The high availability and the performance are the top-most valuable features.
Programmer Analyst Team Lead at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
The high availability and the performance are the most valuable features.
What is most valuable?
How has it helped my organization?
Because we are servicing the end clients, I need to meet the SLA. The performance is the key prize for us. When a customer comes in and logs into the website, that needs to happen within a few seconds for the SLA. That's how it's helped us; improved performance and, ultimately, gain the customer’s satisfaction.
What needs improvement?
Right now, we are on the version that is just one lower than what's available. I'm looking forward to upgrading to that version, especially the container-based database. That's what I'm looking forward to.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a very stable product, especially the RAC node clusters. If one goes down, it's very seamless; you have other nodes backing up.
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's easy to scale; you can add more memory or more storage if you need to scale. Horizontally, you can add one more node. It's a pretty scalable product.
How are customer service and support?
We have used technical support when we have had some issues. It's pretty good; a very good support model. You create a service request and they, depending on the priority, call us back. It's pretty good support.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I did not previously use a different solution; we've been using this one.
How was the initial setup?
Initial setup was complex; it's very complex work.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We decided to choose this product because it is a very solid, robust product, and because of the better features and so on; that's why.
What other advice do I have?
I definitely encourage checking out this solution. Work with Oracle; they're pretty good at coming to your site, giving demos and so on.
The top-most important criteria when I’m choosing a vendor such as Oracle is the support model and the willingness to work with us.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Oracle Exadata /Oracle 12c Multi-Tenant/Oracle Golden Gate Consultant at a computer software company with 1,001-5,000 employees
With multi-tenancy, you can set up background processes and memory at the container level.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature we have found is the multi-tenancy. You can set up background processes and memory at the container level, not at the pluggable level. he second thing is, I can set up a disaster recovery solution for the container database, not at the pluggable level, so that if I have more pluggable databases, I do not need to worry about disaster recovery setup at the pluggable database level. I only have to set it up one time at the containment level. I can reduce my time, effort, cost, everything. I feel this is one of the best features in 12c, multi-tenancy.
Another valuable feature Oracle has released is the Flex ASM in RAC. In 10g and 11c, if something goes wrong for you with A, some instance, your database will go down. But in 12c, if something goes wrong for you with A, some instance, your database will not go down. You automatically use the next two machines, A, some instance. These are two wonderful features that we have used in database 12c.
One more very cool feature is called Information Lifecycle Management, ILM. It is one of the best features right now.
How has it helped my organization?
Instead of maintaining multiple servers, multiple databases, multiple disaster recovery solution setups for several levels, if you implement the 12c multi-tenancy, I only have to set it up for one container, not for all of the pluggable databases. I can reduce my support, my time, my effort, my cost, my server cost.
What needs improvement?
Upgrades.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using 12c for 10 months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have been using it for the past 10 months. We have not had any stability issues, at all. We updated the PSU patches, just the CPU patches; it's up and running for months.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We haven’t exactly scaled it right now. Once we upgrade the remaining databases, we can go ahead with scaling it.
How is customer service and technical support?
We raised a couple of SR requests with the Oracle team, and they responded quickly. We have successfully upgraded one database to 12c.
We are really pretty happy. In the coming months, we are going to upgrade three to four databases to 12c. I attended an Oracle OpenWorld conference to get some information about how I can upgrade with nearly zero down time. I was looking for that.
How was the initial setup?
Upgrading it is not easy, because application to application could be different architecture. Before upgrading to 12c, we have to go into QA and development, from us to QA and development. Once that is successful, you can go ahead with production. Until now, out of six databases, we have upgraded to 12c on one platform; it was smooth.
What other advice do I have?
When you upgrade from 11g to 12c, consider your execution plans. Before upgrading, check it out in the QA and development environments. The third thing is, when you go about upgrading from 11g to 12c, plan how many databases you are going to make as pluggable, and how much memory it requires, and what flat file from exactly you are moving to upgrade. These are the three things you have to keep it mind when it comes to upgrading from 11g to 12c.
Although it is smooth coming into production, you have to be careful. Until now, it has been very smooth. We didn't raise any issues, but we have raised a couple of SR requests. Oracle has provided a smooth solution.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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Founder at a tech company with 1-10 employees
It's stability means we spend less manpower on buggy maintenance.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the database core in general, of course.
