Oracle snub of Benioff: Petty or just incompetent?

Salesforce.com CEO sees handiwork of Oracle counterpart

Petty or incompetent?

There's no mistaking Marc Benioff's opinion: The Salesforce.com CEO believes he was booted from a 10:30 a.m. keynote spot today at Oracle OpenWorld 2011 by the shod foot of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.

Benioff last night sent this tweet both pointing a finger at Ellison and inviting followers to hear him speak at an alternative venue:

Larry just cancelled my keynote tomorrow! Sorry #oow11! Join me @ St. Regis AME Restaurant at 10:30AM! The cloud can't be stopped! #DF11

An IDG News Service story on our site provides Oracle's explanation and some background:

"Due to the overwhelming attendance at Oracle OpenWorld we had to make several session changes," an Oracle spokeswoman said. TheSalesforce.comExecutive Solution Session was moved toThursday at 8:00 a.m.in the Novellus Theatre. ...

Benioff had earlier re-tweeted a number of comments critical of Oracle and the speech on Sunday by its CEO, Larry Ellison. He also holds that Salesforce is a real "cloud" company while Oracle isn't.

So, petty or incompetent? I'd generally lean toward incompetence as the cause in such cases, but we are talking about Larry Ellison and Benioff wasn't exactly conducting himself as a gracious guest.

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