it_user419154 - PeerSpot reviewer
Database Manager at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Consultant
The performance is valuable, especially when compared to MySQL or DB2.

What is most valuable?

It's pretty impressive how much data we can manage and how fast we can do it with Oracle DB. The performance is also valuable, especially when compared to MySQL or DB2.

How has it helped my organization?

We handle vast amounts of data and we need to access it quickly. Oracle DB allows us to be able to do that. Again, that's impressive to us.

What needs improvement?

I don't like the user interface. I prefer to work with a console and proper lines, which, for me, is the easier way to operate Oracle DB. The current way that things are done is much more tortuous.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

We haven't had any issues with deployment.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Oracle DB has been very stable for us, especially since it has provides us with backups. But it needs people to manage it, so you have to pay attention to properly staffing it once implemented.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's very scalable and, in fact, scales beautifully. All we've had to do is create more than one instance, which is very easy to do.

How are customer service and support?

I had an ORA-0600 error which initially didn't "exist" because it wasn't mapping with technical support. It took them some time to resolve the issue.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy and straightforward. It required only a few clicks.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented it ourselves at it was so easy to do.

What other advice do I have?

I think it's the best database technology on the market. I recommend it to anyone considering it.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Chief Technology Officer at SYSDE
Real User
High performance, reliable, and excellent technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "The main feature of Oracle Database is its performance."
  • "Oracle could improve by providing better integration with other solutions, such as Angular platforms."

What is our primary use case?

We use Oracle Database for the solution we make using Oracle APEX for our clients. Oracle Database can be used in all sectors, we have many clients in the financial sector. 

What is most valuable?

The main feature of Oracle Database is its performance.

What needs improvement?

Oracle could improve by providing better integration with other solutions, such as Angular platforms. We have a lot of pressure from our customers to have this type of compatibility, we end up using other solutions that tend to mimic the functionality but it is not natural, expensive, and is difficult to maintain.

We have already seen some tools that they are working on, but they are in an experimental stage and do not look too promising. There is a need for more collaboration moving forward. In the past it was beautiful, now the world is collaborative, and it is hard to have that integration with everybody else.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Oracle Database for approximately 30 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is reliable.

How are customer service and technical support?

The support from Oracle is very good.

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

The price of the solution could be reduced.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Oracle Database an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Oracle Database
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Oracle Database. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
770,141 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Engineer consultant at a legal firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
High performance, reliable, and good support
Pros and Cons
  • "I have found the most valuable feature to be the performance. We have a large database in my company and there is not likely a solution that has the performance we need."
  • "Oracle Database could improve by providing access and integration with containers."

What is our primary use case?

I use this solution for database management.

What is most valuable?

I have found the most valuable feature to be the performance. We have a large database in my company and there is not likely a solution that has the performance we need.

What needs improvement?

Oracle Database could improve by providing access and integration with containers.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for approximately 20 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability of this solution is good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Oracle does not support standard containers and this is a limitation when it comes to scalability. You can not make a partition in the database. However, there might be a separate product to enable this feature.

We have approximately 10,000 users using this solution and this does not include the internet users that use our database every day.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support has been good.

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

The price of the solution could improve.

What other advice do I have?

Oracle is the best database solution in the world. I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Oracle Database a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Deputy Head of ICT at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Extremely reliable with very high system resilience
Pros and Cons
  • "A very reliable solution."
  • "Digital support of the product could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

‎I am deputy head of ICT and we are customers of Oracle. 

What is most valuable?

This is an extremely reliable solution with very high system resilience. 

What needs improvement?

Digital support of the product could be improved. 

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using this solution for a couple of years. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We use premium support and there are some difficulties there. It can be complex, particularly when you catch them on a shift change, and there is a change in engineering staff. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very straightforward. We have a server administrator and database administrator who monitor the solution. We have over 3,000 users in our company. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate this product a 10 out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
BU Delivery Head at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Robust, with good security capabilities, but the programming interface needs improvement
Pros and Cons
  • "I like the backend robustness of the database, and the security capabilities inherently that are in the product itself."
  • "The adaptability to various APIs is something that needs to be improved."

What is most valuable?

I like the backend robustness of the database and the security capabilities that are inherently in the product.

What needs improvement?

The adaptability to various APIs is something that needs to be improved.

Also, the programming interface needs some improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Oracle Database for five years.

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

We typically use Oracle Suite for our databases and Microsoft for our OS platforms. 

We are also considering a partial move to Microsoft Azure. This is our plan but it has not yet happened.

What other advice do I have?

We are currently evaluating solutions to purchase. Some of the solutions that we are considering are AlgoSec, Skybox, and Toughen.

We are currently managing our firewall manually, which is why we are looking for an automated tool.

I would rate Oracle Database a seven out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user486519 - PeerSpot reviewer
Computer Specialist at a consultancy with 501-1,000 employees
Consultant
The Autolink login is an important feature in the environment that we are in now.

Valuable Features

The Autolink login is an important feature in the environment that we are in now. The product can also handle any size data, which is valuable because we have a variety of differently sized databases. There is a lot of support for the product and a lot of customizable features and build-ons.

Room for Improvement

The addition of a feature that better manages auditing and tuning would be useful for us. There are tuning features available already, but I am not yet skilled in those, so I don’t know if they are improvements, and currently, this is one of my biggest challenges.

Use of Solution

We have used Oracle Database for about 20 years.

Stability Issues

I have not had that many problems with stability over the years. I have found one bug personally, but other than that the Database has been pretty clean.

