Oracle Introduces New Guide to Explain Prices, Policies

Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle characterized the 40-page guide as a breakthrough in an industry that often hammers out complex business deals in a freewheeling style similar to the back-and-forth negotiations of a used car lot.

That approach has often left customers confused as to what they are paying for and makes them reluctant to commit to deals in sluggish times like today, said Jacqueline Woods, Oracle's vice president of global practices.

Oracle's new guide, to be posted on the company's Web site next week, "provides clarity in a software environment that may not have been as clear as it should have been," Woods said.

The new road map will provide detailed information on how Oracle sets its prices and explains the pros and cons of certain products.

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"It put things out on the table that have not been on the table before," said industry analyst Joshua Greenbaum of Enterprise Applications Consulting.

The guide is being released at a prickly time for Oracle, the world's second largest software maker behind Microsoft. Last month, the company called off a $95 million software contract with the California government after a state auditor accused Oracle of price gouging. California agreed to the contract after Oracle donated $25,000 to Gov. Gray Davis' political campaign.

Oracle began work on its customer guide before the commotion over the California contract, Woods said.

Even before the backlash over the California contract, "organizations were starting to worry that if they dealt with Oracle, they were going to have some sort of pricing problem," said Mark Shainman, an analyst with the Meta Group.

"This guide is a step toward deflecting the concerns about pricing and returning the focus to what they are good at--technology," he said.

IBM, Oracle's fiercest rival in the database software market, provided a backhanded compliment.

"They are trying to gain credibility and trust with their customers--something they have been lacking for the last year," said IBM spokeswoman Lori Bosio.

Like many once-booming tech companies, Oracle has been struggling as businesses spend less on computers and software.

In its last fiscal year ending in May, Oracle's sales of new software licenses plunged 25 percent, to $3.4 billion. Oracle management blamed the sluggish economy, but industry analysts believe the company also has been hurt by a sometimes overzealous sales force.

"They have a fairly macho, cowboy sales team that gets a lot done, but sometimes has oversold products,' Greenbaum said. "This [guide should reduce the chances of a rogue salesman bushwhacking a customer."

Oracle views the guide as a helpful supplement for 7,000 sales representatives who sometimes become overwhelmed trying to sell about 200 different products to 200,000 customers worldwide, Woods said.

"We want to ensure that things don't fall through cracks," she said.

Oracle's shares fell 24 cents, to close at $9.91 Wednesday on the Nasdaq.

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