No, it’s not that pesky TV advert “…our tooth brush will clean 19% better than…” or “…our Magic Washing Powder will remove 31% more stains compared to our competitive product…[you know, not just 30%, it’s 31% because it should sound more scientific and convincing enough, right? :-)] “, or tons of similar adverts that expect that we’re all stupid. I though this stupidity in advertising is reserved for big chemical/pharmaceutical TV ads, I was wrong.

In late summer (August 2009) when I first read Oracle sponsored Edison Group report I just laughed. However, recently I got the link to this pathetic pamphlet from two different newsletters and decided it’s time to rumble a bit. I don’t have anything against Oracle. Hands down Oracle database is simply a better product than MS SQL 2008 and I’m glad that I work with Oracle products in general. At the same time, I do recognize and respect competitive products, such as MS SQL and DB2. All products have their strengths and weaknesses, including Oracle. That’s why I take such marketing pamphlets reports insulting, because they expect I’m a retarded troll, the same guy who is shopping for that 19% more efficient toothbrush.

An abstract from Edison Group: Oracle Database 11g Saves 41% in DBA Costs Over SQL Server 2008″:

[Sponsored by: Oracle Corporation] In this whitepaper presented by the Edison Group, reveals how Oracle Database widens the manageability lead over Microsoft SQL Server 2008. The study shows how Oracle Database can save 43% in time and 41% in database management costs over Microsoft SQL Server 2008.

Quick search revealed similar sponsored pamphlets reports:

• Edison Group: Oracle Saves 43% in Database Management Cost over IBM DB2 and IBM Response to Edison Group Report
• Edison Group – Oracle Unbreakable Linux: True Enterprise-Quality Linux Support

The moral of the story is that money can (still) buy “studies” that can prove anything to anyone, hardly a surprise in today World. It’s their right to abuse such reports in marketing campaigns as it’s my right to tell them “No thanks! Sell this rubbish to someone else!”.

Now, I’m off to brag around of being 41% more efficient than my MS SQL Server colleague.[grin]