Yesterday I had the opportunity to be part of a discussion about Portals and how Oracle technology and my company Thoughtcorp could help a potential customer solve their business needs. It was a great discussion and I think helped me understand the thought process that people go through when considering major IT decisions.
The choice of software from a company like Oracle is a difficult one, customers need to consider the cost and cost of ownership. We often get a great deal on a car to find out that the service costs are so high that the car becomes too costly to keep. So you need to consider both the short and long-term costs. In this case and with most decisions it is more than simply cost, it is about benefits. The Oracle WebCenter product that has grown from the BEA acquisition, is a solid product offering on the market. In addition the product is feature rich and Oracle has provided numerous services to ease development and make the adherence to standards much easier. It is about making your decision “future-proof”.
I realize that saying that any product is future-proof might seem naive, but the reality is that adopting a product that adheres to open source standards and provides you with solid current capabilities and anticipated features in the future, the Oracle WebCenter choice is close to this goal.
The choice based on function and vision is where how the best decisions are made and I look forward to seeing where this discussion goes.
