I work for an insurance organization and we have been using Oracle Database for our application architecture. We store all the user-level information in the Oracle Database that our company deals in, such as policy information. Before I joined this organization, they were only using the Oracle Database but now we are migrating from Oracle to the SQL Server Database. For any new applications that are getting built or designed, we are trying to use SQL Server instead of Oracle.
Project Lead Performance Engineer & Automation at Allstate
Scalable, reliable, but installation could be easier
Pros and Cons
- "I have been satisfied with the technical support from Oracle."
- "I have been looking for a virtualization database engine from Oracle. They have third-party vendors that can do it but if Oracle comes with its own virtual engine, it would be helpful. Additionally, the solution could be more user-friendly and improve the Transparent Data Encryption."
What is our primary use case?
What needs improvement?
I have been looking for a virtualization database engine from Oracle. They have third-party vendors that can do it but if Oracle comes with its own virtual engine, it would be helpful. Additionally, the solution could be more user-friendly and improve the Transparent Data Encryption.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Oracle Database for approximately 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Oracle Database is stable.
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What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is scalable.
We have approximately 2,000 users using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
I have been satisfied with the technical support from Oracle.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We use SQL Server.
How was the initial setup?
The installation was not a good experience it took a lot of time.
What about the implementation team?
We have a 10 person technical team which consists of administrators and managers that do the implementation and maintenance of the solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We have been paying for an annual enterprise license Oracle Database.
What other advice do I have?
If I had the choice to pick between Orcale Database or SQL Server, I would choose SQL Server.
I rate Oracle Database a seven 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.

IT Project Manager at Nong San Sach online
Has recovery options but pricing is expensive
Pros and Cons
- "If we make a mistake on the development side, we can recover it. However, we don't have this capability with other databases."
- "Oracle Database is expensive."
What is our primary use case?
We use Oracle Database for our Internet ERP. This ERP system encompasses various modules such as HCM, purchasing, inventory management, sales order management, production, finance, and controlling.
What is most valuable?
If we make a mistake on the development side, we can recover it. However, we don't have this capability with other databases.
What needs improvement?
Oracle Database is expensive.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the product for seven years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Our scalability relies heavily on our deep understanding of data relations. By leveraging this knowledge and adapting it to the Oracle Database, we can align our business processes with our requirements. My company has four users.
How was the initial setup?
The tool's deployment is not complicated and takes 20 minutes to one hour to complete. It maintenance is not hard and requires only one to two resources.
What other advice do I have?
The tool is complex; we can use SQL language to accomplish tasks, similar to other solutions. Most Oracle developers and users are familiar with SQL, so it's not challenging. I rate the product an eight out of ten. The rating of eight instead of ten is because we have a lot of management solutions in place now that are not solely dependent on the database structure.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
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March 2025

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Storage Solutions Expert at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
It enables us to comply with our security guidelines
Pros and Cons
- "It enables us to comply with our security guidelines, and it is automated."
- "The product could be cheaper."
What is our primary use case?
Oracle Database is a database for electronic channel. We use the solution to collect transaction data from banks, financial institutions, and potential customers.
How has it helped my organization?
It enables us to comply with our security guidelines, and it is automated.
What needs improvement?
The product could be cheaper.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Oracle Database for 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is like a real application cluster.
I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution’s scalability is good from a technical perspective. We are shifting to other products because of the basic cost.
Around 4,000 users are using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
The organization provide top-notch support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is neither easy nor complex. With DB experience and product support, it is quite easy. It would be complex for a new guy.
What was our ROI?
Oracle Database is a very expensive solution, but it is very stable. Financial institutions are moving to online channels. It can handle traffic very well.
What other advice do I have?
I recommend leveraging Oracle's logging capabilities, as it can efficiently offload tasks such as reporting, backups, and more. This allows for utilising commodity platforms, reducing reliance on proprietary systems and enabling the adoption of internal IMD platforms.
Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Group CEO at Mmusi Group
A multi-model database management system with a useful reporting feature
Pros and Cons
- "The reporting feature was fine for what we were using it for. Oracle Database has been serving its purpose, and I was happy."
- "Their migration strategies could be better because most of these companies keep the same version for six or seven years and then update it to the latest version."
What is our primary use case?
I use Oracle Database for storage, proxy, and general database stuff.
What is most valuable?
The reporting feature was fine for what we were using it for. Oracle Database has been serving its purpose, and I was happy.
What needs improvement?
Their migration strategies could be better because most of these companies keep the same version for six or seven years and then update it to the latest version.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Oracle Database for five years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Oracle Database is scalable. It simply comes down to how you design the transaction screen of the database. We have more than 100 users because they use the applications.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before Oracle Database, I used IBM Db2 and Microsoft SQL.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. It doesn't take long once you have the server. I would say it takes a maximum of five minutes to implement this solution. We have five technical people to deploy and maintain this database solution.
