOTT: As database products. |
| 9 | MR. WALL: So all relational database? |
| 10 | MR. SCOTT: All relational database |
| 11 | products. |
| 12 | THE WITNESS: They are probably slightly |
| 13 | larger than we are on Windows and of course they |
| 14 | don't exist on mainframes or on Unix or on Linux |
| 15 | at all, so we're considerably larger there. |
| 16 | BY MR. SCOTT: |
| 17 | Q. Now, in the area of relational database |
| 18 | products, have you been able to grow share against |
| 19 | them or have they grown it against you? |
| 20 | A. I think they have consistently grown it |
| 21 | against us. |
| 22 | Q. Are they at a point in database products |
| 00162 |
| 1 | where you could consider them to have a monopoly |
| 2 | on relational database products? |
| 3 | A. No. |
| 4 | Q. Now, in the relational database product |
| 5 | area, how is it that you have been able to |
| 6 | maintain a competitive position against them such |
| 7 | that they have not been able to monopolize that? |
| 8 | A. We had a many, many year head start and |
| 9 | we have been able to keep our engineering team |
| 10 | together, but we think we have an engineering team |
| 11 | that's better than theirs and we started before |
| 12 | them, way before them. |
| 13 | Q. From a cost standpoint, looking at it |
| 14 | from a customer standpoint, how do you compare to |
| 15 | Microsoft in the relational database arena? |
| 16 | A. We have more customers. |
| 17 | Q. I'm sorry, I meant how much does it a |
| 18 | customer, the cost of acquiring yours, versus the |
| 19 | cost of acquiring Microsoft's comparable products. |
| 20 | A. Microsoft has a lower purchase price. |
| 21 | Again, I'm oversimplifying. But, in general, |
| 22 | Microsoft has a lower purchase price and we think |
| 00163 |
| 1 | we have a lower total cost of ownership. For |
| 2 | example, if we run substantially faster on a |
| 3 | computer than they do, you don't have to spend as |
| 4 | much money on the computer. You can get a smaller |
| 5 | computer. If we require less labor to operate the |
| 6 | system, you don't have to hire as many people to |
| 7 | run it. So when we talk about the total cost of |
| 8 | ownership, it's very different than purchasing |
| 9 | just the database component. |
| 10 | Q. Now, in the area of enterprise software, |
| 11 | based on your experience in competing with |
| 12 | Microsoft in database, do you believe that they |
| 13 | would be able to monopolize the sales of |
| 14 | enterprise application software? |
| 15 | A. No. |
| 16 | Q. And why is that? |
| 17 | A. It's a very competitive market right now. |
| 18 | The systems installed are highly durable. People |
| 19 | don't pull these systems out and reinstall them. |
| 20 | Now, I suppose if you said, you know, 25 |
| 21 | years out could they get to a monopoly position or |
| 22 | 30 years out, I wouldn't so glibly answer no, but |
| 00164 |
| 1 | certainly in my -- in the next 10 years, no |
| 2 | chance. The rate of turnover of these products is |
| 3 | relatively slow. People don't change their |
| 4 | accounting system, HR, manufacturing, supply chain |
| 5 | systems very frequently. Even small businesses |
| 6 | don't change them very frequently. |
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| 11 | Q. All right. Mr. Ellison, you have in |
| 12 | front of you a document which has been marked for |
| 13 | identification purposes as Exhibit 553 to your |
| 14 | deposition. |
| 15 | A. Yes. |
| 16 | Q. It's a one-page document bearing |
| 17 | ORCL-EDOC-0122 -- 12 -- let me start that again. |
| 18 | All right. You have in front of you a |
| 19 | document which has been marked as Exhibit 553, |
| 20 | identification ORCL-EDOC-01242183. It's dated |
| 21 | June 7th, 2003, e-mail from you to Charles |
| 22 | Phillips and Safra Catz, re: |
| 00190 |
| 1 | Accenture/PeopleSoft. |
| 2 | Do you see that? |
| 3 | A. Yes. |
| 4 | Q. And that's an e-mail that you wrote, the |
| 5 | one at the top, "What a great opportunity to |
| 6 | expand our reach. This is looking better every |
| 7 | hour. Larry." |
| 8 | A. Yep. |
| 9 | Q. And below that is an e-mail that you |
| 10 | appear to have been sent from Mr. Phillips, |
| 11 | talking about a call that he had received from the |
| 12 | CFO at Accenture? |
| 13 | Do you see that? |
| 14 | A. Yes. |
| 15 | Q. Is that someone that you knew? |
| 16 | A. His name is Harry Eu. I know him now, |
| 17 | but I didn't know him then. |
| 18 | Q. And this says, "The potential acquisition |
