What is the difference between god and larry ellison

Larry Ellison, the founder and CEO of Oracle, is one of the richest people in the world, an original and eccentric, not shy, like Bill Gates, to give an interview to Playboy. His father came from Russia, and Larry often compares Microsoft’s policy with a situation similar to the one in the Soviet Union: “Lack of competition will eventually lead to high prices and low quality.” Biography of Larry Ellison is entitled: "How God is Different from Larry Ellison."



The name of his mother - Florence Spellman - he learned only at 48 years of age. The 19-year-old girl gave the fruit of a fleeting love to her maternal aunt. Lillian and her husband, Louis Allison, adopted the newborn.



At school, Larry showed outstanding mathematical talent. He brilliantly studied for two years at the University of Illinois, but then his adoptive mother died, and he was not up to the exams. Then he spent one semester at the University of Chicago, where he first came into contact with computer science, but dropped it, dropping off to California.



At the new place I started writing programs on FORTRAN. Accumulated experience, making friends in the computer world. Yes, and Ellison read special literature. And after 12 years of “sitting on the stove,” in 1977, he shared with two friends, Bob Miner and Ed Oates, the company Software Development Laboratories (soon renamed Relational Software Inc). An impetus to this momentous event was the article by Edgar Codd, developer of IBM, that came across his eyes on the prospects for creating universal databases capable of functioning in any computer under the control of the SQL query language.

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I must say that the database existed before. However, it would be too bold to call them a product to be replicated. Each company that produced computers, developed its bases, and it was impossible to use them on another machine. Alison swung at the universal universalism and the unprecedented simplicity of the database management system (DBMS), starting with the construction of relational DBMS on PDP-11 mini-computers. The distribution area of ​​the System R relational database management system was limited to monsters — IBM mainframes, sometimes as large as a room. Larry's strategy was that his product should work as efficiently as possible on any computer with any kind of information — factory specifications, staffing schedules, commercial contracts, astronomical observation banks, intelligence data ...



With American intelligence, Larry has an old friendship: even the name of Oracle is his corporation owes a project that was developed (and not developed) for the CIA. Unlike the project, Oracle DBMS was able to bring to mind and convince the CIA that this is exactly what they need. The ability to convince is a very strong side of Larry Ellison. First, he has a powerful charisma. Secondly - canceled acting data. He turns presentations of his new products into unforgettable shows.



Here is an example of one such presentation. A magnificent image of CEO Larry Ellison appears on a huge monitor. Thirty seconds later, he himself takes off onto the stage, swift, like a fighter (and he has a fighter instead of a business jet). A principal opponent of personal computers, he says that he will now launch a presentation program on a PC. Having jumped to the unfortunate PC, it is as if accidentally it touches an innocent piece of iron with its elbow, it falls, smoke comes out of it, sparks are poured out, something explodes. All this is accompanied by comic gestures and facial expressions. Then Larry "remembers" that, fortunately, he managed to rewrite the files for the presentation on the server, with which, surely, nothing will happen. So, nice and fun, but at the same time, and clearly, and convincingly.



The DBMS that has gained popularity has entered the market not like everyone else, but with a trick: right from version 2, it was decided that Oracle 1 sounds disreputable. Newbies do not like government structures. The fact after the sale of this version of the CIA Allison is widely used for promotional purposes: our product protects the US state interests! Result: in 1980, the company's profit reached $ 1 million. The program was even purchased by IBM for its S / 370 mainframe. Well, the emergence of Oracle 3, the market responded to an excessive demand. And in 1983, Relational Software Inc. was renamed to Oracle Corporation, so that no one confused what product it produces.



The company was rapidly expanding: 400 recruits, mostly sales managers, were already working side by side with 8 “old-timers”. And sales grew even faster. Soon the capital of the corporation passed through a billion dollars. And in 1986, Larry Ellison, with a fortune of $ 185 million, was included in the rating of Forbes magazine. In the same place, Bill Gates also appeared for the first time, who had 315 of these millions. So they are called to this day - “the first program millionaires”. Allison all his life seeks to catch up with Gates, dislike of which does not consider it necessary to hide. Once he even with a wild roar swept through his fighter “Marchetti” over the mansion of Bill Gates. True, it is unknown whether he was at home.



At times, Ellison managed to bypass Gates - in 2000 he became the most successful CEO, having managed to increase his wealth by $ 3.9 billion over the year and bring it to $ 48 billion. This happened because Oracle had grown incredibly due to growing on yeast, online commerce. Gates, as a result of the antitrust trial, “lost” $ 10 billion. However, the following year he won back.