What about the implementation team?
We implemented this solution by ourselves.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is relative. Licensing costs differ based on how often you'll use the product. They also provide discounts based on the bandwidth or the use cases you want to run on it.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to potential users.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Oracle Database a nine.
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.
Sr. Systems Analyst at a maritime company with 10,001+ employees
Is robust, bug-free, and highly flexible
Pros and Cons
- "It's very stable and highly available. I also like the row-level locking feature. It can manage billions of rows of data."
- "The initial setup could be easier."
What is most valuable?
It's very stable and highly available. I also like the row-level locking feature. It can manage billions of rows of data.
The performance is pretty good, and the maintenance is very low.
Oracle Database is easily scalable and has so many enterprise benefits.
The product is so robust and bug-free. It handles anything that is thrown at it. If there are any issues, it's easy enough for our people to identify and fix them ourselves.
What needs improvement?
The initial setup could be easier.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Oracle Database for around 30 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's very stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's very highly scalable.
We currently have three users.
How was the initial setup?
The Initial setup is tough. It's not a common off-the-shelf product. It's a very highly engineered product that caters to billions of records every year. As a result, you need a qualified person to do the installation.
It can take a whole day for the installation.
What about the implementation team?
We have Oracle Certified engineers who do the installation. You do not need a consultant. Oracle's website is pretty good and has a lot of documentation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There are licensing costs.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We have implemented PostgreSQL Server, but we use it for non-critical systems.
What other advice do I have?
Oracle Database is highly parameterized and is so flexible. You can design the databases the way you want to. A lot of parameters are there, and the documentation is perfect.
I would recommend Oracle Database and rate it at nine on a scale from one to 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.
Database administrator at OS Labs
Secure, scalable, stable, and easy to implement RDBMS, with good technical support
Pros and Cons
- "RDBMS with good performance and technical support. It's a scalable, stable, secure, and easy to implement solution that can be deployed both on cloud and on-premises."
- "The usage and security are okay for Oracle Database, but its pricing is more expensive when compared to its competitors."
What is our primary use case?
We use Oracle Database for running ERP systems and for managing clients.
What is most valuable?
What we like most about Oracle Database is its security, scalability, and ease of implementation. We also like the performance of the solution.
What needs improvement?
The cost of the license of Oracle Database is more expensive, so we have clients who chose to use a different solution, because of the cost. This is an area for improvement for Oracle Database. The usage and security are okay for Oracle Database, but its pricing is more expensive when compared to its competitors.
For how long have I used the solution?
We've been dealing with Oracle Database for 15 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Oracle Database is a stable solution, and I never had any incidence of instability using it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Oracle Database is scalable, e.g. if your company is growing well, you can easily reach the requirements of the company according to the number of users and performance when using the solution.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support for Oracle Database is perfect. Whenever we contact their support, it could take time to get feedback from them, or get the solution from them, but in the end, they're able to provide it.
How was the initial setup?
Setting up Oracle Database was straightforward.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The license cost of Oracle Database is more expensive, and this could result in some clients moving away from it. When it comes to the licensing for the processor, it becomes more expensive, but it could become cheaper when you know how to use an ODA. When you're using other servers, the licensing becomes more expensive.
Additional charges could also come from Oracle technical support, but there is a lot of documentation on the website, and you can also get solutions from the Oracle Community as a workaround.
What other advice do I have?
We are using Oracle Database and Oracle Storage, and those are the products we are mostly using. We are using the 12c version of Oracle Database, and it's on the cloud. The solution can be deployed both on cloud and on-premises.
Oracle is our partner, but not a full partner.
I would recommend Oracle Database, especially to financial institutions, e.g. entry-level or mid-level.
On a scale of one to ten, I'll give Oracle Database an eight.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. partner
Chief Information Officer at Cjp
A capable and stable solution with good security and support
Pros and Cons
- "The database capability and the security side of the database are the real valuable features. The cloud SaaS model is also valuable."
- "They can simplify and make the deployment more user-friendly. Deploying Oracle solutions requires a lot of technical input. If that can be improved, it would really add value to the business."
What is our primary use case?
We are mainly using it for our business applications. Our main business application is the ERP application, and the other one is the payroll application. Both applications are developed on the Oracle platform. The ERP application covers our sales and marketing side, as well as manufacturing and finance.
What is most valuable?
The database capability and the security side of the database are the real valuable features. The cloud SaaS model is also valuable.
In terms of support, they are very supportive and always available.
What needs improvement?
They can simplify and make the deployment more user-friendly. Deploying Oracle solutions requires a lot of technical input. If that can be improved, it would really add value to the business.
