[tharne]

This is the point that's getting missed on this site. Oracle can charge a fortune for their products precisely because they can still deliver things that other RDMS's can't and they are still offer the highest performing DB if you're willing to pay for it. Most business don't require this level of performance, but many do.

Yes, if you're a startup with an MVP that recommends good deals on imported wine, sure you can, and really should, use a simpler open source RDBMS. But, if you're a large established company with billions in revenue and need a DB that delivers as close to perfect reliability as possible, then spending a small fortune on Oracle licensing and all the hassle that comes with it, is a pretty minor thing relative to the bigger picture. A critical failure even once in a blue moon will cost an order of magnitude more than your licensing fees.

There's a lot of obituary writing for Oracle, but think the real story is that Oracle is going to go from the dominant RDBMS provider in business world, to a niche player occupying the high end of the market. It might be where they want to end up, but it's not a terrible place to be, either.