Oracle Database Reviews

RDBMS, we still believe, is Oracle's core product. Hence any time we are looking at any database features or building a new database, Oracle is always our product of choice because of its stability, scalability, reliability, and flexibility.

It would be the stability that's improved our organization the most. We are a 24/7 manufacturing plant. We take one day off a year, Christmas Day. Other than that, we're building and creating drugs and the stability of the Oracle database enables us to have near 100% uptime 24/7/364.

It's so expensive, particularly Enterprise Edition, and that would be my number one gripe. It's very, very expensive. Also, Oracle makes a big show of its new features and enhancers with each new release, but it's very rare that any of those enhancements come with Database by default. You have to pay for each of those enhancement -- and pay heavily at that.

In the latter versions of the 12c product, I've actually found it a little bit more difficult to set up than it was before. I find that Oracle is introducing many, many, many new features with each part of the database. Sometimes I think they're losing focus of the core components and what customers actually need. I think if they concentrated on the core elements of RDMS, which, for me, is their number one product, I think before going on the periphery and looking at small enhancements or additions to the product, they should look into making it even more stable before they do these major releases.

It's been very stable for us.

I would say the scalability sets it apart from others. We run a big manufacturing plant and the database is growing at a very very, high rate, but we know with the Oracle RDBMS, it can sustain growth from now and into the future.

I actually found that the earlier versions of RDBMS were actually easier to set up, so I've been working with the Oracle product right from Oracle 7, and I obviously will in 12c. I find now in 12c, I would expected laying out Oracle Database to become easier, but I actually think it's a little bit more complicated now in these later versions. I can categorically say that the joining up with the Oracle agent between RDBMS and Oracle Enterprise Manager is an extremely complicated process. When we were on TNG before we'd done any upgrades, the agent to get the database to talk to Enterprise Manager was a really, really simple thing to do. In fact, right now it's extremely complicated.

For installing the database or looking at the database, I would say look at the components that you need within the database. What we generally find is that most of the features that we want, or most of the features that are available in Enterprise Edition, we actually wouldn't use, so take time and you might actually see them only by using Standard Edition.

Oracle is the premier relational database platform for enterprise environments. Any organization that purchases enterprise applications will likely have Oracle in place since so many applications require or prefer it.

The most valuable features of Oracle database from my perspective are:

• Read consistency (all queries see a read consistent view of the database so that readers do not block writers and vice versa).
• Data Guard: standby database, with options for maximum performance, availability and protection. I use it in full-synchronous mode to ensure a “hot standby” is available with zero data loss.
• Ability to run non-Windows OS, particularly Linux.
• Ability to monitor and tune; lots of instrumentation built in.

Oracle Database is a big, complex technology stack with many options, features, management packs, etc. The base product (Oracle Database Enterprise Edition) is generally rock solid. Some of the oldest, most mature options are also quite reliable (example: Partitioning option). However, most of the other optional products create additional issues. Almost every time I have pursued the implementation of an optional feature I have encountered bugs, limitations or other unexpected behavior.

I would like to see Oracle follow a model like Microsoft’s SQL Server Enterprise Edition, where all products and features are included by default. There are no “options” you can purchase with SQL Server EE. It seems like one of the results of Oracle’s plethora of optional offerings is confusion and quality issues.

I've been using Database for over 20 years. There are many additional options and management packs (examples: Partitioning, Tuning Pack, Diagnostics Pack, Lifecycle Management Pack, Active Data Guard, Advanced Compression, Advanced Security, RAC, etc.).

A “simple” deployment of just Oracle Database Enterprise Edition is generally a trouble-free activity, albeit still tedious. The RDBMS kernel is perhaps the most mature on the market (Oracle and IBM’s DB2 were released about the same time).

It is one of the most stable solutions on the market.

There are no issues with scaling it.

Technical support is very good. I don’t use Oracle Support often to open a new case. Questions and issues I have are most often answered via the support portal. On the rare occasion a new service request is opened, I find the responses timely and helpful.

In the past, I have used RAC (and before that OPS, its ancestor). In general, like most shared clustering technologies, the “solution” creates more problems than it solves. RAC’s complexity level requires full-time attention in my opinion. I abandoned the option in favor of VMware and virtual servers, which cover availability from a hardware-loss perspective. In cases where more availability is needed, the Data Guard option is sufficient and MUCH simpler to configure and use.

I started with IBM’s DB2 and used SQL Server (Sybase initially, then Microsoft SQL Server after they split in the 90’s) before Oracle, so have used and evaluated all three of the major RDBMS vendors. I no longer use DB2 because the platform it was on (mainframe) was retired, but I still actively use Microsoft SQL Server.

