甲骨文建立于1980年，自成立以来，因其创新上的迅猛势头、五花八门的企业软件和数据库产品，还有影响力巨大领导团队，一直为人称道。公司创始人拉里·埃里森和CEO马克·赫德，在技术界简直无人不知无人不晓。在甲骨文公司工作的员工很可能在众多大神的光芒下显得黯淡，但是今天我们的访谈对象，Safra Catz的光芒是很难掩盖的。
最近几年，Catz作为甲骨文的CEO，CFO和董事会一员，她也是硅谷在数字技术及其对全球影响方面一个强有力的声音。某种程度上，这也说明她是商业金字塔顶尖的女性之一，也反映了她的经验助力埃里森实现甲骨文公司的愿景——转型成为集成的云应用和平台服务的企业。2003年甲骨文增长战略的转移也归功于她，此前甲骨文很少收购或兼并，但后来这给甲骨文的增长带来了很大优势。
甲骨文收购案例中，很出名的2003年仁科软件敌意收购，引起业界哄动。2004年，历经18个月的拉锯战，终于成功并购仁科软件公司。据统计从2004年开始到目前，Oracle至少花了450亿美元用于收购。从管理软件领域来看，其收购对象包含了HCM、CRM、BI、中间件等多个细分领域。
Catz出生于以色列，6岁后在波士顿长大。在1999年加入甲骨文之前，她在美国一家投行DLJ做投资银行家。2011年，Catz成为甲骨文的联合总裁，并于2014年担任CEO。从2008到2015年，她一直是汇丰控股董事会一员，今年还将加入迪士尼董事会。此次访谈是去年12月于甲骨文公司总部进行的。主要讨论的是现在的CEO面临着怎样的挑战，以及他们的战略重点做了什么改变。
当今世界正见证着数字技术的成熟期，我们看到AI、区块链、传感器和物联网，百花齐放。这个转变哪个方面是最重要的呢？
CATZ: 这一切都非常重要。但是我觉得最重要的是AI的时代终于到来。这意味着什么？也就是说，我们可以通过大量的数据来做决策。AI的概念我已经听了有30年了，但是它似乎总是未来式。那现在有什么不同呢? 首先，计算力大大提升，意味着系统瞬时处理可以处理海量数据。第二，通过软件来管理和分析数据的能力大大提高。
以前配备位置感知技术的电梯非常昂贵。装个电梯要花上百万。现在手机就能告诉你你在几楼。手机能测量气压，知道你站着还是坐着。手机应用知道你的车时速多少，周围的车都在哪里，还知道你在加速还是减速。你的手表能显示心率。这些计算能力很先进的设备都很普遍。
过去我们也见识过数据大爆炸，每一次企业都用各种方式去应对。但是这一次数据爆炸有点不同，我们的计算能力变快太多、普及度也很大。所有数据都变得可用，可供行动参考，这为人工智能开启了前所未有的新篇章。在软件行业，AI的概念我们确实已经听了几十年，但似乎总是未来时。以前的软件是基于运行规则，输入的数据量也少得多，处理能力也没有今天那么强。但是现在我们的数据处理快的多，可以处理海量数据，这就解放了员工和消费者，让他们有时间去做更有趣的事。如果你的车能自动驾驶，载着你去上班，在上班路上你就可以利用时间浏览会议简报，而且自动驾驶或许还优于人工驾驶。系统可以比人更快地发现异常之处，检测安全隐患并且予以处理。
这对企业日常运营有什么样的影响？
CATZ: AI的主要任务是优化决策。如果企业高管对于数据能有更全面的认识，他们就能做出更好的决定，更自信地决策。如果没有数据支撑，全靠自己，他们可能就不会这么自信。这也反映了软件行业自然的进化。计算力的提高，为我们带来了同时处理大量数据的能力，让我们能在数据上看到全局。这也体现在速度上：以前，如果等待别人回复总是要等很久，那这个问题可能都没有问的必要了。现在问出问题很快就能得到答案。最后一点是，可规模化。如果我们无法处理来自天南地北的大量数据，也无法得到全面的答案。这三者是信息方面巨大的进步。
S+B:这些进步的重要性何在？
CATZ: 信息处理的速度、规模和安全性：这些进步会带来很多影响，能解放资源和劳动力，去做更有价值的事情。而这些都已经在进程中了。我们现在可以看到生产力的大提升。我不知道经济学家怎么衡量生产力，但是人类能力的巨大进步是毋庸置疑的。
从您作为财务总监的角度看，您觉得企业现在能做到什么以前做不到的事？
CATZ:以前，财务在企业运营中不是主导角色，通常我们都是回顾历史。“我们过去一段时间运营状况如何？赚了多少钱？跟上个季度相比有什么区别？”财务人员的工作是解答这类型的问题。
