The real reason Oracle is still making money (though never nearly as much as analysts forecast) is none of the above.  It was mentioned in the article and has been discussed here many times in the past as well.  For example, <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=10207495" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=10207495</a> and <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=9953657" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=9953657</a>.  Oracle&#x27;s sales force is trained to use &quot;license audits&quot;, threats of same, and various forms of bundling, such as MSAs and minimum sales commitments, to sell what Oracle wants to sell, not what the customer wants or needs.  They are very effective in this, and it is the primary reason Oracle remains in business.<p>That said, the Oracle database product, while extremely expensive and obnoxiously licensed, is not without technical merit.  There is a genuine market for it, just not a $50b one.  One could say the same for what these other so-called dinosaurs are selling.