The development of Oracle Corporation was not progressive. In 1990, the company's market value unexpectedly fell by 80%. A desperate situation was fraught with bankruptcy. Allison responded promptly and harshly, if not brutally. 400 employees were laid off - 10% of the staff. And almost all of the top management - people close to Larry, those who, 10 years side by side with him, multiplied the fame and well-being of the company. (The exception for the inveterate pragmatist Ellison was always Bob Miner, a gifted programmer and just a very good, kind person. When he passed away in the mid-90s, Ellison felt that this loss was irreplaceable for him personally, and for the company, “good spirit ”which was Miner).



Larry did not make excuses. He simply explained his position. “We were the fastest growing company in the history of the computer industry, but suddenly we were stumped and began to beat our heads against the wall,” he said. - We have achieved billions in revenue, but we have encountered practically intractable management problems. The fact is that the people who managed the billionth company remained the same as at the time when our company was worth $ 15 million. I had an incredible feeling of gratitude to everyone who worked with me, everyone with whom we created Oracle. But I had no choice. I had to fire them, realizing that if this was not done, then soon there would simply be no Oracle. I felt, above all, responsibility before the whole company, before all the staff, all shareholders and customers. ”



New managers were hired, “trained” on huge production volumes and fierce competition. And after a while Oracle has returned to previous heights. But in the future, Ellison never retreated from the principle: “The case is more important than the people,” in which Bob Miner, who declared the opposite, tried to balance him: people are much more important than business.



In the market of software products Oracle Corporation in terms of sales ranks second after Microsoft. However, in the database segment it is the undisputed leader - it owns 61% of the market. Oracle maintains these positions for over 20 years thanks to constant innovation. One of the first Allison estimated the enormous potential of the emerging Internet and in advance included in its products features that allow it to be used effectively. As a result, he received a fair share of the pie, as soon as the e-commerce mechanism was in full swing. All software products of Oracle Corporation have the opportunity not only to work with the Internet as a huge repository of information, but also to use the distributed computing resources of the world wide web.



The development of Oracle Corporation, like any successful company, can be compared with the mechanism of galaxy formation. Initially, there is an explosion of accumulated intellectual and entrepreneurial energy, which is rapidly expanding, capturing the market. Over time, the energy density decreases and the expansion slows down. However, Allison still maintains a fair amount of internal pressure in the company's soy, and there is no reason to talk about stagnation. Having taken dominant positions in the DBMS segment, he resolutely penetrated into the area of ​​corporate applications - ERP, CRM and other “heavy” software.



And he acted like his main rival in his time. Bill Gates legally rigidly tied his operating systems to PC sales, Allison - his applications to his database.



This is how events unfolded. Oracle CEO made a loud statement: the software market is oversaturated with players, most of whom must leave. Only giants will survive, including Microsoft, Oracle, Hewlett-Packard, Sun, and SAP. Giants are buying up medium sized companies. Well, the "little things pot-bellied" should evaporate. And further: "We need specialists, customers and money of medium-sized companies."



The first victim was PeopleSoft. At the end of 2004, paying $ 10.3 billion, Larry took over the “People’s Software”. Indeed, the company he needed to oust her from the market: he left only the leading developers and production facilities, and all software products went to the landfill.



This was followed by several takeovers, smaller, costing Allison another $ 15 billion. And finally, in February of this year, it was announced that BEA would be bought for $ 8.9 billion. All of this was aimed at catching up and overtaking the market leader in corporate applications - German company SAP . Catch up succeeded. Overtake - not yet. SAP President Henning Kagerman explains this by saying that Allison is not quite right when he talks about market glut. If so, indeed it is necessary to engage in active absorption and consolidate its market share. But not all niches are occupied. SAP, in any case, manages to find and offer fundamentally new software solutions that attract new customers to the company.



For Ellison, these are details. In business, he prefers an aggressive strategy. Such is his nature. It cannot without risk, without battles both with competitors, and with natural elements. Allison is a great athlete, a yachtsman. Among his sports trophies is a medal for his victory in the prestigious sailing regatta Sydney - Hobart, which he received in 1998 in incredibly difficult conditions after passing through an unprecedented storm. He pilots a personal fighter. He even had intentions to buy a supersonic MiG, but the deal fell through. In its fleet there is a car, once participated in the F1 - this is the car of the McLaren team. He loves the thrill, speed - and it helps him in business, where the success of the whole business depends on the ability to quickly make the right decisions.



Sources

CEO.ru: 12.09.2008 // Allison Larry / Persona

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