Ellison realised that Oracle had been slow to harness the Internet, to integrate and streamline business processes, and to create value for customers. So he launched a digital lightning attack. In two years, Oracle was able to accomplish what took Cisco and other digital pioneers four years.

So lets try to understand the basic principles that went into Ellison's revolution, and how those principles hold for any firm looking to become a digital firm quickly.

1. Don't innovate, emulate. The first generation of digital innovators had already invented the wheel. So Ellison and his team were able to save precious time by emulating the best, most appropriate digital moves and strategies.

Oracle began moving its processes online in similar fashion and adapted other ideas from each of the pioneers. By unifying its internal processes and building self service systems for customers, employees and suppliers, Oracle trimmed expenses by hundreds of millions of dollars, all the while improving accuracy, speed, and convenience. For example the cost of typical service call was $350. The same query handled over the Internet: under $20.

2. Be unreasonable. Oracle created an all-or-nothing mentality about digitization. The message: Everything has to change. The internal network was rapidly consolidated, with 44 data centers reduced to one. Employees realised that they had to move fast to define their roles in the new Oracle. The company helped by sponsoring many seminars on digitization.

Says one Oracle alumnus, "The message from management was simple: 'We know things in business change rapidly in our business. Now we have to do it ourselves.'"

3. Get top customers involved. Oracle asked its most important customers to define the new benefits they wanted the new digital side to produce; then it provided them. The most important benefit customers sought was the integration of their business systems, reducing the typical jigsaw puzzle of information modules into a single package.

The new products are solid hits with customers, who report that they're spending less on hardware and staffing and say they're dealing with a new style at Oracle (which used to leave customers information scattered in different databases). Notes one customer: "Now as soon as I call, they know exactly who I am and what I have."

Oracle also used its website to connect and satisfy customers more efficiently. A "see, Try, Buy" function lets customers research and test Oracle products for free and then buy them online. Real time pricing eliminates haggling on all purchases under $500,000, saving customers (and Oracle) weeks of time and aggravation.

4. Faster is easier. Just as moving all your possessions into a new home in one day is easier than hugging one carton a day for a month, digitizing quickly can be less disruptive. Speed creates an unmistakable sense of urgency, underscoring the message to your people: "This isnt optional." When everyone starts to move, things happen more quickly, and at a certain point the chain reaction becomes irreversible.