Oracle Corporation introduced Oracle Database after beginning as Software Development Laboratories.
Larry Ellison, Bob Miner, and Ed Oates founded Software Development Laboratories in 1977. The company worked on a database project inspired by relational-database research and later released a commercial product called Oracle. It changed its corporate name to Relational Software, Inc. in 1979 and adopted the name Oracle Corporation in 1982.
Oracle Database became a major enterprise system for storing, organizing, and querying business data. Oracle later expanded through applications, middleware, consulting, and cloud infrastructure. In 2009, it completed its acquisition of Sun Microsystems, bringing Java and other important technologies into its portfolio. Oracle is frequently confused with the database product itself; Oracle Corporation is the company, while Oracle Database is one of its flagship products.