http://kellblog.com/2009/09/02/why-mark-logic-isnt-bigger-than-oracle-or-is-it/ The official blog of Dave Kellogg Fri, 27 Apr 2012 19:57:28 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ http://kellblog.com/2009/09/02/why-mark-logic-isnt-bigger-than-oracle-or-is-it/#comment-2939 Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:07:54 +0000 http://test.kellblog.com/2009/09/02/why-mark-logic-isnt-bigger-than-oracle-or-is-it/#comment-2939 It's an interesting, if not fun comparison. But a quick glance at the list reveals the obvious: quick burn companies like Interwoven who rocket past 50 and even 100 MM only to slow — in many cases plateau — at levels far short of the giants. In the search and IA space you have the likes of Endeca, Autonomy and FAST (financial shenanigans aside) who can all claim to have exceeded Oracle's growth rate. Heck, perma-growth DW appliance player Netezza is even showing signs of an outright plateau, albeit more likely due to the economy than Teradata or Oracle. Finite demand slowed organic growth, and of those "rocket ships" only Autonomy, via an aggressive acquisition and market expansion strategy (Verity, Zantaz, Interwoven), has been able to sustain such a trajectory. Marathon records are not awarded based on your time at the 5 mile marker. IMHO, a far more interesting and informative study would trace the trajectory of businesses like Oracle from 100MM to 1B and beyond. Not saying Mark Logic is a quick burn candidate, but it will be interesting to see how the company's growth path differs from its search, IA and specialized DBMS cousins over the next 4-5 years. Let's talk after Heartbreak Hill. ;-)

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