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Can anyone name a startup (let alone a YC startup) running Oracle software? Why would anyone open themselves up to these kinds of issues in a greenfield deploym

Can anyone name a startup (let alone a YC startup) running Oracle software? Why would anyone open themselves up to these kinds of issues in a greenfield deployment? And, if not, how much longer can Oracle keep up their growth by selling only to established companies? (Yes, they can sell maintenance forever, but how about growth?)

LoSboccacc 11y ago
Different story here, but being strongarmed into using IBM I can tell there are some advantages that under a certain light and told in certain ways omitting specific details do resonate well to higher ups.
rakoo 11y ago
Any startup that uses HotSpot, so if it uses Java, Clojure or Scala there's a chance it is tied to Oracle.
- threeseed 11y ago
  This is nonsense. Pretty much everyone uses Oracle's JDK. But I've never heard or seen anyone paying for a license for it.
  - yunghup 11y ago
    He didn't ask who was paying for Oracle software, he asked who was running Oracle software, so the answer is not nonsense.
    - threeseed 11y ago
      "Tied to Oracle" means they are somehow locked in to Oracle. No one who uses Java/Clojure/Scala falls into this. OpenJDK exists and is fine.
    - venomsnake 11y ago
      And he forgot MySQL. But the way the original question was asked it was strongly implied that it is about their payed, enterprise offers. Not the open source software they unwittingly bought. They do nice work of killing mysql though.
hanlec 11y ago
Off the top of my head I know that Netflix and LinkedIn have been running Oracle for quite a while until they moved away.
- philjohn 11y ago
  SalesForce used it as well, before migrating off. Smart move, since Oracle is a somewhat direct competitor in the CRM space.
  - cdf 11y ago
    That's not true. Salesforce is still on oracle db
nl 11y ago
Small companies become large companies. Large companies buy ERP (etc) software. Oracle/SAP/Salesforce are quite happy to help them out. Oracle specifically, one of their main sources of growth is from buying companies that have large numbers of customers, and then cross selling.
djfergus 11y ago
Uber. https://www.uber.com/jobs/43437 https://www.uber.com/jobs/43437 AirBnB https://www.oracle.com/marketingcloud/customers/success-stories/aibnb.html https://www.oracle.com/marketingcloud/customers/success-stor...
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- dankohn1 11y ago
  AirBnB is the exception that proves the rule. I had to watch 2 minutes into the video to find that AirBnB's 2 person email marketing team selected Responsys. Note that Oracle acquired Responsys in 2013, so I suspect AirBnB was already using them, and got offered a discount if they helped Oracle seem less dated by having a hot startup on their webpage. But, I believe it is a SaaS offering, not licensed software. Uber seems to be using Oracle Financials, presumably because the SaaS alternatives aren't yet ready for Uber's scale. So, that does seem to be an example of companies going with Oracle when they get big enough.
evgen 11y ago
It is also worth remembering that once a startup migrates past initial growth and becomes a solid "big company" (e.g. Uber, AirBnB, and others mentioned here) they will often have Oracle in a few odd spots in the org where there are specific apps that may be best-in-class for their specific purpose but are also tied to Oracle as the DBMS. If HR and Finance are orgs run by different people I would bet that both of the have an Oracle DB or two hidden in the back somewhere...
- dankohn1 11y ago
  That used to be true but my impression is that most medium sized companies can get their needs met with SaaS offerings.

LoSboccacc 11y ago

Different story here, but being strongarmed into using IBM I can tell there are some advantages that under a certain light and told in certain ways omitting specific details do resonate well to higher ups.

rakoo 11y ago

Any startup that uses HotSpot, so if it uses Java, Clojure or Scala there's a chance it is tied to Oracle.

threeseed 11y ago
This is nonsense. Pretty much everyone uses Oracle's JDK. But I've never heard or seen anyone paying for a license for it.
- yunghup 11y ago
  He didn't ask who was paying for Oracle software, he asked who was running Oracle software, so the answer is not nonsense.
  - threeseed 11y ago
    "Tied to Oracle" means they are somehow locked in to Oracle. No one who uses Java/Clojure/Scala falls into this. OpenJDK exists and is fine.
  - venomsnake 11y ago
    And he forgot MySQL. But the way the original question was asked it was strongly implied that it is about their payed, enterprise offers. Not the open source software they unwittingly bought. They do nice work of killing mysql though.

hanlec 11y ago

Off the top of my head I know that Netflix and LinkedIn have been running Oracle for quite a while until they moved away.

philjohn 11y ago
SalesForce used it as well, before migrating off. Smart move, since Oracle is a somewhat direct competitor in the CRM space.
- cdf 11y ago
  That's not true. Salesforce is still on oracle db

nl 11y ago

Small companies become large companies. Large companies buy ERP (etc) software. Oracle/SAP/Salesforce are quite happy to help them out. Oracle specifically, one of their main sources of growth is from buying companies that have large numbers of customers, and then cross selling.

djfergus 11y ago

Uber. https://www.uber.com/jobs/43437 https://www.uber.com/jobs/43437 AirBnB https://www.oracle.com/marketingcloud/customers/success-stories/aibnb.html https://www.oracle.com/marketingcloud/customers/success-stor...

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
dankohn1 11y ago
AirBnB is the exception that proves the rule. I had to watch 2 minutes into the video to find that AirBnB's 2 person email marketing team selected Responsys. Note that Oracle acquired Responsys in 2013, so I suspect AirBnB was already using them, and got offered a discount if they helped Oracle seem less dated by having a hot startup on their webpage. But, I believe it is a SaaS offering, not licensed software. Uber seems to be using Oracle Financials, presumably because the SaaS alternatives aren't yet ready for Uber's scale. So, that does seem to be an example of companies going with Oracle when they get big enough.

evgen 11y ago

It is also worth remembering that once a startup migrates past initial growth and becomes a solid "big company" (e.g. Uber, AirBnB, and others mentioned here) they will often have Oracle in a few odd spots in the org where there are specific apps that may be best-in-class for their specific purpose but are also tied to Oracle as the DBMS. If HR and Finance are orgs run by different people I would bet that both of the have an Oracle DB or two hidden in the back somewhere...

dankohn1 11y ago
That used to be true but my impression is that most medium sized companies can get their needs met with SaaS offerings.