How has it helped my organization?
A good DB favors a good solution and also a stable one, so less manpower is spent on buggy maintenance.
What needs improvement?
Let us say that Enterprise Manager (Web admin) is an area with room for improvement. I have seen it stop working many times. They say it is improved in Enterprise Manager 13 (released with DB 12c R2).
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used it since 1999.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
It is almost always a perfect install; some small issues here and there; mostly few small pre-configs to be done right before install.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
So far, I have never encountered any stability issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have not seen any scalability issues so far.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
I have not given it a perfect rating because of customer service. It has decreased a little bit in the last decade: more time spent (TAR average) on support than before, and more posts (and time) spent to reach a definitive answer.
Technical Support:Technical support is very good; refer to my answer regarding customer service.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not previously use a different solution. We have used it until now. We won't switch until Oracle does. :-)
What about the implementation team?
An in-house team has implemented it every time.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
"We're not rich enough to buy cheap things." - English proverb.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Sure, I have worked with other DBs: MS SQL Server, MySQL, PostGreSQL, etc. are good examples.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
IT Analyst at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The asset properties feature is the most valuable feature.
What is most valuable?
The asset properties feature is the most valuable one since none of the other databases are able to match this particular aspect. This product has the correct way in which asset transactions are being handled.
What needs improvement?
There is need for improvement in the Oracle support. We get good support only when we have severity in cases and otherwise it's really tough to get. Thus, they need to improve their support for the lower level programs.
For example, for the SRS over the weekend, there is no support available. Sometimes what happens is that these things are not business critical but those are the ones that are driving the business; we have to hold that.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have not experienced any downtime. It is very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This product scales well. Exadata, which is giving it, is a powerful machine in regards to storage and so on. For a single instance, we need to have good hardware underneath; only then, it can scale. However, it's doing quite well if we have that.
How is customer service and technical support?
Oracle support is really good. If we have some issues, we open a case and we get good support from them.
What other advice do I have?
You should use it. I would recommend it.
I would also recommend to do some certification programs so as to get the best out of this product and get a detailed exposure of the core issues.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Master Software Designer at a tech vendor with 10,001+ employees
It's scalable and easy to figure out. Basic database knowledge should be sufficient.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is the scalability of the database.
How has it helped my organization?
I see an increase in efficiency and reduction of man hours. There is faster response time on the queries and better performance on them.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see improvements with caching. I know there are some technologies within Oracle which could deliver more in-memory caching.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We looked into Microsoft SQL. We didn't like it nor see it as an enterprise-level solution. Oracle has more features in terms of administration.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution based on the track record, performance, and the support. It's really easy to figure out. I wouldn't think anybody needs any training on it. The basic knowledge of any database should be sufficient.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Technical Trainer at a non-tech company with 501-1,000 employees
Container Databases help reduce server sprawl and improve resource management.
What is most valuable?
Container Databases (CDBs) help reduce server sprawl and manage resources in a much better way. It's a feature that consolidates all your application data with Oracle database metadata, still keeping a strict role to manage each of them respectively. With the CDBs, it's become easy to deploy, clone and administer Oracle databases.
Application Continuity simply helps application to be highly available by doing a lot fewer application code changes.
How has it helped my organization?
It helped consolidate most of our database servers, and saved annual maintenance costs of up to 23% on physical servers.
What needs improvement?
Oracle could provide a few extra features as part of the standard offering in their main license.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used it for a few years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It depends on the kind of database solution you are applying, but I have not yet encountered any stability issues.
How is customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
10/10 MOS Support is actually something you can heavily rely on.
Technical Support:Technical support is 9/10, very proactive and very helpful.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Use licensing with caution, read the fine print. :) ?This is an important point and usually it's not skipped by the companies paying for the license. Nonetheless, Oracle supports your applications and database only if Oracle has certified the ?hardware and software that the companies have used to build and deploy their applications and databases on; which basically means that you have to use industry-standard hardware and software.
