Oracle in hindsight
C|Net | at | by Mike
Database giant Oracle could have used a few oracles in its executive offices last year. Just over a year ago, on the last day of its 2001 fiscal year, the company inked a multimillion-dollar contract with the state of California. While the salespeople associated with the deal likely toasted their good fortune at the time, apparently no one at the company predicted the storm of negative publicity the deal would generate in subsequent months--or they would have kept the bubbly on ice.
The $95 million, no-bid contract has been panned by state auditors, has cost some state employees their jobs, and has drawn harsh criticism from a legislative audit committee. This week, the crisis erupted anew when newly released e-mail showed that an Oracle lobbyist encouraged the company to line the pockets of key state politicians to keep the contract intact.