What is our primary use case?
We have 5 Oracle servers having 3 RAC and 2 Stand Alone servers.All using Oracle 12c R2 SE.
1 DR standalone server is also there .
How has it helped my organization?
Oracle was the first choice at the time of creating our application because of our very low load.
Now when our application has become mission-critical, Even with the SE version we are able to deal with a complete load very efficiently and effectively.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of this solution are the performance and its inbuilt services.
In Oracle we can find out most services are inbuilt. scalability, high availability, split brain handling , Null handling ,it working of execution plan . All these features have helped us many times .
What needs improvement?
As of Now Oracle has gained an image of Customer binding database.
Once some one opted for Oracle database , it becomes very difficult in many ways to move on other database.
As of now oracle can be considered as Top of the list and many of the database are not enough close to oracle concepts and it's standards so it's kind of responsibility to Oracle to bring a fair competition in market.
In return ,it will help Oracle itself. Take an Example of Football. Consider Oracle a high level Club who have it's own Practice and playing Area but only his own rules are implemented. Any player who is a beginner and cannot afford such a high clubs will start practice in small arenas which have some what similar rules .Once Player's practice gave him confidence to go for a big club ,he will feel comfortable in choosing a club whose rules are known to him , Not someone for whom he has to change his playing technique.
So Oracle should consider working in this direction so that he can keep the control over the wind of Market.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution for two years.
We are currently using Oracle 12c SE Release 2.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In terms of stability, we know that Oracles releases quarterly batches but we have still been faced with many bugs over the last year.
I cannot say that it is stable.
This is an area that needs improvement.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's a scalable solution.
As known to everyone, One of the best.
How are customer service and technical support?
This is one of the portion where Oracle have to be little bit loose .I have raised only around 7-8 tickets including 2 P1 , but it always looks like I am talking to a bot with pre recorded statements when the person is not able to answer. Most of the times information is attached , but they still insist very hardly to send it in there format so that there machine can read it .
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Nope , Oracle was used from Starting.
How was the initial setup?
All is easy, given that you must know what are you using it for.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Depending on the services included, it seems little bit expensive.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
In starting we didn't evaluate much, but giving the condition of ending support , we do not have any choice so we are looking for other options including upgradation as well.
What other advice do I have?
Oracle is good for large scale environments.
New startups MUST always think of other options before going to Oracle.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.