Both products have their place. I prefer SQL Server for the smaller, departmental applications and Microsoft-related back-office applications due to its ease of deployment and management. I prefer Oracle for most enterprise-scale applications due to its overall strength in this area (performance, scalability, availability) and ability to run on a non-Windows OS (we use Linux exclusively).

Oracle is a complex product, there is no way around that. Compared to Microsoft SQL Server, which can be installed with a few mouse clicks, Oracle takes planning, preparation and significantly more time and expertise.

We have always installed, configured, and managed Oracle with in-house personnel. I would not recommend outsourcing the implementation unless all support for the product were being outsourced. Oracle database requires expertise and constant attention. If an organization intends to support it internally, the personnel responsible for that support need to be the same that install and configure it.

Oracle is very expensive. No organization that didn’t “have to” use Oracle would do so. If I were in a small business or an organization that did all of its own applications development, I would avoid Oracle simply due to its cost. Other databases on the market would suffice in those scenarios. Any medium-to-large business will probably not be able to avoid using Oracle database. I don’t think there is an ROI to calculate, but rather a sunk cost in doing business. My advice would be to limit the number of options and features and go with the bare minimum needed to support the needed applications.

The technology behind the base RDBMS is excellent, probably the best on the market, but its cost and complexity are negatives. The personnel who will support need to get formal training and need to be dedicated database administrators. A part-time DBA will not be sufficient for anything more than a trivial deployment.

I think the most valuable feature of Oracle 12c is the ability to have portability for all the various databases. You didn't used to have that option and that functionality, so that's made things a lot more flexible in terms of availability, and shortening the time of doing upgrades, and things like that. I really like the flexibility.

I'm not quite sure exactly how long we've been using it, but in my experience, it's certainly provided us a lot more flexibility to do various things from an organizational perspective because of the database portability. It's a high-cohesion solution in terms of different applications and tools that are available to work with it.

Oracle is already working on improvements and in the process of adding new features, such as cloud support. It's just a matter of getting the resources to obtain and use them, and to build our existing system on top of it. I look forward to that.

I've been using Oracle for about six or seven years, and I've been using 12c in the last couple of years.

We didn't have any issues with deployment.

12 seems to be a little bit more stable than 11 used to be, although, knock on wood, we still use a little bit of 11.

We haven't had to do a whole lot of scaling. It's been pretty static in terms of our utilization of it. For any scaling we've had to do, it's scaled to our needs.

They're knowledgeable, proactive. It helps working in a enterprise environment as opposed to working for smaller shops that they don't get that same type of attention.

The initial setup was pretty straightforward.

It's the way to go. It's the cutting edge, but it's not the bleeding edge, and you can certainly build upon it.

Oracle Database is the database we use for one of our core solutions.

The price for Oracle Database could be better. It's a top-of-the-line product, so it's a bit expensive. We'd like for its price to be a bit lower, both for licensing and support. This is the only area for improvement I could think of for Oracle Database.

We've been using Oracle Database for two years.

Oracle Database is a stable product.

Oracle Database is a scalable product.

The initial setup for Oracle Database was straightforward.

We implemented this product in-house. The process was straightforward, so we could do it ourselves.

The licensing and support pricing for Oracle Database is a bit expensive, as it is a top-of-the-line product. We pay for this product yearly.

We used MySQL.

We are using the Enterprise version of Oracle Database, but I'm not sure about the exact version number.

I'm satisfied with this product. Oracle is a global, top database platform, so there isn't anything I'd like to change or add to Oracle Database.

We have 30 users of this product, and we currently don't have plans of increasing that number. For the deployment and maintenance of this product, we have two or three persons in charge, e.g. admins.

I have no complaints about Oracle Database, so I never got to contact their technical support team.

I'm recommending this product to others who are looking into implementing it.

My rating for Oracle Database is eight out of ten.

I use the solution to run my ERP software.

The solution is not for everyday use. It is not easy to use and maintain. As it is on a Linux server, all its maintenance is outsourced for management as a DBA. 

The interface could be more user-friendly.

I have been using Oracle Database for 15 years.

The solution is very stable.

The solution could be more scalable. 

I did not use other solutions prior to using Oracle Database.

The initial setup is complex.

It can take up to 48 hours.

We made use of an integrator. 

I pay to have the deployment and maintenance outsourced.

There is a need to pay for a license for the solution. This must be done annually. 

The license is inexpensive. 

We use the solution in an organizational setting. There are between 30 and 40 licenses. 

I would not recommend this product to just anyone, only to technical professionals. 

I rate Oracle Database as an eight out of ten. 

We primarily use the solution for the storing of data.

It can also be used for other purposes. For example, at the bank, and other financial institutions, they are using the database for transacting their information.

It's quite a big database. I have seen it in companies sized from medium to large enterprise-level. It also works for government organizations that are quite sizeable.

The solution is quite stable. When you work on planning for salaries, you can notice that Oracle is extremely stable.

