Oracle Industry Strategy Councils Help Shape and Validate Oracle’s Applications Strategy for Industries

ustomer-centric Feedback Model Allows Direct Customer Input to Oracle Applications Development and Industry Business Units.

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.- As part of its ongoing effort to increase direct dialogue with and continuous feedback from customers, Oracle today announced plans to expand its portfolio of Industry Strategy Councils to include Banking, Healthcare and Utilities. Ten Industry Strategy Councils have already been established and their members are actively working with Oracle to review, validate and shape product strategies for the company’s industry applications. The Industry Strategy Councils are part of Oracle’s broad infrastructure of customer councils, advisory boards, focus groups, user groups and survey activities designed to help customers of all sizes to achieve a Superior Ownership Experience.

“Executive customer input is an essential element that we incorporate into our strategic product plans,” said Paco Aubrejuan, vice president, Industry Applications Product Strategy at Oracle. “The feedback and perspective from our customers in each industry continue to play a fundamental role in shaping our overall application strategy from our acquisition strategy, to the ”Applications Unlimited“ program, the Oracle PartnerNetwork Applications Integration Initiative, and Oracle Fusion. We collect this feedback through our Industry Strategy Councils, which is comprised of executives representing companies using diverse Oracle products in different regions around the world.”

“Our focus on delivering a Superior Ownership Experience through a customer-centric model makes it imperative that we establish structured forums for open conversations about our strategies, and to solicit direct feedback from customers in our top industries,” said Jeb Dasteel, Vice President, Global Customer Programs at Oracle. “In addition to providing council members with further detail on our product direction, we’re able to use these sessions to understand, by industry, the specific requirements needed for customers to derive the most value from their software investments. That information is invaluable to us as we execute our product strategy.”

Oracle Industry Strategy Councils for the Communications, Consumer Goods, Engineering and Construction, Education and Research, High Tech, Insurance, Life Sciences, Professional Services and Public Sector sectors have already been established and are continuing to meet. The next Industry Strategy Council session will be the third meeting of the High Tech Council, which will take place in Shanghai, China, in conjunction with Oracle(r) OpenWorld Shanghai, August 2-3, 2007.