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California to Cancel Oracle Deal

Posted by michael on from the golden-parachute dept.

ShaunC writes "Back in mid-April, the state of California bought $95M worth of Oracle software, which turned out to include more licenses than the state has employees, at a taxpayer cost of $41M more than necessary. Now, CNet is reporting that the contract is being cancelled. Oracle apparently made a $25K donation to governor Gray Davis' campaign fund after the sale was made, several state officials have been suspended, and a criminal investigation into the deal is already underway."

6 of 200 comments (clear)

  1. the donation is not a smoking gun by jonbrewer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "Oracle apparently made a $25K donation to governor Gray Davis' campaign fund after the sale was made, several state officials have been suspended, and a criminal investigation into the deal is already underway."

    If anyone really thinks that a $25k donation would have anything to do with a $95,000,000.00 deal for software, they need to get reacquainted with reality. $25k is nothing unusual. It's a Red Herring, and doesn't belong in an informed discussion on the Oracle/California mess.

    1. Re:the donation is not a smoking gun by ShaunC · · Score: 5, Insightful

      $25K may be but a drop in the bucket, but it's money regardless. According to the article, the contribution was made just after the Oracle deal closed, and the official who accepted the contribution resigned. I'd say there's certainly a tie-in somewhere. If not, something stinks even worse.

      I wrote the submission text. For the record, I'm a democrat. I have nothing against Gray Davis and I wasn't trying to make a subliminal political statement by mentioning the contribution. Payola is payola, no matter which party and no matter who the contributor.

      Shaun

      --
      Thanks to the War on Drugs, it's easier to buy meth than it is to buy cold medicine!
  2. Re:What? by arkanes · · Score: 5, Funny

    They just need to click the "I do not a agree" button on all the installers, thus entitling them to a refund as per the EULA.

  3. Sales Tax - OUCH! by phoenix26x · · Score: 5, Interesting
    $3 million in sales tax? Ouch! Wait a minute... a $95 million dollar deal, and only $3 million in sales tax? Since when did California's sales tax drop from 7.25% to ~3%?

    To be on topic: this deal was fishy on many fronts:
    • More Oracle licenses than state workers
    • Not just a third party (Logicon), but a fourth party (Koch Financial Services) was involved
    • The contract was signed last May, but the software is still not in use. You spent $95 million to sit on software licenses?
    • Finally, the sales tax issue already mentioned
    We can only hope that $95 million dollars worth of state officials are ousted.
  4. Re:Who pays ? by Ioldanach · · Score: 5, Informative
    Oracle will most definitly sue CA for breach of contract.

    And just how will they do that, when they made an offer to dissolve the contract if the State wished to do so?

  5. This SHOULD be easy... by preed-man · · Score: 5, Funny

    "It's a complicated legal and financial undertaking," Maviglio said, adding that the talks to completely undo the contract could take several weeks. "There are some parts that have already moved forward. We're trying to unwind the whole thing."

    You mean, they can't just issue a ROLLBACK?

    What the hell were they paying Oracle for, then?!