Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users
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.

Buyer's Guide
Oracle Database
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about Oracle Database. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
859,957 professionals have used our research since 2012.

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 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
PeerSpot user
Kevin Honde - PeerSpot reviewer
Data Solution Architect at Econet Wireless Zimbabwe
Real User
Great performance, very scalable, very stable, and easy backups
Pros and Cons
  • "I found the ease of backup, partitioning, and robust indexing most valuable. The main feature of Oracle is the structure of the database. The way your backups are taken on the online backup system and the way it restores and handles partitioning of your data are also valuable. Its performance is great, and it is also very flexible."
  • "It should have flexible licensing across different platforms. It has got different licensing models for Intel Power and SPARC servers."

What is our primary use case?

We are using it for different applications. We are using it for our data warehousing, ERP, and EBS systems.

What is most valuable?

I found the ease of backup, partitioning, and robust indexing most valuable. The main feature of Oracle is the structure of the database. The way your backups are taken on the online backup system and the way it restores and handles partitioning of your data are also valuable. Its performance is great, and it is also very flexible.

What needs improvement?

It should have flexible licensing across different platforms. It has got different licensing models for Intel Power and SPARC servers.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for more than 15 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is very scalable. You can start with a small server, and you can scale it up by just increasing your licenses.

In terms of the number of users, for our data warehouse, there is only one application user. Other users interact with the database through the application. After you log onto the application, the application logs in to the database with a single user ID.

How are customer service and technical support?

Oracle technical support is a bit tricky. They want you to first use all the available resources, such as the online knowledge base and so on. After you have exhausted those, you can approach your technical person by logging in to the system.

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

We have used other database systems, such as MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server.

How was the initial setup?

Its installation requires someone who actually knows the database setup, such as an Oracle DBA. For a production system, you would need an experienced person.

You first need to set up the environment such as servers, storage, etc. It might take you two days to set up the environment. The installation of the database might take you a day or two depending on the features that you want to add. If it is just a straightforward database, it would normally take a day. If you want to do partitioning and replication, it would take another two or three days.

What about the implementation team?

I handle the installations. Its deployment and maintenance are minimal. You need three people: one specialist in hardware, one specialist in operating systems, and one specialist in database software.

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

You buy it initially, and then you pay for yearly support if you need support. If you don't need support, you can also use it without the support.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution. We plan to keep using this solution. 

I would rate Oracle Database a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Oracle Database
March 2025
Learn what your peers think about Oracle Database. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2025.
859,957 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer1491816 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Architect at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Stable and scalable, recommended for formatted and structured data, and works well for a huge amount of data
Pros and Cons
  • "As compared to SQL Server, Oracle Database performs better when you have a huge amount of data. We didn't face any problems when we had a huge amount of data. There were also no issues with importing/exporting and migrating the data."
  • "We faced some difficulties in the network configuration area. All these things can be fixed with the support of Oracle's networking team. We didn't face any other major problems. Its deployment can be easier. It should be easier to configure for a developer. If a developer is planning a database and trying to configure it, it should be easy for him because many times, we cannot directly get help from DBAs."

What is our primary use case?

Over the past seven years, we have done many projects, and in many of those projects, we have used Oracle as a source. We are using an ETL tool from Informatica, and we have used Oracle as a source for our projects. For our configuration and repository databases, we normally use SQL Server. We are not using Oracle Database for that.

What is most valuable?

As compared to SQL Server, Oracle Database performs better when you have a huge amount of data. We didn't face any problems when we had a huge amount of data. There were also no issues with importing/exporting and migrating the data.

What needs improvement?

We faced some difficulties in the network configuration area. All these things can be fixed with the support of Oracle's networking team. We didn't face any other major problems.

Its deployment can be easier. It should be easier to configure for a developer. If a developer is planning a database and trying to configure it, it should be easy for him because many times, we cannot directly get help from DBAs.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable. Around 40 to 50 customers are using Oracle Database.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical support is fine.

How was the initial setup?

Until version 11g, I didn't face any problem. You can completely set it up in about two hours. I tried version 12c installation once, and it was slightly different than earlier versions. Oracle Database has worked well from version 8 to version 11. These versions have the same type of things, but I faced some difficulty with version 12c, but that could be because we are not used to it. I need to go through it properly. 

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others if they are very particular about formatted and structured data.

I would rate Oracle Database a nine 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
PeerSpot user
Eva Kimathi - PeerSpot reviewer
ERP Database Administrator at PSKENYA
Real User
Top 20
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: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
it_user1439589 - PeerSpot reviewer
Consultant at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees
Consultant
We can optimize the database for authorizing expenditure and other resource-heavy functions
Pros and Cons
  • "The database performance. We can optimise the database for authorising expenditure and other resource-heavy functions."
  • "They could improve the storage and network overhead."

