Everyone thought the acquisition strategy was extremely risky because no one had ever done it successfully. In other words, it was innovative.

Microsoft is already the most powerful company on earth but you ain't seen nothing yet.

What can a sales person say to somebody to get them to buy a product that they already use every day if they don't like it? Nothing.

Great achievers are driven, not so much by the pursuit of success, but by the fear of failure.

I think I am very goal oriented. I'd like to win the America's cup. I'd like Oracle to be the No 1 software company in the world. I still think it is possible to beat Microsoft.

Most companies don't want their data co-mingled with other customers. Small companies will tolerate it.

So what makes me happy? I was really happy to build this house. That's it; building things. The trouble with software is that it's very hard to show your aunt in Florida what you've done.