There should be features related to business intelligence and business analytics. These features are not built into the database. They are separate. They can at least add basic analytics features to the database.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for a few years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Its performance depends on the data center you are connected to. At the moment, we are subscribed to one of the US data vendors. Other than that, it is very stable and highly available.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. Because we are using the cloud platform, it is very easy to scale it up. We have approximately 1,000 users.
How are customer service and support?
They're really good in terms of providing support and attending to the issues. I am satisfied with their support.
How was the initial setup?
Its deployment is quite complex, and it should be made simpler.
Its maintenance is minimal. You only need to take care of database patches, and you need to always follow up and update it on time. Other than that, when you configure it with the backup and all those things and automate, you don't need to worry much about the maintenance.
What about the implementation team?
We were doing it internally.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its price is a little bit high in terms of competitiveness. It is a little bit expensive. For any additional features, there are additional costs.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend starting with the SaaS model cloud platform. You can start at a small scale, and then you can expand based on your requirements. You can start with a small investment and grow as your business is growing.
We are going to explore the autonomous part. It has already been improved. We'll start using that area, but because we are already using this one, and it is stable, we didn't try to use the autonomous side. That would be the area that would be most useful for us in terms of the SaaS solution.
I would rate it a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Consultant at SmartCloud
Performs well, easy to use, and the technical support is quite good
Pros and Cons
- "In general, Oracle is quite good. It's a large database that houses many applications."
- "When you try to tell customers that you can critically patch their system, they always complain about the cost."
What is our primary use case?
Because I worked with various organizations, most of the time we used it for government and other centers, such as managing transport systems.
What is most valuable?
It performs quite well.
In general, Oracle is quite good. It's a large database that houses many applications.
In terms of backup Basically, I believe that will depend, particularly on backup and those components, on the knowledge that you have. However, if you have the proper knowledge, it should not be a problem for you. The database does not cause problems when properly configured and best practices of database administration are followed.
When compared to others such as Postgres, Oracle is a very good database.
Oracle Database is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The only issue was the same as with the EDS licenses. When you try to tell customers that you can critically patch their system, they always complain about the cost. In terms of pricing, I believe Oracle should be aware of this fact. I'm not sure if it's because it's only happening here in Africa, but some of the guys I spoke with prefer to patch all the time. When you ask people in this town, "Look guys, can you critically patch the system?" they will tell you it's too expensive.
That, I believe, is a major issue. But with that solution, I'm not sure how it can be resolved, but I think most people will be willing to always do patches on a monthly, quarterly basis, as Oracle recommends.
They can increase the number of products available in free accounts for people to try. So many more people will be able to migrate to the cloud.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Oracle Database for approximately five years.
We are using both old and new versions.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Oracle Database is quite scalable.
They have a large number of options depending on the needs of the organization, allowing any organization to deploy according to their requirements. You can add or remove items as time allows, it's very scalable.
In our organization, we have more than 100, but less than 1,000 users.
Recently, I proposed the migration from on-premises to the cloud. I've noticed that alternatives are bringing a lot in the business, particularly in the cloud spectrum. Convincing customers to try to migrate to the cloud today is another task. It's more like there's something frightening there. I'm not sure what they're afraid of, but it's a matter of education and demonstration. I can download Oracle Database and experiment with it on my own, as long as I'm not using it for commercial purposes. I can do it if I try it on my own.
I believe they should increase that even in the cloud. They have an Oracle Always Free account on the cloud, but it has a time limit, of a month. They will give you one month's free package for you to try. I have tried it many times. What I've noticed is that they should add more products to the Always Free account so that people, particularly on our continent, who are still skeptical of the cloud, are not left out.
They believe they will inquire as to where we will store our information. How do you know you're getting access to our data? As a result, there is still a lot of information that needs to be taught. I think the best thing Oracle could do is try to improve on that so that most people can keep trying and see that there's nothing to be skeptical about.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support is quite good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is quite easy. In part, it is easy depending on the scope of the project. Maybe it's different for each project. For example, if you need to set up a rec, you need to know what is required, because this is a single database.
It took a few hours to deploy.
What about the implementation team?
For my personal use, I completed the installation myself.
When deploying for production, I worked with a partner who had a specialized team of system administrators and application developers.
This solution is only deployed and maintained by me.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's been quite a long time since I looked into the price.
What other advice do I have?
I believe they should also devote more time to learning Oracle. They will also notice that Oracle is not difficult to install or administer if best practices are followed. And, depending on your goals, I believe anyone can do it. Because Oracle Database has so many features, you can do audit vaults and data guides on it, depending on how you want to run your business.
Another thing I would recommend is that people be aware that Oracle has opened its website for people to sign up for free and then download the software for practice, study, or training purposes only. If you intend to use it for production purposes, that is when you should purchase a license.
Because of the prices, I would rate Oracle Database a nine out of ten, otherwise, I think that Oracle is still the best.
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.

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