The Feature

Is Oracle an Innovative Company?

April 29, 2006 on 5:05 pm | by Marian Crkon | In Worth Noting | 2 Comments |  Print |  Email

Business Week published an interesting special report on The World’s Most Innovative Companies. I was really disappointed not see Oracle on the Top 100 list. That begs a question: is Oracle, especially its application business, an innovative company?

What I found really interesting in the article were some best practice ideas from the best innovators:

• Bring them together Face-to-face teams reduce late-stage conflicts and speed up development times.
• Think traits as well as numbers When evaluating managers, subjective metrics, such as risk tolerance or “imagination and courage” can be a better way.
• Make a seat at the table Pick non-traditional participants for your senior management sessions.
• Preserve oral traditions Hand down tales of company’s long innovation tradition.
• Get involved on the ground A culture of innovation starts from the top.

And even more fascinating was a poll among the respondents on the Enemies of Innovation. Do any of these apply to Oracle? You be the judge.

• Lengthy development times
• Lack of coordination
• Risk-averse culture
• Limited customer insight
• Poor idea selection
• Inadequate measurement tools
• Dearth of ideas
• Marketing or communication failures