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

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

You can buy your applications as a service, buy your database and middleware as a service, and buy your storage and servers also as a service.

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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.

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Oracle also announced plans to launch 4 new hardware products by Sun, which will help it drive sales of its database and middleware software, which is optimized for the new SPARC super clusters.

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

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

Enterprise software, including database, application, and middleware offerings account for more than 75% of its Trefis price estimate.

FORBES: Larry The Social Samurai Takes Oracle All The Way To $40

Middleware is the link that connects applications to the database.

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

Oracle is the largest player in the database market, and also has significant share in the application and middleware segments.

FORBES: Larry The Social Samurai Takes Oracle All The Way To $40