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Oracle whistleblower suit raises questions over cloud accounting

reuters.com

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Re: Oracle whistleblower suit raises questions over cloud accounting

#11

Post by pron »

mr337 wrote: post #6
jlarocco wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand Oracle hate. Yep, they're all about making money, but at the end of the day, that's what most businesses are doing, and the ones who say otherwise are bullshitting you with crap their marketing department made up. Only in start-up bizarro world can a company give away free products and have negative or zero profit margin and be considered "succeeding". It makes no sense to me to hear people working…

Seriously? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_America,_Inc._v._Google... . Shall I go on?

Are you aware of any company in Oracle's position that did not sue? Are you aware of any company that has ever done what Google did, at that scale, and was not sued?

Re: Oracle whistleblower suit raises questions over cloud accounting

#12

Post by pron »

shadowfiend wrote: post #10
jlarocco wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand Oracle hate. Yep, they're all about making money, but at the end of the day, that's what most businesses are doing, and the ones who say otherwise are bullshitting you with crap their marketing department made up. Only in start-up bizarro world can a company give away free products and have negative or zero profit margin and be considered "succeeding". It makes no sense to me to hear people working…

The problem here isn't asserting that businesses and corporations exist to make money. It's asserting that they only exist to make money. Or that that is in any way natural. For a company to focus entirely on making money when they don't have enough money to operate is, let's say, understandable. But since companies are run by humans, and humans are quite adept at balancing different goals at the same time, it's not…

You're right. I think many people in tech today are not used to Oracle's old-school style. They've become accustomed to companies like Google and Facebook that want to make money and collect as much private information about as many people as possible; they want money and unlimited power. Or companies like Google and Apple that want your money and your mind, that, like Big Brother, are not content just having power over you; they want power over you and your love. That a company would just want your money but not your love and allegiance, or that it wants your money without also trying to brainwash you or spy after you indeed seems strange these days.

BTW, I agree with the idea that companies shouldn't only be about making money, but also care about other things, like the welfare of their employees. But companies like that are virtually nonexistent among America's tech giants.

Re: Oracle whistleblower suit raises questions over cloud accounting

#13

Post by aryehof »

jlarocco wrote: post #5
suprgeek wrote: post #2

Slightly relevant - about Oracle and its single-minded pursuit of money over all else: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zRN7XLCRhc&t=33m

I don't understand Oracle hate. Yep, they're all about making money, but at the end of the day, that's what most businesses are doing, and the ones who say otherwise are bullshitting you with crap their marketing department made up. Only in start-up bizarro world can a company give away free products and have negative or zero profit margin and be considered "succeeding". It makes no sense to me to hear people working…

Companies are not only about making money. They are also about being good citizens in the markets and environments they are involved in. They have duties and resposibilities to customers, workers, shareholders, competitors, suppliers, regulatory authorities, the community and the environment - amongst others.

To me, Oracle discounts and in some cases shows disdain for, being a good corporate citizen.

Re: Oracle whistleblower suit raises questions over cloud accounting

#14

Post by jlarocco »

shadowfiend wrote: post #10
jlarocco wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand Oracle hate. Yep, they're all about making money, but at the end of the day, that's what most businesses are doing, and the ones who say otherwise are bullshitting you with crap their marketing department made up. Only in start-up bizarro world can a company give away free products and have negative or zero profit margin and be considered "succeeding". It makes no sense to me to hear people working…

The problem here isn't asserting that businesses and corporations exist to make money. It's asserting that they only exist to make money. Or that that is in any way natural. For a company to focus entirely on making money when they don't have enough money to operate is, let's say, understandable. But since companies are run by humans, and humans are quite adept at balancing different goals at the same time, it's not…

> It's asserting that they only exist to make money. Or that that is in any way natural.

There are plenty of companies that exist to make money and have additional goals.

But, gigantic, publicly traded corporations don't fall into that category, and they exist exclusively to make money. If they tell you otherwise, their PR people are trying to fool you.

I'm also tempted to say a business whose number one goal isn't making money for its owner and employees should probably be registered as a non-profit or a charity or something else, and not a corporation, but I guess there's no reason they couldn't be a corporation.

Re: Oracle whistleblower suit raises questions over cloud accounting

#15

Post by danielconde »

jlarocco wrote: post #5
suprgeek wrote: post #2

Slightly relevant - about Oracle and its single-minded pursuit of money over all else: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zRN7XLCRhc&t=33m

I don't understand Oracle hate. Yep, they're all about making money, but at the end of the day, that's what most businesses are doing, and the ones who say otherwise are bullshitting you with crap their marketing department made up. Only in start-up bizarro world can a company give away free products and have negative or zero profit margin and be considered "succeeding". It makes no sense to me to hear people working…

You have a good point. It's a spectrum. There are software companies that thrive by using different models. Some are based on open source, some are based on closed source and some even mix the two. Some other companies as listed elsewhere are ad-companies and give away software to bolster their eco-systems.

Re: Oracle whistleblower suit raises questions over cloud accounting

#17

Post by low_battery »

pron wrote: post #12
shadowfiend wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem here isn't asserting that businesses and corporations exist to make money. It's asserting that they only exist to make money. Or that that is in any way natural. For a company to focus entirely on making money when they don't have enough money to operate is, let's say, understandable. But since companies are run by humans, and humans are quite adept at balancing different goals at the same time, it's not…

You're right. I think many people in tech today are not used to Oracle's old-school style. They've become accustomed to companies like Google and Facebook that want to make money and collect as much private information about as many people as possible; they want money and unlimited power. Or companies like Google and Apple that want your money and your mind, that, like Big Brother, are not content just having power o…

Really? Oracle the old school angel versus brainwashing big brother spying evil corporations.

Re: Oracle whistleblower suit raises questions over cloud accounting

#18

Post by firebones »

Can anyone with a finance/CFO background give a primer in how a) to detect such aggressive accounting in a cloud company's earnings statements and/or b) what aggressive means in this context?

It would be nice to have a field guide to how to spot those without bathing suits when the tide goes out.

Re: Oracle whistleblower suit raises questions over cloud accounting

#19

Post by krasin »

pron wrote: post #11
mr337 wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oracle_America,_Inc._v._Google... . Shall I go on?

Are you aware of any company in Oracle's position that did not sue? Are you aware of any company that has ever done what Google did, at that scale, and was not sued?

>Are you aware of any company in Oracle's position that did not sue

Sun Microsystems, obviously

Re: Oracle whistleblower suit raises questions over cloud accounting

#20

Post by gaius »

jlarocco wrote: post #5
suprgeek wrote: post #2

Slightly relevant - about Oracle and its single-minded pursuit of money over all else: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zRN7XLCRhc&t=33m

I don't understand Oracle hate. Yep, they're all about making money, but at the end of the day, that's what most businesses are doing, and the ones who say otherwise are bullshitting you with crap their marketing department made up. Only in start-up bizarro world can a company give away free products and have negative or zero profit margin and be considered "succeeding". It makes no sense to me to hear people working…

Oracle may be "evil" in many people's eyes but at the end of the day they just want to sell some products and services. Same with Microsoft, same with Apple. Compare and contrast that with Google and Facebook who make their money off your private data.
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