Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, on his first visit to Israel, met on Friday morning with leaders of the country’s high tech community. Ellison had specific advice for Israeli firms, saying that the country’s technology sector has matured to the point that it needs to begin looking to cheaper sources of research services.
“We’ve got a global economy. I was actually with the CEO of an Israeli software company, Checkpoint, yesterday, and there are some pretty fabulous, extraordinary success stories in there, you know, of software companies, of technology companies, here in Israel.”
“I think one of the things were gonna be forced, we’re forced to do, in the United States is not think of ourselves as an American company. We started as an American company, the core group was in California, but we have…research center here in Israel, but we also have large ones in India and in Russia, all over the world - and the Internet of course allows us to do our research and our development all over the world. And I think, especially in Israel, where the competition for talent is so fierce, and Israel is no longer a low cost supplier of labor - labor cost, or talent, is very high - that’s a good thing. Costs are also quite high in Israel, and competition is fierce.”
“So I think Israeli companies, like all, every other company, are going to have to find, and expand their research centers beyond the national borders and make use of the Internet to build truly global companies who are headquartered here in Israel but actually operate - both on the research side and obviously on the sales side globally; and in Israel I think that is something you should think about even before we think about it in California.”
Ellison, answering a question regarding perceived threats from open source software, noted, “to me open source does not win because its free or because it’s open - open source wins, and only wins, when it is better.” He pointed out that Oracle uses Apache rather than Microsoft IIS because “it is better”. We are a big supporter of Linux because we feel it is better than Windows for Intel based architecture.”
Ellison spoke at an Oracle conference held in partnership with “Globes”.
Earlier in his visit, Ellison toured Sderot, the Negev town hit hard by Kassam rockets, and pledged to help improve air raid defenses at a community center. He has also been meeting with political and business leaders.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 12, 2007
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