Next up, according to Soni, will be the applications and database software that run on top of Linux.

FORBES: Magazine Article

We expect Oracle to continue to increase its share in the database as well as applications software market.

FORBES: Ellison Needs To Fight Like A Samurai In Middleware To Push Oracle To $36 And Higher

In short, Oracle becomes the indirect beneficiary of SaaS applications market growth since these applications require database and middleware software to be deployed on servers.

FORBES: Oracle Gets Juice From Software-As-A-Service

Hence, applications, middleware and database software all go hand-in-hand.

FORBES: Oracle Gets Juice From Software-As-A-Service

Participate in the analysis of user requirements and their translation into database models and the implementation of software applications.

UNESCO: Job title

SaaS software applications such as customer relationship management and enterprise resource planning are deployed alongside database and middleware software.

FORBES: Oracle Gets Juice From Software-As-A-Service

To offset that inevitable slowdown in new database sales, Ellison has been betting big on applications software.

FORBES: Irreplaceable?

Oracle mainly competes with IBM, Hewlett-Packard in the hardware business, IBM and Microsoft in database and middleware software business and SAP in the applications software business.

FORBES: Oracle Can Milk Exadata Servers And Software For Spurt Above $40