| 19 | of PeopleSoft hit home and made them," referring |
| 20 | to Accenture, "realize we could turn into a |
| 21 | must-have partner and he offered to set up a |
| 22 | meeting between me and their top 10 partners which |
| 00191 |
| 1 | I plan to do." |
| 2 | Did you have any understanding of what he |
| 3 | meant by Oracle turning into a must-have partner |
| 4 | from Accenture's standpoint? |
| 5 | A. As we get bigger, our importance in the |
| 6 | marketplace increases; so, yeah, we're a bigger, |
| 7 | more important company. |
| 8 | Q. Well, do you know if Accenture had any |
| 9 | type of relationship with PeopleSoft prior to your |
| 10 | announcement that you were going to try to acquire |
| 11 | PeopleSoft? |
| 12 | A. We have a relationship with Accenture. |
| 13 | PeopleSoft has a relationship with Accenture. SAP |
| 14 | has a relationship with Accenture. Cerner has a |
| 15 | relationship -- |
| 16 | MR. WALL: Slow down. You are hitting |
| 17 | warp speed at this point. |
| 18 | THE WITNESS: Sorry. |
| 19 | I think most major software companies -- |
| 20 | Accenture is one of the two largest system |
| 21 | integrators in the world, and I think every major |
| 22 | software company has a relationship with them. |
| 00192 |
| 1 | BY MR. SCOTT: |
| 2 | Q. And your reply to this e-mail says, "What |
| 3 | a great opportunity to expand our reach." What |
| 4 | did you mean by that? |
| 5 | A. To get to get more Accenture partners |
| 6 | involved in our business. |
| 7 | Q. And what do you mean by the term |
| 8 | "Accenture partners"? |
| 9 | A. Accenture, even though it's a publicly |
| 10 | held corporation now, still has a partnership |
| 11 | structure, and each of these partners runs their |
| 12 | own business in certain geographic areas, and we |
| 13 | would rather -- they would be increasing the |
| 14 | amount of business they did with Oracle. |
| 15 | Q. So by developing a relationship with more |
| 16 | of these partners, you have the potential to do |
| 17 | more business and thereby expand your reach? |
| 18 | A. Yes. |
| 19 | Q. When you said here "This is looking |
| 20 | better every hour" in this e-mail, what did you |
| 21 | mean by that? |
| 22 | A. I guess this is the day after our tender, |
| 00193 |
| 1 | so things were happening quickly at this time, and |
| 2 | I think we were happy with our decision to make |
| 3 | the tender. |
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| 7 | Q. Well, do you recall at any point in time |
| 8 | where your growth slowed to a point in |
| 9 | applications where it was unacceptable to you |
| 10 | personally? |
| 11 | A. Sure. The last -- 2001, 2002, 2003 were |
| 12 | tough years, you know, post-bubble. I mean, |
| 13 | people were spending a lot less on tech. And, |
| 14 | plus, some companies had accustomed themselves to |
| 15 | a much higher rate of spending. At least we |
| 16 | hadn't done that. |
| 17 | Q. And you attribute your dissatisfaction |
| 18 | with your level of applications sales to what? |
| 19 | A. Well, primarily, not only, but primarily |
| 20 | the macroeconomy then. I mean, we can blame |
| 21 | ourselves, you know, our own people after that. |
| 22 | It's our own. |
| 00216 |
| 1 | Q. So would it be fair to say that there was |
| 2 | less applications business out there with the same |
| 3 | number of players trying to win it? |
| 4 | A. There was a lot less of all technology |
| 5 | business. There was less database. There was |
| 6 | less computer hardware, less PC business. You |
| 7 | name it, there was less of it. |
| 8 | Q. As a result of the economy having an |
| 9 | impact on what people were spending in tech, did |
| 10 | that make competition more aggressive? |
| 11 | A. That's an interesting question. It's a |
| 12 | brutal business. I'm not sure it's any more |
| 13 | competitive in bad times than it is in good, to |
| 14 | tell you the truth. I have heard, but I don't |
| 15 | really think it's -- you know, it affected that |
| 16 | dynamic. It's a very tough -- people fight for |
| 17 | every deal. |
| 18 | Q. But in 2002-2003, you would agree there |
| 19 | was less business to be had with essentially the |
| 20 | same number of players trying to have it? |
| 21 | A. Yes. |
| 22 | Q. In the applications area? |
| 00218 |
| | |
| 2 | Q. Let me ask the question again so we're |
| 3 | clear. |
| 4 | A. Sure. |
| 5 | Q. You said that you saw in some period of |
| 6 | time after the dot-com bubble burst that there was |
| 7 | a reduction in tech spending by companies, |
| 8 | correct? |
| 9 | A. Yes. |
