Overview

With 136 offices in 57 countries across Europe, Middle East and Africa Oracle is a major and long-standing employer across the region.

• helping to grow the European economy,
• enabling European organizations of all sizes to be more competitive,
• developing home-grown technology skills and encouraging the uptake of beneficial new technologies,
• encouraging and recognizing innovation among our European customers and partners,
• supporting educational and research programs,
• contributing to improved social and environmental conditions.

Examples of Oracle initiatives in Europe include:

The Lisbon Agenda: Supporting European Economic Aims

Oracle is committed to helping the European Commission meet the economic targets it set out in the Lisbon Agenda of 2000. The aim is to raise the EU's productivity and employment levels beyond those of the US by 2010. This is to be achieved by raising output by 40% and by creating 20 million new jobs (or a 70% employment rate).

However, in 2006, the European Central Bank found that productivity is still suffering in Europe, primarily due to companies' failure to seize upon new technology. The ECB attributes the slow growth in Europe's productivity to a smaller contribution from ICT, as well as insufficient investment.

Oracle believes that judicious use of technology can make public and private sector organizations, and thereby economies, more efficient and more productive. We aim to provide our customer organizations with the technology they need to improve efficiency, reduce unnecessary costs, and to find and service new markets at home and abroad.

Oracle PartnerNetwork: Boosting Europe's IT Industry

The Oracle economy in Europe extends far beyond Oracle itself. We have created around us a large, vibrant and rapidly growing partner ecosystem of national and international companies who are engaged in providing IT solutions, consultancy and implementation services to Oracle customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. 53% of our revenues in the region are generated through this network of over 10,000 partner companies, whose success is also contributing to European job creation.

The Oracle Innovation Network: Fostering Innovation

Many of the organizations operating in Oracle's European economy are significant innovators in their own right. Our customers and technology partners continually create new, marketable tools, products and services that complement our own. This is why Oracle has established the Innovation Network, an initiative whose aim is to identify, recognize and reward innovation in our European partner community. The Innovation Network awards half-yearly Innovation Awards for innovative ideas or products springing from our partner base, providing support to assist them in finding new markets for their innovations.

Oracle Academy: Helping European Students Develop IT Skills

The Oracle Academy program provides a fully structured higher education course that helps students to develop database design, programming, project management, presentation, and problem-solving skills. Participating teachers are supported with world-class training and professional development, and the latest database and online learning technologies. Oracle Academy is very active in Europe, helping IT students to develop the latest technological skills to prepare them for the jobs market and ensuring that their future employers will benefit from their technical skills and knowledge.

The CERN Openlab Project: Supporting Scientific Research