What is our primary use case?

We use this on-premise and cloud technology for our client databases.

How has it helped my organization?

Oracle thinks about the global customer, but the technology is only part of the solution.

What is most valuable?

The database performance. We can optimize the database for authorizing expenditure and other resource-heavy functions.

What needs improvement?

They could improve the storage and network overhead. They could minimize the storage to improve performance further. You have to optimize the resources according to your project.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the Oracle Database for a few years. I am the Customer Service Manager. Claro Colombia is the first telecommunications company in Colombia and a subsidiary of an American company based in Mexico. It's considered to be the third-largest company in South America outside China.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Oracle Database is stable and reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Oracle Database is scalable and can be used with various sizes of projects.

How was the initial setup?

We have to plan to simplify the setup, as it includes integration. The traditional infrastructure needs to adapt to the new technology, and Oracle introduces extra data into the mix. You have to establish if the project is small, large, or medium. This means the system is designed for the size of the customer or project.

What about the implementation team?

We used integrators and consultants, including internal resources and external consulting. We used our internal install team with external consulting assistance.

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

I would rate the Oracle Database an eight out of 10 as a solution.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1498107 - PeerSpot reviewer
Oracle DBA at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Reliable with good performance and very good stability
Pros and Cons
  • "Especially with VMs, the solution can scale well."
  • "The initial setup is a bit complex."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is the main database storage for the application that we have. We offer an online purchasing system to our major customer, which is a government. They deal with their purchasing through the solution.

How has it helped my organization?

The organization can't function without it working properly as there would be a lot of upset people complaining. It's fairly integral to the overall functionality of the company.

What is most valuable?

The solution's most valuable aspect is its reliability. In about 17 years, I believe I may have lost about 15 minutes worth of data.

Overall, the solution works very well. It has excellent performance. 

The solution is very stable.

Especially with VMs, the solution can scale well.

What needs improvement?

I'm not crazy about their new version plan that they've just started. It seems like it turns over too quickly. We may have to upgrade within the year, and I really am not crazy about that. I don't want to upgrade so soon. We may not have a choice.

The initial setup is a bit complex.

Technical support could be more consistent.

They used to have something called a database console in version 11. That was very good. It seems like they reduced its functionality over the past couple of versions. I'd like to see that back to the way in which it used to be.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for 17 years. It's been over a decade - in fact, it's almost been two.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. There aren't bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's quite reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of the solution is quite good. If a company needs to expand, it can do so relatively easily. 

When you were just with bare metal, it wouldn't be as good as it is now with virtual machines as it does not take a lot to spin up another virtual machine and put Oracle on it and have it working. In the old days, when you had a piece of metal, you had to find another piece of metal, get it installed, and then start scaling up from there. With the VM, it's a lot better.

How are customer service and technical support?

I'd rate technical support seven out of ten. They could improve it a bit.

There've been times in which it's been absolutely tremendous. Then there've been other times where it just seemed to take too long. Either the person didn't know enough and had to go to other people and such, and it just took way too long. It's been mixed in terms of results. It's not exactly consistent.

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

It's my understanding that the company has always used Oracle. The company I've been with has been with Oracle for pretty much all of its life. I haven't seen any other solutions.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup isn't straightforward. It's a bit complex. 

With the setup of it, you need operating system people, whether it be Linux or Windows or whatever operating system, and they need to be coordinating with you. Usually, we're just putting the software on top of an operating system. However, with this, it's just not something that you can just throw out there. You need to have some preparation done, whether it be a VM or a piece of metal.

In implementing the product, the product has gotten simpler to implement over time. Whether you choose to use the cloud or whether you choose to have it on-premises, it has gotten simpler to install. However, that doesn't mean that there isn't preparation that you need to do in regards to the operating system and having everything ready for it.

We have two DBAs, myself and another person. As far as mainline support, we have a couple of units admins that manage the VMs and the hardware that we still have at the moment. And we have some Windows admins, which help with the web interface to the database with the application.

What about the implementation team?

It's best to have some professionals assist with the setup.

What other advice do I have?

We're just a customer and end-user.

I've used various versions of the solution, starting with 10 and moving to 18. We're still a few versions back, and therefore aren't using the latest. The latest is 20 and they are about to release 21.

I'd advise those considering implementing the solution to do some preparation beforehand. This will help ensure a successful setup.

