Larry Ellison

Career:
In the 1970s Larry Ellison started his career by working for the Ampex Corporation, where he created a database known as “Oracle” for the CIA. This database would later turn into the world’s foremost supplier of information management software, as well as the world’s second largest (independent) software company. In 1979 he attempted to reach a deal with IBM to make Oracle compatible with IBM’s ‘System R’ database, but IBM’s refusal to share their code made that an impossible task.

Into the 1990s, Ellison strived to make his company surpass all others; however a layoff of 10% of his employees nearly drove him to bankruptcy. This was caused by an inadequate “Up Front” strategy that encouraged purchasing the most at once, which Ellison acknowledged was a big mistake. When IBM hesitated to enter the database race for Windows and UNIX systems, Oracle was one of the companies that quickly swooped in to fill the void. After a few ‘close calls’ with rival companies such as Informix and Sybase, in 1997 Oracle became the leading database software company (that was also the year Ellison became a director of Apple Computer, however he retired from that position in 2002).

In 2009, Ellison and Oracle were able to purchase Sun Microsystems, which gave Oracle control over MySQL (a popular open source database). After Hewlett-Packard fired their CEO Mark Hurd, an action that Ellison highly condemned the company for, Ellison had Oracle hire him for the position of Co-President.

As of 2012 Ellison is worth approximately $41 billion (making him the 3rd richest American citizen), and remains the CEO of Oracle.

Contributions:
Larry Ellison was responsible for the development of what later came to be known as Oracle. Oracle is data storage, management, and retrieval database that revolutionized the way companies stored and organized massive amounts of information. Even though the initial idea came from another company, IBM, Larry Ellison had the drive and vision to make such a mega data storage and retrieval process emerge. With the support and backing of the CIA, Ellison took the idea and turned it in to the first relational database. As the CEO of Oracle, his belief in the idea consumed him and compelled him to take risks that others were not willing to take. He later focused his attention towards the internet and felt Oracle could advance further, making it a prominent business tool for corporations and organizations worldwide. Larry Ellison also had the ability to communicate and enthuse organizations about upcoming and possible advancements in the field. With others buying into his ideas he was able to market versions of Oracle that weren’t entirely reliable. His approach allowed Oracle to expand and begin its journey to becoming one of the largest software companies.

Since the 1970s information technology has progressed to an advancement we may not have thought possible. Larry Ellison’s contribution with the development of Oracle was probably one of the major steps in fostering tremendous growth in the idustry. Oracle has allowed corporations and organizations to reduce man hours within their companies by storing an impressive amount of information that can be assessed quickly and accurately. It is responsible for the major databases we use on a daily basis here at Florida State University.

Publications, patents, and other intellectual property:
Larry Ellison’s greatest accomplishment has lasted his whole life.

1977- Ellison and friends helped found their first company, Software Development Laboratories (SDL). Ellison serves as Chief Executive Officer from the beginning.

1979- Company changes name to Relational Software, Inc (RSI), while also introducing their initial product, the Oracle version 2, an object-relational database management system.

1986- Company changes name last time to Oracle Corporations to match with main product; company debuts with a $31.5 million initial public offering.

Awards and Recognitions:
Information Scientist, Larry Ellison’s innovations have lead to incredible advancements in the Information Technology field. Due to his spectacular achievements, Mr. Ellison has received many awards and great amounts of recognition.

First, in 1994 Larry Ellison won the Science Applications International Corporation Information Technology Leadership award. Through “pioneering the development of `open systems,' portable software and standard tools,” Mr. Ellison “enabled systems integrators like the SAIC to integrate health care enterprises [by making them able to] serve the health care needs of people throughout the world” (“Larry Ellison Wins”, 1994). This reward signifies how his achievements have had a global impact on the lives of millions of people.

Two years later, Ellison received “InfoWorld” magazine’s highly coveted industry achievement award in 1996. His idea to create the “Network Computer” for an affordable price helped convince other corporations in the computer industry to do the same. Instead of constantly trying to make profits by updating previous hardware and software, the industry’s focus shifted to creating reasonably priced computers for customers. Ellison’s initiative was instrumental in making personal computers a common household item that many families can afford.

At the beginning of the new millennium, Howard University awarded Larry Ellison with an honorary doctorate. Ellison’s declaration came shortly after promising to install four thousand computers and printers into Howard University’s residence halls. The estimated total of the gift was estimated to be around two million dollars. His generosity has helped improve the education of thousands of students who attended and still attend Howard University.

In 2004, The American Federation for Aging Research gave Larry Ellison the Fred D. Thompson award. Ellison received this award because of his “support of new knowledge and groundbreaking research in the field of gerontology and in recognition of his continued commitment to the science of aging” (“Larry Ellison Receives”, 2004). Larry Ellison has been a big part in providing scientists with advanced technology. Such important pieces of equipment have been vital towards the progression of research and discovery with science.

