U.S. enterprise technology company · mega-cap · listed on the NYSE · headquartered in Texas after a high-profile HQ move.
Clue 2 · The Numbers
Annual revenue around $50 billion, with a business so sticky that cloud and license support alone accounts for the lion's share — customers basically can't leave.
Clue 3 · The History
Founded in 1977 in California by a college dropout who read an IBM research paper and beat IBM to market with the product it described.
Clue 4 · The Secret
Its famously aggressive sales culture and near-impossible-to-exit contracts have made it both one of the most successful and most complained-about vendors in corporate IT history.
Clue 5 · The Lore
Its flamboyant billionaire founder once bought most of a Hawaiian island, races America's Cup yachts, and is currently one of the largest shareholders in a certain social media company.
Clue 6 · The Giveaway
The database software that runs half the world's corporations, a CEO named Larry Ellison, and a logo you've definitely seen on a server room door.