Communications and Technology Industry Research

Oracle (News - Alert), the software powerhouse, tops the list of IT purchases by several companies in October 2007, according to a study of ChangeWave Alliance, a network of 13,000 professionals in leading companies that generates business intelligence through industry responses.

 

The survey of ChangeWave contacted 1,780 of its Alliance members, who ranked IT spending in their organizations. Oracle tops the list of spending in these companies.

 

According to the study, Oracle is the only company currently showing market gains across various software verticals — including business intelligence (BI), customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP).

 

This shows a trend reversal for Oracle, which has been lagging behind its main competitors in the recent years. Fresh off its annual OpenWorld conference, Oracle earned top rankings in this corporate software usage study.

 

The study found that 18 percent of respondents planned additional spending on software within three months whereas 14 percent planned cut in their IT spending.

 

Compared to the previous study conducted in July, during the latest study period, the use of Oracle’s BI (business intelligence) software has gone up by eight percent. 36 percent of respondents told that they were using BI software in their companies.

 

Though Oracle topped the IT spending list of many companies, its position is not an unchallenged one. Its main competitor Microsoft (News - Alert) is almost on par with it with 35 percent respondents saying its software is on their buying agenda.

 

Hyperion Solutions (News - Alert) made all the difference for Oracle. After acquiring it this year, Oracle turned into leader from laggard. The acquisition also helped Oracle with increased sales for its BI software.

 

Oracle holds onto its lead among CRM vendors with 26 percent of respondents saying that their company currently uses Oracle CRM software — unchanged from the previous survey. SAP down two points to 17 percent, Microsoft, unchanged with 16 percent, and Salesforce.com (News - Alert) down four points to 15 percent, all ranked behind Oracle.