Oracle has one of the most recognised and visible brands in the software industry – its red and white livery is instantly recognisable. The generation of such a strong brand identity is part of the now famous $1 billion-saving story, with central brand control being enforced and brand identity being significantly improved.
Oracle most definitely acts as a single global business rather than a federated one. A large amount of decision-making takes place at headquarters rather than in the field organisations. This enables the company to operate a set of robust business practices that enable the field organisations to focus on customers and sales. It helps to control extraneous radicalism while allowing appropriate innovation.
The high-level Oracle strategy is to provide customers with an integrated set of technology, applications and services that focus on reducing complexity and cost. A key change in recent years has been the heightened focus on acquisition as a tool for delivering that strategy. This change reflects an increasing industry-wide consolidation.
If Oracle can pull off the dual challenge of sustaining and growing its technology market position while building an integrated high-quality application business, then it will become an even more important market player than it is today.
