Re: Do you HAVE to use Oracle?
So lets say we have a multi-terrabyte database used for a transactional database application with connections topping out at around a thousand a second, servicing exabytes of data. Said database leverages RAC and Dataguard to the fullest. The support staff, DBAs, developers and managers are all Oracle trained. The application must be up 24x7 or there are expensive legal ramifications.
How much kit, time, retraining and migration cost do you think this environment can stand?
Oh yes. It's a government installation so budget for staffing, training and new kit is tight as a fish's arse.
In the real world, swapping a technology is often a process measured in years, during which costs escalate often to the point the proposed change is abandoned even before the new platform starts to show the "interesting to Chinese philosophers" problems that will require rethinks, restests and, inevitably, more bugs and more cost.
The change in locking philosophy alone would require massive redesign for most models I know of.
If you are starting from scratch, yes I'm with you 100%. If you are dealing with a small manufacturer, yes. But when you start talking the sorts of applications Oracle was built into - the proposed functions people wanted driving the design of the Database suite - nope. Not remotely an easy choice, or a cost saver in the near term.