It was Charles’ first visit to UAE. In his interaction with Faiz Askari of Network World Middle East, Charles spoke about the the market trends and his expectations from the region.
How is the Middle East Market moving for Oracle?
The Middle East is one of the company’s highest growth markets and we already in a leadership position in many businesses areas like applications software and databases.
It feels great seeing all the penetration of Oracle technology and how long people have been using it and how long they know it.
How do you see competition?
As mentioned, we are growing considerably good. We are growing almost four times higher than SAP in last four years approximately. Honestly, I don’t see any competition on the database front, as Microsoft seems to have lost interest in the database market. Our focus towards enterprise is very clear and we are moving in the right direction. Though IBM is present in enterprise segment but their approach has changed as we are more of partners than competitors. They are focused more on services.
Which are the key drivers of Oracle’s business?
Middleware expertise helped us in integrating various components of businesses. We aimed at producing a customer driven solution. Customers driven enhancements in our product portfolio have became key focus for Oracle and we have witnessed huge growth through this.
What opportunities do you see in the region?
A lot of things need to be done in the CRM and ERP space, although customers are not new to these kinds of applications. We see a good business opportunity in online and customer interaction areas. As an example, I see a good scope of work in the insurance claim process. Banking segment had always been in a forefront to adopt new technologies and there is a big requirement of improving customer’s experience in the insurance claim processes. Technology can play its role in this direction.