是不是所有财务人员都有能力面对这个挑战？可能不是。而且我们还是得把历史旧账算清楚，但是现在，我很少看到哪个领导身边没有财务人员了。这就营造了能使企业进步的合作气氛，在以前这是不可能的。
财务的角色已经超出做假设、问问题的范围。数据分析也成为财务的一部分，让我们知道每时每刻某个合作关系带来多少价值，销售状况如何。这给我们带来了新的可能——竞争者是什么状况，价格差异是怎么造成，等等。
计算机以前不是不能做这样的分析，只是做的速度很慢，成本耗费巨大。现在我们可以更快地做出更好的决策，现在我们无需苦但有了现代系统，不仅是回顾过去，就连展望未来都变得简单多了。系统能非常准确地计算历史事件。财务现在也成了掌舵者之一，带领整个企业前进。确实，业务是主导，但是财务也开始向展望未来，出谋划策，指点江山，提出企业发展道路上新的可能。财务不仅仅站在过去推测未来，我们也可以有其他角度。这从根本上改变了工作内容，让财务成为融入到经营当中。
等，有了好主意就立刻着手去做，因为做出决策之前就能预知结果了。
那你有看到企业据此有哪些不一样的做法吗？
CATZ：改变是很困难的，但是很多企业才刚刚开始。我发现有趣的一点是，常常是财务领域的人在领导这场改变。你可能觉得财务人员会说， "我知道自己工作的内容是什么，我还是比较喜欢原有的工作。 "但是我在跟大家宣讲时代改变了，工作内容改变了”这些观点的时候，观众席里举手提问的总是财务人员， 他们问："我们什么时候能开始？ " 这些财务人员想要帮助自己的公司成长。他们已经等不及了。突然他们就意识到，原来自己手头上有很多现代化的工具，可以帮助公司取得增长。
这也是为什么很多新的软件都包含了分析工具，而且这些软件都在云上。以前，很多公司都是"闭门造车 "，将自己的技术限制在自己的小天地。通常这些企业需要半年到两年的时间才能够升级使用新型的科技。而现在在雨上，新工具就直接出现在自己的眼前。我们突然就有很多自己从来没有使用过的功能可以用。。而现在在语言上, 新工具就直接眼前。我们突然就有很多自己从来没有使用过的功能可以用，不再需要投入很多时间去获得这些技术。
克服内在惰性 这对改变公司的增长方式有什么影响呢？
CATZ：这改变了公司决策的速度。帮助他们更好地了解消费者，能够根据实际情况调整他们的价值命题。或者，这可以帮助他们发现自己产品的潜在市场，帮助他们发现自己的用人需求。
就我所知，没有哪个企业可以高枕无忧。竞争太激烈了。没有谁能够预测零售业、通信业和媒体行业会有怎样的发展。没有哪个行业可以高枕无忧的说"射场改变我们无需理会，我们也不用担心紧张，慢慢来就好。我们需要不紧不慢。 "所有的企业都想发展的更快一点，他们知道有很多高管来来去去，人换了又换。现在的投资者根本没有耐心。
有些企业必须做出很艰难的抉择，他们必须展现出自己的勇气。喜欢改变，同时也讨厌改变，因为做出改变总是让人害怕的。
对于任何职工来说，总是会有一小部分人站出来，勇敢的接受挑战。也总会有一小部分人退缩，并且无法接受改变。但是无论你接不接受，就算改变已经来临了。而还有一大部分的人会随波逐流，他们会跟随胜利的那一方。所有人都想要问题的答案： " 这对我来说意味着什么？这对于我的团队来说有什么好处？我的企业来说有什么机会？ "
而面对这些问题，我们要说的是： "以前这份报告要拿到手，需要等 3周。不过你也可以试一试这些新的途径。"我们用信息来支持员工的工作，给他们数据让他们可以有所行动。只要给他们一点动力，中间的这一大群人就会从想要试一试的心理到接受这场改变。甚至于对有些不愿意接受改变的人，他们也不会那么害怕了
但是这对于任何改变来说都是适用的呀，不仅对于技术上的改变
CATZ：如果仅是技术上的改变就能带来成功，那就好了。但是事实并非如此。改变也跟整个社区，所有人都有关系。当然如果技术不过关，就可能引起致命的后果。但是单单有好的技术是不够的，我们必须有领导力，支持这场革新并且告诉大家，我们确实要这么做。人都是有很多惰性的，人都喜欢走老路。
很多人赞赏你，就是因为你本人就带领了这类型的转变。
CATZ：老实说，这并不准确。是拉里埃里森领到了向云端的转型，此前我们向互联网的转型也是他带领的。那时是 1999年，你可以想象这需要多大的勇气。我们当时正在软件泡沫的顶端。所有一切都欣欣向荣，当时并没有什么危机逼迫着我们做出改变。
