From primarily databases to the gamut of enterprise applicationsOracles positioning shift gained momentum. Add to it the success of the middleware piece, Oracle Fusion, and it was evident that Oracles business mix was gradually changing.

The Financial Services global business unit formed under the stewardship of Rajesh Hukku was another piece in the new Oracle jigsaw. It centralized the financial services application assets of Oracle bringing together vertical applications from i-flex and Oracle, complemented by i-flex services and KPO offerings to provide an integrated offering to financial institutions. Having a veteran banker like Krishan Dhawan at the helm helped.

While Oracles portfolio exapansion had come primarily through acquisitions, the challenge was to manage all these brands successfully in a still maturing market like India. While both the PeopleSoft and Siebel brands were maintained, Oracle took over the provision of customer support and development of India-specific features in its JD Edwards EnterpriseOne applications. The real measure of Oracles success was its penetration beyond traditional verticals into the government and education sectors. Having an e-Gov Center of Excellence helped and in FY 07 Oracle came up with CoEs on retail and co-operative banking (in partnership with EBZ). Its R&D centers in Bangalore and Hyderabad operated on a Follow the Sun model of software development whereby it took over from the US center overnight. The company also integrated the PeopleSoft development centers acquired from Hexaware and Covansys. DQ

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