Noting competitive pressures from open source, Oracle's Ted Farrell, chief architect and vice president of tools and middleware, said if Oracle is to compete with a free, open source solution, then "we have to do it better."

Open source empowers developers, he said.

"As developers, we like open source because we feel as if it's the little guy sticking it to the big guy," Farrell said. "And it is true to some extent."

Listing open source "myths," Farrell disputed the notion that the main attraction of open source is it is free. Many companies would pay for their open source software if they had to, he said.

Oracle has been supportive of open source efforts in areas such as Linux, he said. But open source options are limited for large companies deploying applications, he said. Customers will seek best-of-breed applications, he said.