Culture Change at Oracle Sees Shift In Partner Strategy

Oracle’s global channel leader has revealed a strategic change in partner strategy from “reactive” product sales to focusing on solutions and outcomes.

Doug Smith began leading the transition upon joining the company two years ago.

Oracle’s Doug Smith

“I came to Oracle because I saw a company that has some amazing products that are so relevant in today’s world. But one of the challenges – and opportunities – is that customers want solutions and outcomes, more so than products.

“The challenge for a lot of historically product-[led] companies like Oracle is, how do you make that transition? Because we’re now in a cloud services world, not in a licensed product world. That’s where the growth and the opportunity is. You have to meet customers where they are and where they want to be in terms of delivering solutions, which means you also have to have an understanding of IT solutions [that] are broader than just the technology products that are used.”

Oracle Partner Strategy More Solutions-Oriented

Smith described the shift in Oracle partner strategy as “a culture change that everybody in the industry is going through.”

“Even when I talk to services partners, they will acknowledge that historically, they’ve been very product-centric, and they need to be more solutions-oriented. But it’s a transition that everybody’s going through. That was one of the things that was important for me and the decision to come over to Oracle,” said the Microsoft veteran. “We have the sales leadership, we have the product leadership, we have the support leadership, the marketing, across all the functions with Oracle.”

See the slideshow above to read more about the shift from a “reactive to proactive” Oracle partner strategy. Also, discover how Oracle is responding to current industry trends like generative AI and online marketplaces.