| 10 | Q. Over what period of time did you see |
| 11 | that? |
| 12 | A. It dropped quite rapidly in 2001, and the |
| 13 | thing is I would like to distinguish -- you use |
| 14 | the metaphor "dried up." It really didn't dry up, |
| 15 | but it dropped down. I realize it's just a |
| 16 | metaphor, but it did drop down to a lower level |
| 17 | and then people always talked about, gee, we're |
| 18 | going to have this recovery. We're going to have |
| 19 | this recovery. And recovery didn't come. |
| 20 | Recovery didn't come. And I made several speeches |
| 21 | saying there wasn't going to be a recovery if what |
| 22 | you meant by recovery was a return to the year |
| 00219 |
| 1 | 2000 or 1999, that there was never going to |
| 2 | happen. |
| 3 | And, in fact, people had been spending -- |
| 4 | if you look at the curve, their IT spending just |
| 5 | shot up precipitously and actually returned to |
| 6 | what I would call a more normal level. And I |
| 7 | think as much as it dropped -- now, industry by |
| 8 | industry. If we look at the telecommunications, |
| 9 | which just got killed, and the suppliers, you |
| 10 | know, to those industries. Cisco dropped |
| 11 | precipitously and other suppliers. Lucent dropped |
| 12 | precipitously. Nortel, those suppliers really got |
| 13 | hurt as tech suppliers. But, in general, whether |
| 14 | you looked at Oracle or Microsoft or IBM, HP, any |
| 15 | of the major tech companies, our sales dropped |
| 16 | down, but it wasn't -- you know, it wasn't -- it's |
| 17 | not going to be a curve that looks like this, down |
| 18 | and then back up. You are going along nicely with |
| 19 | normal growth. You had some huge spike and now |
| 20 | you just slip back to where you would have been |
| 21 | had that spike not occurred. |
| 22 | And there were a lot of reasons for that |
| 00220 |
| 1 | spike. The year 2000 phenomenon, the -- my |
| 2 | counsel said the mass hysteria of the dot-com |
| 3 | investment boom, all these companies being formed |
| 4 | and taken public, and them buying software and |
| 5 | computer systems and doing all this stuff and they |
| 6 | hadn't shown a penny of profit. All that should |
| 7 | have never happened. So I don't think this is a |
| 8 | valley we're going through and then it's going to |
| 9 | go back up again. I think the environment we're |
| 10 | in right now is the tech environment for some time |
| 11 | to come. It will grow slowly with the economy, |
| 12 | but it's not going to, quote, recover to its |
| 13 | former glory, nor should it, because they were |
| 14 | spending way too much money on tech in those days. |
| 15 | Q. Within Oracle, do you see any signs that |
| 16 | the spending for technology has increased over the |
| 17 | past twelve months? |
| 18 | A. You know, maybe a little, but I'll |
| 19 | emphasize, just a little. Again, I publicly said |
| 20 | I don't expect there to be a comeback. This is |
| 21 | the recovery. This is it. |
| 22 | Actually, the economy is doing quite |
| 00221 |
| 1 | well. The people don't think so. The American |
| 2 | people don't think so necessarily, but |
| 3 | unemployment is lower now than it was in the |
| 4 | 1970s, 1960s, 1980s, 1990s. The economic growth |
| 5 | is really quite good. We've added a lot of jobs |
| 6 | recently. The economy is not doing badly at all. |
| 7 | So this is it. There is not going to be a sudden |
| 8 | upturn coming. So the competitive climate -- I |
| 9 | know you just said is competition tougher now. |
| 10 | This is it. This is the environment we live in |
| 11 | and will be living in for some time. |
| 12 | Q. You saw less business available with |
| 13 | essentially the same number of competitors after |
| 14 | the dot-com bubble burst? |
| 15 | A. Right, because that was an abnormal |
| 16 | demand spike. In a rational world it would not |
| 17 | have occurred. |
| 18 | Q. And the level of business available that |
| 19 | you saw after the dot-com bubble you don't expect |
| 20 | to get significantly higher? |
| 21 | A. No, I don't. |
| 22 | Q. So either the same number of players will |
| 00222 |
| 1 | be going after that level of business or some of |
| 2 | those players will fall by the wayside. |
| 3 | A. And, again, I publicly stated that the |
| 4 | industry is going to go through -- as this |
| 5 | industry matures, we'll go through a |
| 6 | consolidation. We have to. |
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Ellison 05-23-04
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