Scalability Issues

There are many different options for scaling. You can scale to whatever size you want by adding hardware, partitioning your data, or using some of Oracle’s different technologies.

Customer Service and Technical Support

There is a good knowledge base within the community of Oracle users that you can search to find information about your issues. You can often just Google search problems too.

If you submit a ticket with Oracle, they have a support system. While we get good support on our tickets, it can be challenging. Sometimes the support team disagrees with what you want to do and tells you to work in a different way. They also get frustrated with undocumented features, and if you have written code that you were not supposed to that runs in the current release, it could be prohibited in an additional release, forcing you to rewrite your code.

Initial Setup

We have not had any major problems with upgrading. Like I said in regards to technical support, sometimes you have to do some recoding, but for the most part, upgrades have been pretty smooth. If your work is vanilla, you are fine. If you are trying to do some of the cutting edge stuff, there can be issues.

Other Advice

Make sure you know what pieces you need, since Oracle has a lot of components and add-ons that you can buy. Also, make sure you know what you are going to do with the product before you buy it, and research the marketplace to see if it is the best product for your needs. While there are many options, Oracle is recognized as one of the leaders in the marketplace. You just have to see if it is worth the money for what you want to do with it. I would rate it an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user448833 - PeerSpot reviewer
Database Administrator (DBA) - Oracle 11g at a tech company with 51-200 employees
Vendor
It increased operational efficiency manifold, as it offers lot of features automating operations, and faster failover mechanisms.

What is most valuable?

  • Online RMAN backup & restoration
  • Active High Availability i.e. real application cluster
  • Disaster recovery solution (physical and logical standby)

How has it helped my organization?

It increased operational efficiency manifold, as it offers lot of features automating operations, and faster failover mechanisms (i.e. almost zero data loss) with smaller RTO and RPO, helping Business Continuity.

What needs improvement?

It’s easy to find performance bottlenecks, I would prefer it to have a faster read time performance, especially considering read performance of NoSQL systems nowadays.

For how long have I used the solution?

I’ve used it for seven years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

There were no issues with the deployment.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We've experienced no issues with performance.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's been able to scale for our needs.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their tech support it good.

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

Oracle Database was found to be the most mature solution, in terms of features it offers. Hence, we chose this.

How was the initial setup?

I would rate it mediocre, as it requires knowledge of operating systems and servers. Some people find it difficult due to the lack of OS knowledge.

What about the implementation team?

We did it in-house. You need to do your homework, and read the standard documents thoroughly before proceeding with setup.

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

It is on the higher side, so it’s better for big enterprises. However, small and medium business can explore cheaper versions of the same product, which doesn’t offer all benefits of the enterprise version, but it will still be good enough compared to almost any other database solution.

What other advice do I have?

Although it’s easy to operate, it needs expert hands, as it is different, and in fact better with a lot of features, compared to cheaper alternatives. So, good skills should be deployed to effectively use the features of the product for a better ROI.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user430962 - PeerSpot reviewer
Database Administration Principal at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Consultant
It has ACID compliance, strong backup and recovery features, smart cost optimizer, very good stability, performance, and it includes disaster recovery solutions.

Valuable Features

There are several valuable features that we've found in our experience, including ACID compliance, strong backup and recovery features, smart cost optimizer, very good stability, performance, and it includes disaster recovery solutions.

Improvements to My Organization

The company I'm currently working for is an ISV that develops applications for the healthcare system, where High Availability is the main concern. Oracle puts the database layer at the highest level of reliability. As a plus, the smart optimizer can compensate for a poorly written SQL, giving good response times.

Room for Improvement

The biggest improvements are mainly high license costs and the unavailability of Enterprise edition options on the Standard edition. For example, on the Standard edition, you cannot buy transparent data encryption, needing the Enterprise edition to access that option (which has to be paid for separately). Official certification for VMware environments would also be an improvement.

Use of Solution

I've used it since 2001, mainly on OLTP systems, as it is well-suited as an OLAP solution.

Deployment Issues

We have had no issues with the deployment.

Stability Issues

All software has bugs and Oracle database is no exception. Oracle's RDBMS offers a high level of stability, but the increasing complexity (added functionalities and options) is in some way increasing the risk of hitting a bug.

Scalability Issues

We have had no issues scaling it for our needs.

Customer Service and Technical Support

The level of technical support is quite low compared to the software level. It's hard to find a skilled specialist and response times are high. On the other side, except for really heavy load systems, it's quite rare to have to engage support.

Initial Setup

The Oracle setup process has been simplified over the years, but it's still a complex task, at least when it comes to High Availability/disaster recovery solutions (RAC, DataGuard).

Implementation Team

I was an Oracle on-site consultant so it is one of my major responsibilities to set up the Oracle Database according to best practices. Always start from RPO/RTO constraints to design the solution and read the Oracle manuals -- they’re wide but very well written.

Pricing, Setup Cost and Licensing

I would advise that you carefully evaluate the compatibility of the software solution with Oracle Standard Editions which are way less expensive. Also, take a look to the new Standard Edition licensing model (called Standard Edition 2).

Other Solutions Considered

I'm currently studying PostgreSQL, which is an interesting RDBMS solution and it's open source (similar to BSD license).

Other Advice

From a technical perspective, it is the best RDBMS solution on the market so far. For mission critical solutions, I suggest engaging a senior Oracle database consultant to do the job. An experienced DBA can configure the system to leverage the full potential of the RDBMS both on the performance side and on the availability (backups, BC, DR).

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: My company is an Oracle Gold partner. There are several advantages in being a partner among other access to discounts on training and certification exams, free webinars, and so on.
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