Is Oracle “Web 2.0-Washing”?

For those who follow the enterprise software space, there is some news this week regarding Oracle’s latest release of their CRM product.  However, there are really two stories here:  what Oracle is doing with the CRM product, and how they are engaging with the market.

Touted as being filled with "Web 2.0" goodness, the new release seems to allow consumption of a number of external services via RSS feeds, as well as allowing sales reps to customize their personal start pages within the app or include CRM gadgets in iGoogle or a presumably a Yahoo start page.

While an interesting technical step forward, the fundamental embrace of true, big-R customer Relationships is still missing.  The product, the presentation, the glossy online video demo — it’s not about the Customer — it’s all about how the two fictional sales reps are closing the next deal.  I was also quite amused that the crowning glory in the video — "closing
the deal" and the subsequent high-five — was only able to be accomplished by offering an increased
discount to the prospect.  Sales VPs everywhere cringe at the thought.

What disappointed in this first look at the Web 2.0-ified version of the software is it’s still about the bloody transaction. It’s not about the relationship.  What’s the difference, you ask?  Doc Searls lays out the story in this article from Linux Journal last year.  Doc:

"Transaction rules the Industrialized world. Here prices are set by
those who control the manufacturing, distribution and retail systems.
Customers do have an influence on prices, but only in the form of
aggregate demand. The rates at which they buy or don’t buy something
determines what price the ‘market’ will bear — in a system where ‘market’ means aggregated demand, manifested in prices paid and
quantities sold. Here the whole economic system is viewed mostly
through the prism of price, which is seen as the outcome of tug between
supply and demand.

Price still matters in the developing world, Sayo said, but
relationship matters more. It’s a higher context with a higher set of
values, many of which are trivialized or made invisible when viewed
through the prism of price. Relationship is not reducible to price,
even though it may influence price."

The presentation of this app is all about consumption.  It’s about consuming external services, and even the "social networking" features that are included are about consuming interpersonal capital — there’s not the concept of actually connecting a customer and a sales rep via social networking as far as I can tell (someone please correct me if this is not the case).  Instead, the social networking feature is yet another take on the "how can I exploit the social graph to wangle an introduction to a prospect?"  (Click the picture to see it expanded.)

There’s a second story here that is of note.   In bringing this product to market, Oracle reached out to a number of bloggers (myself included) prior to the formal release date, in the same way that organizations typically pre-brief analysts and traditional journalists.  I would wager that this plan was a part of a strategy that was designed to "push the limits of communication mediums" and "leverage the blogosphere" in order to "gain visibility and control [the] message."  So, I give Oracle points for bringing another constituency to the table but, at the same time, am still not entirely sure if this is a step on a path of increasing openness and engagement, or was simply a new tactic added to the traditional "push"-oriented marketing arsenal.

Time will tell if this new release is "Web 2.0-washing," a la "greenwashing" where traditional companies try to spin something that they are doing as green or eco-friendly, or if Oracle starting to move on a path to greater clueship.  What do you think?

More coverage here:
Paul Greenberg: I Shall BE Re-leee-sed – as Has the Siebel CRM on Demand Release 15 Embargo
Denis Pombriant: Little Deuce Coupe
Erika Morphy: Oracle Ventures Into Web 2.0 Universe and CRM Bloggers are People Too
Phil Wainewright: Oracle Skins CRM with Social Networking
Chris Buchholz: Oracle Gets All 2.0 With Release15
Brent Leary: Blogger Relationship Management – Oracle Steps Up

Note: In this post, I’m not trying to take a shot from afar…I’d actually
prefer to ask these questions on Oracle exec Anthony Lye’s blog or the
blog of their PR contact Aaron Wessels, but 10 minutes of Technorati
searching and searching on the Oracle site itself turned up nothing of
the sort on either count.  So, although the message is buzzword-compliant, I’m still not 100% convinced that the embodiment is actually there.  I’ve an email into Aaron to see if I missed
blogs that they may be doing and will post an update here if I find
anything out.