It's a very flexible product. You are able to accomplish a lot of things.

It's extremely easy to use and the performance is great.

Oracle support is great. They are quite helpful when you run into problems. They help you overcome any issues. If you run into a bug, you contact support, and they solve it. 

If you have a stored database with the five standards that Oracle recommends, you will never experience something like, your database being down. 

The integration could be improved. If you are integrating with other Oracle products, it is fine, however, if your goal is to integrate with third-party products, Oracle isn't as good. There was a time when I was working on the other project and we were trying to integrate the database with Microsoft Active Directory. It was quite difficult to find a connection. We were eventually able to connect, however, it was quite difficult.

There's a new version right now. May have managed to rectify the issues with third-party integrations in that version. However, I haven't tested it yet. 

I've been using the solution for a couple of years now. It's been since 2010.

The stability is very, very good. There aren't really bugs and glitches, however, if there are, Oracle will help resolve them quickly. It doesn't crash or freeze. You never really have to worry about your database going down.

It's a big database. There is lots of room to scale. The solution can work well for large-scale organizations.

Depending on the number of the requirements, in terms of information, if you want to change the memory or you want to expand the storage, it has the capability to do that. So It's quite a flexible database.

Oracle has done a tremendous job of really allowing companies to scale in and out as needed.

I've worked with many clients and they've been of varying sizes. the company I am working with right now has 200 users on the solution.

We do plan to continue to use the solution and to upgrade to the new version, 19C.

We've used technical support in the past and they have always been very good. If you provide the information the way it's supposed to be presented - and that means being explicit in your issue - they can help you very fast. 

On-prem deployments take quite a long time. However, depending on what you want to achieve, it could go faster. Either you are doing the direct installation, which takes time, or you are doing a cloud deployment, and on the cloud, it takes less than five minutes to deploy. It's very, very fast.

We have about five people on our technical team that can handle deployment and maintenance tasks.

I can handle the installation myself. I've done both on-premises and cloud deployments at this point and both I am able to handle quite easily. I do not need the assistance of a consultant or integrator.

I work with clients and they are the ones that have to pay for the license. If they are using it for production purposes, they need to pay. I can't speak to the exact costs.

While we mostly work with on-premises deployments, I've recently also tried the cloud deployment.

We work with a variety of versions, including 11G, 12C, and 18C.

I recommend Oracle. I always do. They are an excellent company with a very good product.

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten.

Everyone should keep in mind that the way of the future is to move to the cloud. Oracle is working to support this. They're encouraging everyone to move to the cloud.

We primarily use the solution for Oracle E-Business suites. It's the database for ERP.

The data replication is the most valuable aspects of the solution. We've got Oracle Data Guard set up and we've got two sites - one in Johannesburg and one in Cape Town. We do data replication every 30 minutes from one site to the other.

The initial setup is straightforward.

You can scale the solution without any issues.

The great thing about the solution is that it comes with pretty much everything. SQL Developer is part of it, and you can scale databases from 20 users to 50,000 users. It's actually a very solid database.

The listener could be improved. The listener could be far more easily configurable. If you want to change ports or add a fail-over listener, it could be a little bit more seamless.

The solution is very, very expensive. This keeps it as a niche product.

I've been using Oracle for 15 or 20 years. It's been well over a decade and maybe as much as two. It's been a while.

The solution can really scale if you need it to. We've scaled it up a few times in the environment and we've never had any issue. From that point of view, everything seems to be good.

We have about 2,500 users on the solution.

We've been in touch with Oracle on a daily basis. We just moved to another version. They really helped us. They were helpful and responsive. We're satisfied with the level of support we receive.

The initial setup is not complex. it's very straightforward. A company shouldn't have any issues with the implementation process. It's very easy.

We have our own team that handles the maintenance as necessary.

It's really expensive, however, that's what makes Oracle a niche player. It's not something every company can have its own. It's for the elite, it's for the prestige. It's for the ones who really do good business.

We are customers and end-users.

Recently, we've upgraded EBS to a later version.

I'd recommend the solution to other organizations. That said, it all depends on what you're trying to support. I use it in conjunction with their EBS, so, for me, it's the perfect fit. You can't split it anyway. Oracle EBS only works with an Oracle Database.

I'd rate the solution ten out of ten overall.

20 people in our organisation use Oracle. We are an Oracle partner. We are using Oracle version 8 and 9. We use it for finances, human resources and payroll.

The solution is definitely very good for our consultancy on payroll and human resource.

Oracle could improve the finance system. Oracle is also very expensive.

We have been using Oracle for 18 years. It is implemented on-premise.

Oracle support takes a very long time to respond.

The deployment and setup can take up to 6 months to be operational. It takes a very long time for our needs.

It takes several consultants to enable implementation.

We recommend the solution from Oracle and I would rate the solution 8 out of 10.