It is possible that your hardware is not supported or has been desupported for a specific version of the Oracle product, so just remember to read the fine print before you deploy your applications.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
MS SQL Server was also under consideration, but we had more Oracle DBA's to work with and Oracle’s training requirements were also more favorable.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
There is no doubt that multi-tenant feature is awesome and I have also implemented in my current project or peoplesoft HRMS upgrade , where user always request more DBs during the upgrade path.
Software Engineer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Performance, Durability, Security.
What is most valuable?
- Performance
- Durability
- Security
How has it helped my organization?
For a long time I've been working as a performance tuner for Oracle and Java. The tuning of the performance is very important for me.
What needs improvement?
I want the price to be lowered.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Oracle solutions are the most used, so we don't need to do verification of the product on our own. We can assume that the product's reliability is high enough. Based on Oracle products we are able to run our own developed applications at very high performance levels.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
What we do is that based on a certain understanding about the product speck, based on the maximum transaction we can assume for our businesses, we are going to decide the sizing and then we confirm the capability and we decide the threshold. Then after that we do the scale up. Based on the recent cloud environment, I cannot really say that it's easier for us to do the scale up.
How is customer service and technical support?
The people who used to work in Oracle are responsible for the tentative troubleshooting at the 1st stage. Then if we need more further investigation, then we exchange the technical support contract. Based on that agreement they will provide us with support. Once we purchase the product from the Oracle, then they offer the knowledge. The structure of the knowledge is quite well-shaped.
What other advice do I have?
For colleagues who are in the financial business and are looking into what kind of product they want to use for their databases - I would recommend using the Oracle Database because in terms of the security and in terms of the audit process it's top notch. When it comes to audits, as long as we say we are using Oracle Database, then they give us a certain assurance. They're confident about it.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
The Oracle Performance monitor tool is good for diagnosing performance issues.
Database Architect at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees
A combination of stability, scalability and transportability.
What is most valuable?
It's stable, scalable, transportable – all of that combined together; it's a reliable platform; more knowledge base; and more pertinent support.
What needs improvement?
I think Oracle could provide some more user-friendly, front-end toolsets. Even though it's for techies, that would be nice. I know they have some, but those are all licensed products.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Oracle Database for 20 years; a long time; since college.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Knock on wood, there hasn’t been any downtime to the point that is noticeable, but we do plan downtime to do stuff; it has seldom choked up on us.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I think it will meet our company’s needs going forward; so far, looking good. 12c has more promise and cloud is the next frontier. Being in healthcare, just being cautious, but I think there are signs they are getting ready to move to the cloud; gradually, not 100%.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good. It should be more direct, but now, it's a little indirect. I still rate them high. When I need them, I can demand and they'll respond. Sometimes, the challenge is the time zone. You have to be careful when you're opening a case; how to make sure you have the right people in the right time zone.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
This product came in before I joined my current company. I think it was influenced by their ERP system which they brought over in 1998. Lawson recommended running on Oracle.
How was the initial setup?
Setup is straightforward, but it requires some knowledge. Otherwise, it will turn out to be complex. It's not like anyone can do it. You have to know what you're doing. That involves training and knowledge transfer.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Everything is good but pricing-wise, it's still struggling with that. It's very difficult to justify their costs sometimes in the board room.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We also use SQL Server, MySQL, and a little bit of MongoDB.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend the products I have experience with. I don't just say yes or no, or give just one or two options; I give you a bit more. I recommend the product I have, Oracle RDBMS Suite. I think they're still trustworthy, if not more.
When I select working with a vendor like Oracle, I look for the sum of their accomplishments. I don't really go for companies because they have been in business for 50 years. I also look for agility; what they bring; transparency; the offering, of course; what they're bringing in and the ideas behind it. Is it going to be sustainable for five years or more? Is it going to diversify itself across the industry? I rate thsee factors high.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

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:-)
To say the truth, I was not thinking straight on MS SQL, although truly I put it behind Oracle in rank. In my mind I had two main topics that can impact Buggy Maintenance:
1. Instability of the system - crashes, bugs.... Oracle has many, but others have more. This is translated in more maintenace time.
2. Lack of features. I recall one time, I was programming in one free RDBMS and it had only few (very few) built-in average functions. Can you imagine your developers spending time to create libraries on such common things ? What about the rest ?