Oracle CEO likens new approach to Apple's

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: Oracle Corp. Chief Executive Larry Ellison touted the company’s new emphasis on engineering combined software and computer hardware systems on Wednesday, likening the approach to that deployed by his friend Steve Jobs at Apple Inc.

However, Apple’s approach under its CEO Jobs, while resulting in tremendously-popular products, has also elicited complaints from industry peers, and the attention of antitrust regulators.

Ellison said in a keynote address delivered at Oracle’s  OpenWorld conference in San Francisco that the company’s ability to now tightly wrap software with complex computers can provide better-performing, more reliable technology. The conference ends Thursday.

“The product is better than if you just do a part of the solution,” Ellison said.

A traditional power in the market for software used by businesses, Oracle was able to expand dramatically into hardware thanks to its purchase of Sun Microsystems, closed earlier this year.

During this week’s conference, Oracle featured examples of its high-end hardware loaded with tailored software, including a new version of its Exadata machine, designed to quickly crunch massive amounts of data.

Apple, too, has emphasized the virtues of carefully wrapping software with hardware, in popular products such as the iPhone and iPad tablet devices.

Oracle’s new emphasis on complete systems is “a little bit like the iPhone,” Ellison said.

Jobs, Ellison added, is “my best friend, I love him dearly, and he’s someone I watch very closely.”

Apple’s tight control of its combined hardware and software has created many fans. But it’s also created some headaches.

Apple recently relaxed development restrictions for the iPhone, to allow for the use of Adobe Systems Inc.’s Flash technology, and Google Inc.’s advertising technology -- but only following heated criticism from both firms of what they saw as an unreasonably exclusionary policy, and amid an antitrust probe by federal regulators.

During his speech on Wednesday, Ellison also said Oracle now boasts a more experienced executive team than ever before.

In particular, he cited Oracle’s recent hiring of former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd as co-president, and the hiring of former International Business Machines Corp. executive Joanne Olsen.

Both Hurd and Olsen were sued by their former employers after they accepted positions at Oracle, though both lawsuits were later settled confidentially.