Oracle Removes Claims Due to Complaint from IBM

Oracle has recently decided to take of some of its claims that were recently advertised for the Exadata machine. Claims made in the advertisement stated that Exadata performed superior when compared to IBM and its power system hardware. The information about Oracle’s decision to remove these claims from their advertisements recently came from an announcement by the National Advertising Division, a group that works as a way to self-regulate the industry and its advertisements. Once IBM heard about the claims that Oracle was making, they chose to challenge those claims. In the advertisements, Oracle stated that Exadata operate at least 20x faster and is the perfect replacement for IBM. It is believed that the claims about Oracle operating faster than the other power systems was simply misleading and false information provided to consumers and IBM has argued that these claims from Oracle are completely untrue. Oracle continued to maintain its innocence about making such claims, stating that the product is aimed toward sophisticated individuals.

While Oracle and IBM argued their own points, NAD chose to side with IBM after finding out that the claims made by Oracle simply did not add up when they were challenged. Exadata does not work 20 times faster than other power systems, specifically the IBM power systems. While the claims were made by Oracle, the message could not be backed up by any type of scientific evidence, ultimately meaning that such claims could not be used in the advertisements. If the claims cannot be backed up, they should not be used in any way. After the NAD sided with IBM, Oracle agreed to remove the advertisements and discontinue them from being displayed but they also have decided to appeal the decision that was made by the NAD. When contacted for comment, the spokesperson for Oracle did not provide any commentary on the matter.

While Oracle is not satisfied with the NAD’s decision, IBM is very satisfied and believes they have made the right decision. A spokesperson for IBM, Jeff Cross, has stated that there was no way Oracle could actually compare Exadata to IBM’s power system because that would simply be like comparing apples to oranges since they are two completely different things. Exadata is a type of software that was first provided to individuals back in 2008. An industry analyst, Curt Monash, says that in this particular industry, there are many different companies that exaggerate about what their products can do and Oracle is one that tends to exaggerate in its advertisements more often than not.