How Mr Ellison's lieutenants learnt their lessons too well

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How Oracle managed to survive the technology fallout

Oracle's extravagant chief executive Larry Ellison may have his faults, but one thing's for sure – he's a good teacher. Over the years, Oracle has nurtured a string of highly motivated executives, steeped in the belief that you don't make it big by stepping back and letting the competition walk all over you. Sadly for Mr Ellison, several of those executives have taken the lessons they've learnt, gone elsewhere and squared up to a new competitor – Oracle itself.

It's galling enough for Mr Ellison to watch former disciples at the helm of rival software suppliers – but more galling still to find himself on the end of their repeated verbal onslaughts.

The main head-to-head conflict is with Tom Siebel of Siebel Systems, which has emerged as the undisputed leader of the fast-growing customer relationship management (CRM) market. Siebel stamped its mark early in the area of sales force automation, the key driver in the CRM market, and its growth has been staggering. Amid widespread tech gloom in the spring, it reported first quarter revenues up 84 per cent.

The Siebel culture bears many of the hallmarks of Tom Siebel's six years at Oracle: its marketing is slick, aggressive and professional. Like Mr Ellison, Mr Siebel is a hands-on leader and when it comes to a clash of egos, their battles make the Rumble in the Jungle look like a dormitory pillow fight.

Another fierce critic is Craig Conway, chief executive of PeopleSoft and former Oracle executive. The company has been through startling changes in the two years since Mr Conway took charge. Where once it was characterised by its nice-guy culture, the public profile today is smart City suits and a sharp edge.

And there's no respite for Mr Ellison. Earlier this month his former right-hand man, Ray Lane, who moved to venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, addressed a conference hosted by JD Edwards, another of Oracle's rivals.

Clearly, it's no surprise to see the industry peopled by former executives of a company the size of Oracle. The problem for Mr Ellison, however, is that he's obviously lost quite a few good ones.