但是拉里说，"我们必须向着全球化企业的目标前进。我们现在只是一个国际化的公司。 我计划就是说我们想很多国家售出我们的产品。而全球化的公司是无论在世界上哪个地方，都要保持高标准。让消费者知道我们的质量是可以保证的。这就意味着要简化系统，简化企业。而在我们自己的例子中，我们省下了12 亿美元。
一个企业怎样才能完成这样的转型呢？
CATZ；有两个主要的因素。首先你要将做事的流程简化，这样不用付出重复的努力。我在1999 年5月加入甲骨文公司的不久之后，拉里对我说： " 我们通过转换系统，可以省下100亿美元。" 当时我们的收入销售额才90亿美元。当你的CEO 做出这样的声明，其他的高管要么接受改变，要么就离开岗位。做出了这么大的削减，很难再出现重复劳动的情况。也没有办法在不增加自己竞争力的项目上浪费钱。
而现在我们看到，很多公司花巨量的资源在财务系统和人力资源系统上，然而传销并不高。试想，由哪个消费者会说： " 我非常喜欢你们用的系统。运行非常良好。"这些都不能够使你成为更好的零售商、生产商或银行。
大家对待经济的态度变得乐观，为什么？大家对于经济增长似乎有很大的自信，尤其是在美国。你认为原因何在？
CATZ：在美国，大家都非常乐观。这是对于管制减少的反应，因为管制一多，对于合规性的要求越高，手续越繁琐，就越是限制很多商业上的投资。现在我们可以看到有很多领域投资都在增加。虽然这场调查结束只的时候，税改法案还没有下来。但我们也可以很清晰地预见，管制会越来越少，税收会下降，这就可以解放资本。
在我看来，税收减少最重要的一个类型就是对中产阶级见的那部分。因为我们的经济是以消费为基础的。消费者越有钱，消费也就越高。这对于任何公司来说都是利好。比方说，消费者在超市花的钱多了，超市有可能投资买货车，货车的制造商就可能引进新的IT系统。这种良性循环会让企业领导者更加乐观。
与此同时，我们知道有很多高管对于自己公司的未来感到非常不确定。
CATZ：这是因为他们见证者数字革命的发展。在金融服务业，有很多新的金融科技公司在相互竞争。他们并非银行，他们是技术公司。但是这些公司经手的交易量越来越多。让银行不禁思考具体是为什么。媒体行业的转型也在快速进行中。以前，如果电视节目或者电影制作完了，就找电视台。现在制作完成就直接放到网上，观众直接用手机就可以观看。作为媒体公司，精心收集的老电影苦可能需要用新的方式才能资本化。由于我们还没有完全做好准备，所以周遭的一切都在快速改变的时候，你是很难沉下心来冷静思考的。
消费者需求随着企业云平台的出现，你觉得企业会如何发展？
CATZ：以前，微软和甲骨文公司一直是死对头。现在我们仍然是竞争关系。但我们和亚马逊的竞争也非常激烈。但是微软和亚马逊都成为了我们的客户。我们为什么要合作呢？因为我们的客户有需求。
甲骨文的运营哲学是，所有用户都可以有多个云平台，这是他们的选择。这就与甲骨文公司早期的经历有很大关系。在我们发展的初期，我们跟很多数据库公司竞争，包括DB2, RDB, Adabase, 等等。那我们有什么特别的呢？我们不能决定你用的硬件平台是什么。甲骨文数据库在任何电脑上都可以运行，不管是Digital Equipment, IBM, Data General, Wang, Prime还是当时的新的个人电脑。我们都会说 ,让数据库什么样的平台上运行都可以,这是由我们的用户决定的。
现在我们有自己的云系统,但是我们不会应要求用户使用自己的系统。你可以使用其他的云平台。但是我们非常努力确保自己的平台运行的更快更好更安全，并且比其他产品更物美价廉。
总的来说，我觉得我们的大部分用户会根据自己的需求有至少三到四个平台。而其中一个会是甲骨文公司的平台。
所以你们是通过质量来作为自己的竞争优势，而不是强迫着用户花大量今天转而使用你们的系统。
CATZ：现在这个时代非常令人兴奋，备受鼓舞，因为我们的眼前有很多改变，很多机遇。我认识的所有CEO都非常努力工作。就连金字塔上最顶尖的、最成功的公司高管都会每天来上班。就比如我们自己公司的拉里埃里森。有机会是非常棒的，而且我们没有理由守着过去的成功，而不着眼于未来。
In the first interview in this series, which kicks off PwC’s 2018 CEO Survey, chief executive Safra Catz explains the broad culture shift brought on by AI and cloud technologies.
