Margaret Terry Lindquist - May 2007
More than half of this issue of Profit is taken up with a celebration of Oracle's 30 years of software success and a look ahead at our future. In the course of developing the 30th-anniversary story, I spent much more time talking to executives at my own company than to the customers and experts who agree to speak with us for the usual Profit article. And although I'll be happy to turn my attention back to customers for the next issue, it was an eye-opening experience to spend time talking with people such as Safra Catz, Charles Phillips, Jesper Andersen, and all the general managers of our applications product lines. What struck me as a common theme was their passion and their patience. They love the products, the company, and especially the customers that they come into contact with every day of their working lives (which seems to be the same as every day of their lives—it's not a path for the faint of heart).
This customer-centric view is summed up by John Schiff, vice president and general manager for Oracle's JD Edwards World. He told me, "My joke with my wife is that when we drive down the road, when we go to the grocery store, I always say, 'That's my customer, and that's my customer.' We get to know how all of it works." And it's that sense of engagement and interest, and that sense that what we do is important, that it affects the lives of so many people—businesspeople and consumers—that I find so interesting, and even a little inspiring. It was a fitting coincidence that the 30th anniversary of the company coincided with the announcement of major upgrades to all of our applications product lines—proof, if it was needed, that, as Charles Phillips said during his conversation with Profit, Oracle will always find a way to stay on the edge and lead the next charge.
And the fascinating insights from Oracle executives weren't the only great part about putting together this issue. My interview with industry analyst and former technology journalist Joshua Greenbaum, who covered Oracle in the early days, contains fascinating insights about the impact of technology and about Oracle's past and future, and a great deal of work went into the Oracle timeline, which sheds multiple spotlights on the high moments in the company's history, with quotes from the people who were there when it all happened—no, who made it all happen!
Margaret Terry Lindquist is Editor of
Profit Magazine