I would rate the solution nine out of ten. There are some improvements that can be made here and there. However, it's largely stable and works well.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Senior Chief Engineer at ministry of electricity
Real User
Reliable and stable with excellent features
Pros and Cons
  • "It is reliable. It's very stable."
  • "The solution can be quite expensive."

What is our primary use case?

I use Oracle in two systems. The first one is called the Complaint Management System, and the second one was for Human Resources for the Ministry of Electricity in Iraq. 

The Complaint Management System is related to a call center. There is a call center responsible for writing down the complaints from the customers about their network electricity. If there is an error they reach out to us. There is an operator there writing down this complaint using his terminal. There are many different call centers in the country and all of them write up these complaints using the Oracle Database.

What is most valuable?

Oracle has always been a wonderful database. 

It is reliable. It's very stable. 

The solution has everything you are looking for in terms of features on offer. It's very complete. 

What needs improvement?

The solution can be quite expensive. It would be ideal if they could work on the pricing model in order to figure out how to lower the licensing.

It takes time to learn Oracle. There's a bit of a learning curve. It's not easy to use at first, however, slowly, day by day, you can get and develop your skills. 

There are a lot of YouTube videos and tons of material on Google that you can access. You can also easily find so many training institutes all over the world if you really want to understand aspects of the product. It would be ideal if Oracle could initiate some sort of learning center in Iraq. Even if it's just on Youtube, if it can be catered towards Iraqis to showcase the technology in the form of online Youtube videos or webinars, it would be extremely useful for expanding the solution within the Iraqi market. Right now, competitors like Microsoft can easily come in and just say "here's what we do, and at less cost than Oracle".

The initial setup is a little complex.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about ten years at this point. It's been around a decade, and therefore I've used it for quite a while.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable most of the time. Unfortunately, I faced a few different issues. I was luckily able to solve them.

It's very important, if you choose Oracle as a solution, to also get the support as well. You can technically live without it, however, if you run into issues, Oracle can help you when you have the support that they offer.

In my case, I didn't have support so I had to kind-of feel around for a solution. I made the mistake, after the first year, of not renewing my support and I really should have.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable. If a company needs to expand it outward, it can do so.

How are customer service and technical support?

While it's my understanding that technical support is good, frankly, for the first year, I didn't ask them for any help. Therefore, I don't have any experience with Oracle support.

That said, I have full faith that they will respond very well to any issues.

In my case, I had support for the first year of service and then did not renew it. You really should renew though. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was not really so straightforward. It's actually rather complex.

There are two ways to start with Oracle. You can go in by yourself and try to learn as you go or you can study a bit at an institute or school so that you can get pretty comfortable with the product. If you have some knowledge, there's less of a learning curve during installation.

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

The support does cost extra, however, it is worth the extra money. It really comes in handy if you run into problems.

What other advice do I have?

We're just customers and end-users. We don't have a partnership or special business relationship with Oracle.

I really enjoy using the solution. It is stable and reliable. 

It's more expensive than Microsoft's options, however, I personally prefer working with it. It's worth the extra money. 

Aside from stability issues and a certain level of complexity, it's quite a good solution. I would rate it eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1458435 - PeerSpot reviewer
DBA Dept. Manager at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Flexible, with helpful features such as Application Clusters and Data Guard
Pros and Cons
  • "Oracle Database is very flexible."
  • "The price of the Oracle Database should be cheaper."

What is our primary use case?

You can put any application on Oracle, but it is especially used for financial and billing use cases.

What is most valuable?

Oracle Database is very flexible.

Two of the valuable features are the Application Clusters and Data Guard.

What needs improvement?

The price of the Oracle Database should be cheaper.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Oracle Database for approximately 20 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good, and we plan to continue using it in the future.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is a scalable product. You can grow, and you can add things to do. We have approximately 10,000 users in our organization.

How are customer service and technical support?

I use technical support once in a while and I find that they are improving. Over the years, there has been a big improvement in terms of support.

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

Prior to Oracle, I ran Adabas. Currently, I also use MySQL.

How was the initial setup?

We have done hundreds of installations. Some of them are quick, whereas others take a long time. There is no one answer as to how easy or difficult it is to set up.

What about the implementation team?

We have five database administrations who maintain it.

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

The pricing is expensive, which is a major issue. We pay a yearly maintenance fee.

What other advice do I have?

The Oracle Database is a monster, with many faces and many parts. It can be used for everything. I cannot see any room for major improvement, other than perhaps the price.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Oracle Database Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2025
Product Categories
Relational Databases Tools
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Oracle Database Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.