Since its founding in 1980, the Oracle company has been known for its prowess at innovation, for its protean array of enterprise software and database products, and for its influential leadership, starting with the three individuals at the top of the company. Founder and board chairman Larry Ellison and CEO Mark Hurd are among the most visible figures in the technology industry. In their company, it would be easy to be overlooked — but not if you’re Safra Catz.
In recent years, Catz — also Oracle's CEO, as well as CFO and a member of the board of directors — has been one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent voices on the maturation of digital technology and its effect on global industry. This in part reflects her standing as one of the most highly placed women in business, and her experience executing Ellison’s vision for Oracle’s transformation into a cloud- and platform-oriented company. She is also credited with shifting the company’s growth strategy in 2003 from one that rarely involved mergers and acquisitions to one that has used inorganic growth to great advantage.
Catz was born in Israel and raised, after age 6, in the Boston area. Before coming to Oracle in 1999, she was an investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. In 2011, she was named co-president of Oracle, and took the CEO position in 2014. She served on the board of directors for HSBC Holdings from 2008 through 2015, and will join the Disney board in 2018. Strategy+business visited her in early December 2017, at Oracle’s headquarters in Redwood City, Calif., to discuss the challenges facing CEOs today and their changing strategic priorities.
S+B: The world seems to be crossing a threshold of digital maturation, with artificial intelligence, blockchain, sensors, and the Internet of Things all coming together. What’s the most significant aspect of this shift?
CATZ: Everything is important, but I think the most critical is the fact that AI is finally here. What is AI? It’s making decisions based on very large amounts of data. I’ve been hearing about AI for 30 years...but it was always a future promise. What's different now? First, the underlying compute capability is so much faster, meaning systems can crunch through a deluge of data almost instantaneously. Two, the ability, through software, to manage and analyze that data is so much better.
Do you remember the days when position-sensing elevator technology came at an exorbitant price? It cost millions to put that in your building. Now, your smartphone can tell what floor you’re on. It’s measuring barometric pressure. It’s measuring if you’re standing or sitting down. Your Waze app measures not only how fast your car is traveling, and where the other cars are around you, but your acceleration and deceleration. Your watch knows your heartrate. All this technology used to be incredibly expensive. Now, you get advanced computing capability at commodity prices.
The world has seen explosions of data in the past, and each time, enterprises have tried to manage it in one way or another. But this time, it’s accompanied by much faster and more accessible computing capability. All this data is instantly rendered usable and actionable, and that creates an unprecedented opening for artificial intelligence. Of course, we have heard about AI for decades in the software industry. It was always a promise of the future. The programs were based on running rules with inputs that included far less data, and less processing power. But now, the underlying computing capability is much faster, meaning it can crunch through huge amounts of data. And the software technology is far more advanced than it was. The systems can not only augment decisions, but can make them better and faster — freeing up employees and consumers to do more interesting things. As your car drives you to work, you can be reading your briefing for your first meeting, and your car may very well be a better driver than you are. In computing, the system will see anomalies, detect security threats, and fix the problems faster than an individual could.
S+B: How does that affect the day-to-day business of a typical company?
