Three decades ago, Larry Ellison saw an opportunity other companies missed when he came across a description of a working prototype for a relational database and discovered that no company had committed to commercializing the technology. Ellison and his co-founders, Bob Miner and Ed Oates, realized there was tremendous business potential in the relational database model—but they may not have realized that they would change the face of business computing forever.

With the agility of a much smaller company, Oracle has proved throughout its history that it can build for the future on the foundation of years of innovation, intimate knowledge of its customers' challenges and successes, and the best technical and business minds in the world. The company has shown both the ability to leverage its immense size and strength to serve its customers, as well as the capacity to make decisions that upend conventional wisdom and take its products and services in new directions.

After 30 years, Oracle remains the gold standard for database technology and applications in enterprises throughout the world: The company is the world's leading supplier of software for information management, and the world's second largest independent software company. Oracle technology can be found in nearly every industry, and in the data centers of 98 of the Fortune 100 companies. Oracle is the first software company to develop and deploy 100 percent internet-enabled enterprise software across its entire product line: database, business applications, and application development and decision support tools.

It is innovation that drives Oracle's success. Oracle was one of the first companies to make its business applications available through the internet—an idea that is now pervasive. With the release of Oracle Fusion Middleware, Oracle has begun debuting new products and functionality that reflect the company's goal: connecting all levels of enterprise technology to help customers access the knowledge they need to respond to market conditions with speed and agility. Today, Oracle Real Application Clusters, Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle Grid Computing, support for enterprise Linux, and Oracle Fusion all fuel a commitment to innovation and results that has defined Oracle for thirty years.

What's in store for tomorrow? We will strive to become No. 1 in middleware and No. 1 in applications, just as we've done in database. Our goal is to continue to innovate and to lead the industry—while always making sure that we're focused on solving the problems of the customers who rely on our software.