The Oracle founder isn't afraid to say and do what he wants. Sometimes it takes a guy like him to say what needs to be said.

Ellison famously lambasted Salesforce.com - which offers customer relationship management software and enterprise cloud computing - in a video a year ago. He pointed out with no small sense of bombast that there is a big difference between inventing new technology and simply adopting a new name that makes it seem like you've invented technology. In Salesforce's case, it took its software-as-a-service and began calling it cloud computing, seemingly ignoring the other critical elements of the cloud.

Nothing about Salesforce's technology, its delivery or its customers' experience changed. The only thing that changed at Salesforce was its website. And it wasn't the only company. It's startling to consider the range of products now referred to as "cloud computing" because that's what is trendy in today's technology industry.

That so many providers are willing to so significantly change their brand image points to the fact that the industry isn't stable. And the reason it's not stable is because customers aren't being satisfied. I see this dissatisfaction every day when talking to potential customers, and I also see it when I speak with the IT channel. I see it when I talk to Salesforce customers quite frequently.

Particularly with small- and mid-sized businesses, technology remains a half-hearted and often broken offering.

True cloud computing is addressing this problem. Businesses adopting cloud solutions are enjoying remarkable productivity gains, cost savings, revenue increases - all on a budget they can afford. And IT product and service providers delivering cloud solutions are enjoying not just happy customers but sizable profit margins.

You've got to hand it to Ellison because he isn't one to let things go. Today, he's touting Oracle's latest cloud innovations. And even as he does so, he continues to lambaste the pseudo-cloud providers.

"We believe cloud computing is a platform," Ellison said. "It must be elastic and it must include hardware and software; not just applications on the Net like Salesforce.com."

In time, the market is going to realize this, and for those offenders, I believe there will be backlash.

This was originally posted on the Central Penn Business Journal Gadget Cube.

URLs:

Oracle

http://www.oracle.com/index.html

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmXJSeMaoTY&feature=related

cloud innovations

http://www.cloudcomputingzone.com/2010/09/27/oracle-cloud-hardware-does-incredible-numbers/