CATZ: The main task of AI is to improve decisions. If executives have a clearer view of the patterns in the data, they can make better decisions themselves, or delegate decisions with confidence that they would otherwise have to make themselves. This represents a natural evolution for the software industry. Increased computer power leads to an ability to manage huge amounts of data simultaneously, and bring it all together. It also means increased speed: Historically, if you had to wait a long time for an answer, it was not worth asking the question. Now you get your answer quickly. And finally, scalability: If you can’t handle huge amounts of data across large distances, you can’t get a complete answer. All of this adds up to a step change in information.
S+B: Why is that important?
CATZ: Because all those effects — speed, scale, security — release resources and people to do much higher-value things. And that’s what’s happening now. We’re starting to see enormous productivity increases. I’m not sure how economists measure productivity in this country, but no one can deny that our capabilities have increased enormously.
S+B: Speak to this from your background as a finance executive. What kinds of things can companies do now that they couldn’t do before?
CATZ: Historically, finance sat in the back seat, looking in the rearview mirror. “Where have we been? How much money did we make? What changed from last quarter?” The job of finance was to answer questions like those.
“The effects of AI — speed, scale, security — release resources and people to do much higher-value things. We’re starting to see enormous productivity increases.”
With modern systems, looking backward is much easier, but so is looking forward. The systems calculate what happened in a very accurate way. Finance now rides shotgun; it is the navigator of the car. Yes, the line of business is driving, but finance is looking forward, suggesting routes to try out, and modeling new possibilities. You don’t just extrapolate from the past; you are free to see what else is going on. This is a totally different job, partnered up with the lines of business.
Are all finance people up to the task? Maybe not. And we still have to get the backward-looking numbers correct. But these days, I rarely see the line-of-business leaders without their finance people, and it builds a kind of collaboration that advances the business, in ways that weren’t possible before.
This role for finance goes beyond asking “what if” questions. Analytics are built in. You know at any minute what your contracts are worth, where your sales are going. This allows you to layer in additional possibilities. What are your competitors doing? What happens with pricing differences?
Computers could do these kinds of analyses before, but slowly, and at enormous cost. Now, you can make better decisions and make them much sooner. You don’t have to wait and see how everything turns out; you now have a good idea about how the decision will turn out before you make it.
S+B: Do you see businesses doing anything differently as a result?
CATZ: Listen. Change is hard, but many businesses are just starting to embrace it.
Interestingly, the finance people are often leading the charge of change. You might think that they would be saying, “Whoa, I know my existing job, I prefer it the way it was.” But when I speak publicly about this, it’s the finance people in the audience who are saying, “When can we get started?” They want to help their companies. They can’t wait to get into this. All of a sudden, they realize that there are modern tools they can use to really help the business.
That’s why many new software products have analytics built in, and why they’ve moved into the cloud. In the legacy world, companies were locked into their on-premises systems. It took them six months to two years to upgrade to the coolest technology. In the cloud, it just shows up. All of a sudden, you have a new feature you didn’t have before. It doesn’t require a long implementation.
Overcoming Internal Inertia
S+B: How does this change the way companies grow?
CATZ: It changes the speed at which they make decisions. They understand their customers better. They can tailor their value proposition on the fly. Or they see there’s a market they would otherwise have missed for their products, and they need to hire more people.
As far as I know, nobody in business can just rest on their laurels right now. Competition is brutal. Who would have anticipated what’s happening in retail, in telecommunications, in media? Name one industry where people are saying, “I’m going to pass on this change. I don’t have to worry about competition. I’m going to go slow. I like slow.” They all want to go faster. They know that CEOs are turning over, being let go. Investors have no patience at all.
The companies have to make some hard choices; they’ve got to show some courage. People want to love change, but they hate change. It’s terrifying.
In any employee base, there’s a small group in the front who say, “I’m in. This change is going to be awesome.” There’s a small group in the back who think they’ll never accept it; it will happen over their cold, dead body. And there is a gigantic group in the middle who will go with whichever side is winning. They want answers to their questions: “What’s in it for me? Why is this good for my group? Why is this good for the company?”
You answer them by saying, “Look. You can have a report today that you used to wait three weeks for. Or try these alternative approaches.” You support their capabilities and give them information — data they can act on. If you start building momentum, the giant group in the middle goes from, “Hmm, let’s see how this works out,” to, “Hey, what about me? I’m in.” And even some of the over-my-dead-body group goes, “You know what? I’m not so afraid anymore.”
您现在的位置：
火爆Java 、大数据公开课
赣公网安备 36010902000737号