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STANDARDS STRATEGY in a GLOBAL SOFTWARE BUSINESS ANSI Annual Conference 15 October 2002 Washington, DC. D. R. Deutsch, Vice President Standards Strategy & Architecture. AGENDA. Historical Perspective – THEN & NOW Software & Standards Marketplace Oracle’s Products Standards Approach
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STANDARDS STRATEGYin aGLOBAL SOFTWARE BUSINESSANSI Annual Conference15 October 2002Washington, DC D. R. Deutsch, Vice President Standards Strategy & Architecture
AGENDA • Historical Perspective – THEN & NOW • Software & Standards Marketplace • Oracle’s Products • Standards Approach • Organization • Philosophy • Standards Setting Organizations • Proliferation of Consortia/Pseudo-Consortia • Evaluating SSOs
THEN: US Dominated Global IT Market • Strong Domestic IT Industry • US domiciled producers • Many/varied consumers • Entrepreneurial environment • Robust De Jure Standards Process • Domestic: ANSI, X3/NCITS/INCITS • International: ISO/IEC JTC 1 • Minimal US Government Involvement: • De jure standards based procurement • No Regulation • US Leadership/Control of International Standards
ORACLE = RELATIONAL DATABASE • Oracle Founded in 1976 to bring Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) to Market • SQL Database Language (1986, 1989, 1992,…, 1999) • (One of) the most successful standards of last 20 years • ALL RDBMS products implement/conform • Facilitated creation/growth of RDBMS market • De facto (marketplace) standard • De jure (formal) standard in ANSI & ISO/IEC • SQL Standards Helped Oracle Become the 2nd Largest Independent Software Vendor in the World
NOW: US Still Dominant BUT… • Changing International Standards Environment • Coordinated EU vote(S) in ISO/IEC JTC 1 • Declining US interest/influence in de jure forums • Less agreement on shared issues/concerns in US • De Jure Software Standards Forums Focusing on: • Standards maintenance • Incremental enhancement of existing standards • Consortia & Pseudo-Consortia Forums of Choice for New Software Related “Standards” Work
ORACLE = Not Just RDBMS Anymore • Expanding Beyond Core RDBMS Products • Focus on Internet Computing • Fully integrated, web-enabled applications • Front office: CRM • Back Office: ERP • Internet development tools • Database and application servers • Internet Computing => Standard Interfaces/Protocols • Standards Are More Important Today Than Ever
Global Standards Approach • Bottoms-up Versus Top-down • Business Units Drive Standards Participation • Customer/product requirements determine relevance • Importance to business units determines investment • Corporate Functions Support Standards Activities • Standards Strategy • Legal • External Affairs
ORGANIZATION CEO Standards Strategy Chief Architect Servers DB & App Apps ERP&CRM SW Dev Tools Sales & Prof Svcs Legal External Affairs Policy & Legal Groups Standards & Consortia Forums
Functional Areas (Business Units) • Responsible for Costs • Participation Fees • Personnel Resources • Travel expenses • Champion Technology and IPR Issues • Involve other Business Units: • Solicit inputs • Report activities • Customer/Product Requirements Drive Standards Participation
Standards Strategy • Orchestrates Company-Wide Participation in Standards and Consortia Forums • Develops Corporate Standards Strategy • Facilitates Participation in and Communication About Standards Bodies • Identifies and Coordinates Activities in Areas that Cross Business-Units: e.g., Java, Security, XML • Participates in Policy and Oversight Bodies
Legal • Evaluates and negotiates agreements governing Oracle's participation in standard setting bodies • principal concern is IPR rights and obligations • Participates in patent policy development in certain standard setting bodies, e.g. • W3C • Java Community Process • ANSI • Evaluates legal risks to Oracle in complying with standards • Monitors legal developments • advises on impact to Oracle • participates in lobbying / policy making
External Affairs • US Government Relations • Advocacy in legislative & executive branches • Industry associations • International IT Policy • Direct representation, e.g., OECD • Through third party, e.g., USISTO in China • Alerts Business When Governments Consider Standards Related Issues
Determining Company Positions • Most Decisions are Made by Directly Impacted Business Units • Key is Recognizing When Issues Impact Other Company Functional Areas • Use Transparency: Proposed External Positions Made Visible Throughout the Company • Passive communication, e.g., “Unless you advise otherwise, the Oracle vote will ...” • Provide opportunity for discussion before positions are finalized & communicated outside business
Oracle’s Standards Philosophy • As the Internet Goes, So Goes the Software Industry • any standards that facilitate internet computing are good for the software industry and for Oracle • Standards do NOT result in sustainable competitive advantage • Standards are means toward satisfying customer requirements NOT ends • Product Strategy Drives Standards Strategy
Proliferation of Consortia/Pseudo-Consortia • US Companies Investing More in “Standards” • $ for participation fees • Technical personnel resources • LESS Into Formal Standards Bodies • MORE Into Consortia & Pseudo-Consortia • BUT Outside the US, De Jure Standards Still Dominate • European Union • Developing Countries
Evaluating Standards Setting Organizations • Standards Succeed ONLY IF Widely Implemented • => Standards Setting Organizations MUST: • Be OPEN to ALL interested parties • Provide a level playing field • Produce specifications that can be implemented by the widest possible community => royalty free • Many SSOs Do NOT Satisfy These Criteria • Most Pseudo-Consortia • Some Consortia
Contact Information Dr. Donald R. Deutsch, Vice President Standards Strategy and Architecture Oracle Corporation 500 Oracle Parkway, 5op3 Redwood Shores, CA 94065 (650)506-2275 Work (650)303-7096 Cell (650)726-9562 Home donald.deutsch@oracle.com