Open standards: a study of oracle's involvement

Abstract

Open Information and communication ecosystems are today acknowledged as the only way for enterprises and governments to adapt, innovate and compete. These ecosystems made of components from diverse set of vendors, but conformant to certain underlying standards is a critical part of any business environment. Standards are in fact the vital glue that helps reduce the friction in the interoperability of these systems. Within this realm, Open standards are becoming increasing popular, as they are the product of a more structured and fair process and are not influenced overly by the business agendas of certain key sponsors. Oracle has traditionally nurtured the philosophy of open standards and imbibed them into its product portfolio. From its traditional stance of being a player active at the engineering levels of standardization efforts, Oracle is seen today as increasingly enhancing its involvement in standardization efforts by getting more and more involved in the policy decisions. The key focus areas for this project include: Identify the unique principles and characteristics of Open Standards Understand Oracle's standardization philosophy Prospects and challenges for Oracle in the realm of Open Standards With a help of a specific Illustration, study Oracle's involvement in a Open standardization effort The methodology employed relied on extensive study of literature in the field of standardization followed up by data from focused Interviews.