Challenge
A giant in the business software industry, Oracle specializes in managing business systems and information with reliable, secure, and integrated technologies.  Oracle hired O’Neill and Associates in July of 2004 to help them increase their market share within the Commonwealth and to help them become the technology of choice for Massachusetts.

The political climate within state government in Massachusetts was at a critical point, especially for technology. The new Secretary of Administration and Finance was taking a substantially more aggressive role than his predecessors in leading the Commonwealth of Massachusetts towards electronic government.  Simultaneously, the executive agencies were beginning to move the Commonwealth back to a more centralized decision-making process for various platforms, including database and application software.  The continuous ebb and flow for budgets for technology in Massachusetts, as well as the successive decreased funding allotted in the capital projects made predicting the real opportunities from the far-off chances a significant challenge for Oracle.

Solution
O’Neill and Associates worked with Oracle’s senior management to develop a government relations strategy to establish relationships with key officials in the Commonwealth.  O’Neill and Associates made introductions on behalf of Oracle with numerous decision makers within each of the secretariats including the Secretary of Administration and Finance, the Chief Information Officer for Massachusetts, the administrator of the State Data Center, as well as with decision-makers within the agency IT departments.

O’Neill and Associates provided Oracle with on-going analysis of legislation and executive branch actions as well as guidance with regards to the procurement process.  Furthermore, O’Neill and Associates provided strategic counsel to raise Oracle’s visibility with appointed and elected state officials within New England.  In addition, O’Neill and Associates directly lobbied high-level state officials and attended legislative meetings to advocate Oracle’s position. 

Results
As Oracle acquired new businesses through these efforts, O’Neill and Associates was able to position Oracle as the vendor of choice for database software in Massachusetts. In addition, as a result of O’Neill and Associates’ efforts, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts granted its first-ever enterprise agreement through the Information Technology Division to Oracle.  Oracle is now the technology of choice in all critical systems of Massachusetts including the Department of Revenue, Executive Office of Health and Human Services, and the Executive Office of Administration and Finance.  O’Neill and Associates’ state lobbying efforts also helped introduce Oracle executives to the legislature and protected them against the budget cuts affecting the state.  Oracle also became a member of the coalition O’Neill and Associates formed that worked with the legislature to increase the funding for technology in the Commonwealth.

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