2. D. R. Deutsch, Vice President Standards Strategy & Architecture
STANDARDS STRATEGY in a GLOBAL SOFTWARE BUSINESS ANSI Annual Conference 15 October 2002 Washington, DC
D. R. Deutsch, Vice President
Standards Strategy & Architecture

3. AGENDA Historical Perspective – THEN & NOW Standards Approach
Software & Standards Marketplace
Oracle’s Products
Standards Approach
Organization
Philosophy
Standards Setting Organizations
Proliferation of Consortia/Pseudo-Consortia
Evaluating SSOs

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. External Affairs US Government Relations International IT Policy
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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. Contact Information
Dr. Donald R. Deutsch, Vice President
Standards Strategy and Architecture
Oracle Corporation
500 Oracle Parkway, 5op3
Redwood Shores, CA 94065
(650) Work
(650) Cell
(650) Home