Learning from the New Retail Economy

INFORMATION INDEPTH NEWSLETTERS Executive Strategy Monthly Edition January 2009

SPECIAL REPORT The New Retail Economy A dismal holiday shopping season put more pressure on an already struggling retail sector. To survive, retailers must offer more value for customer dollars. Industry experts are advising retailers to find this value by investing in smart technology—not by slashing prices. Special Report: Retail Retailers, like businesses in any other sector, can balance stagnant consumer spending, rising commodity prices, and stiffening credit demands by improving their operating margins. Video Feedback Loop: What BI Solutions Does Oracle Have for Retail? Armand Nelson, president of the OAUG's Retail SIG, asks about Oracle's Business Intelligence tools for retail. Oracle's Dave Boyce has the answers. Ask your own question by submitting a YouTube video. Four Strategies to Protect Retail Margins in a Tough Economy From the global credit crisis to the rising price of commodities, retailers find themselves in uncharted waters. But the news is not necessarily all bleak. Six CRM Trends for 2009 Kathryn Haughton, CRM product marketing manager, blogs about the key trends picked by Forrester to drive customer relationship management strategies and technology adoption in light of the sudden and dramatic economic downturn. Plus, find out what happened at the NRF's annual convention by reading blog entries from conference attendees! NEWS February Issue of Profit Magazine Available Now! Check out the new February issue to get the latest on performance leadership, technology trends for the healthcare industry, and making the right decisions for growth. Plus, learn about LGR Telecommunications' beta-test of the new HP Oracle Exadata Storage server—and the blazing-fast performance that’s saving the company time and money. More... The Journal of Management Excellence, Vol. 3 (PDF) Many organizations have already made the case for business intelligence and performance management. They are now looking to embed these practices in the organization. See what experts are saying about how to organize for performance management. More... Three Must-See Webcasts Looking for ideas for driving business in 2009? Check out these packages from product groups to find out what's new at Oracle and how you can make the most out of your investment. More... Oracle Education Foundation Launches a New Educational Competition The ThinkQuest Narrative Competition 2009, a new educational competition sponsored by the Oracle Education Foundation (OEF), is now open to teams of students, ages 9-19. The competition is designed to engage students in developing important 21st century skills, such as communication, creativity, teamwork and technology skills. More... OPINION Split Decisions: Tough Choices Require Rational Thought—and a Gut Check "When you're making complex decisions—whether or not to buy another company, or what to invest in, a decision involving lots of variables—that's when you should actually think about your emotions," says Jonah Lehrer, the editor at large for Seed magazine and the author of Proust Was a Neuroscientist. "You'll tend to make a better decision when you go with your gut." More... PODCAST The Future of Data Centers Oracle CIO Mark Sunday: "We're seeing exponential growth in computing and storage requirements. Data centers of the future have to be designed from the ground up, with the ability to scale up, scale down, and provide the right amount of computing resources at the time they are needed." More... TECH DIVE Best of 2008: OTN's Most Popular Tech Articles and How-Tos Get a guide to top tech tools on Linux, Ruby—and even Oracle Database 11g. More... EVENTS All About Oracle Exadata Join us and learn how Oracle Exadata and Oracle Database 11g provide a comprehensive and revolutionary new platform for addressing today's data warehousing and business intelligence requirements. More...

FEATURED OFFER LEARN MORE Profit Magazine: February Read the February issue of Oracle's Profit magazine and sign up for your free subscription to the print and digital version. More... Despite Tech Slump, Oracle Hits Its Mark From CIO Today: "Oracle displayed a knack for slicing costs while offering customers a wide range of products..." More... Subscribe to the Executive Strategy Weekly Bulletin Keep up with Profit Online every week with the newly launched Executive Strategy Weekly Bulletin. Have regular updates from Profit Online sent to your inbox every Wednesday. Visit Oracle.com to learn more and sign up today. More...

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