Larry Ellison’s contributions to Information Technology have him regarded as a pioneer to the study. His awards and recognitions are well deserved because his work has made a significant impact on multiple new technological innovations.

By: Billy Schlesinger Sources: APA Generic Entry

Critical analysis and interp
Larry Ellison is acknowledged for being third richest man in America with net worth of 36 billion dollars and he is also sixth richest in the world. He is also know quite well for unloading huge amounts of cash, which came most recently in 2012 when Larry Ellison bought a private island in Hawaii for half a billion dollars. When it comes to his competition he is also not shy unloading few dollars.

Larry Ellison Founded Oracle in 1977, and since then he was on a mission to expand his company and eliminate his biggest competitors. One of the biggest competitors for Oracle was PeopleSoft. In 2003 Larry Ellison went into a hostile takeover of PeopleSoft, which took approximately 18 months. Since PeopleSoft refused to merge with Oracle, Larry Ellison took them to court for antitrust suit and he succeeded. Because of the lawsuit, PeopleSoft board was forced to fire Craig Conway, which was a beginning of their down fall. Finally, in 2004 Oracle managed to buy PeopleSoft at the cost of 11 billion dollars and in January of 2005 PeopleSoft officially closed. According to Benjamin Pimentel, the writer for sfgate.com, Larry Ellison in 2006 managed to buy 11 more competing companies. Some experts believed that Oracle overpaid almost the double amount that PeopleSoft was really worth. Even if Larry Ellison and Oracle overpaid it was still a great purchase. With eliminating his competitions it would only make Oracle a stronger brand and with less competition would result in increase of customers for Oracle. Also, another positive from aggressive buying by Larry Ellison is that it made his name more known around the word. As a result, Larry Ellison was awarded the CEO of the year.

Works Cited:
Awards & Recognition:

"EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page."  EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=85449537-bfc7- <span style="line-height:200%;background-color:white;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;">4f14-a4a2-25bd023072c3%40sessionmgr4&vid=1&hid=

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="background-color:white;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;">"Ellison's Receives Industry Achievement Award." <span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;"> 01/02/12 - NC News<span style="background-color:white;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;">. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. <span style="background-color:white;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;">2012. <http://www.ncns.com/news/ellisonaward

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="background-color:white;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;">"Larry Ellison Receives Award of Distinction from AFAR | The Ellison Medical <span style="background-color:white;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;"> <span style="background-color:white;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;">Foundation." <span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;"> The Ellison Medical Foundation | Fostering creativity in <span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%; font-family:"TimesNewRoman","serif";background:white">biomedicalresearch <span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initialinitial;background-repeat:initialinitial;">. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <span style="background-color:white;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;"><http://www.ellisonfoundation.org/node/3901?page=3>. '''

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initialinitial;background-repeat:initialinitial;">" <span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;color:black;">Larry Ellison Wins SAIC Information Technology Leadership Award for Global Integration <span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initialinitial;background-repeat:initialinitial;"> – <span style="background-color:white;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;">Free Online Library." Free News, Magazines, Newspapers, Journals, Reference Articles <span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%; font-family:"TimesNewRoman","serif";background:white">and Classic Books - Free Online Library <span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initialinitial;background-repeat:initialinitial;">. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Sept. 2012. <span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initialinitial;background-repeat:initialinitial;"><http://www.thefreelibrary.com/ <span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;color:black;">Larry+Ellison+Wins+SAIC+Information+Technolog+ <span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;color:black;">Leadership+Award+for +Global+Integration <span style="font-size:12pt;line-height:200%;font-family:'TimesNewRoman',serif;background-color:white;background-position:initialinitial;background-repeat:initialinitial;">...-a015215725>. '''

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal"> Career:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Larry_Ellison&oldid=513742606

http://www.forbes.com/profile/larry-ellison/

http://www.askmen.com/celebs/men/may00/24_larry_ellison.html

Critical analysis:

"Top CEO: Larry Ellison / Convinced That the Future in High Tech Depends on Consolidation, Oracle's Founder Refused to Give up on a PeopleSoft Takeover, No Matter What the Obstacles." SFGate. N.p., 06 May 2005. Web. 19 Sept. 2012, from http://www.sfgate.com/technology/article/Top-CEO-Larry-Ellison-Convinced-that-the-2349139.php

Zakomurnaya, Ekaterina. "Larry Ellison, Co-Founder, CEO, Oracle Corp." - GOOD2WORK. N.p., 29 Mar. 2007. Web. 19 Sept. 2012. <http://www.good2work.com/article/2316>. Patents and Publications:

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/ell0bio-1

<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto; line-height:normal">Contributions:

<p style="text-indent:.5in">Larry Ellison. (2012, September 20). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:33, September 21, 2012, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Larry_Ellison&oldid=513742606