'Worst over' for tech sector

Making the point: Larry Ellison is an outspoken critic of Microsoft

Larry Ellison, chief executive of the world's second-largest software maker Oracle, has said the worst is over for the high-tech industry.

Mr Ellison - who has gained a reputation as an outspoken critic of Microsoft - also predicted that Microsoft would emerge relatively unscathed from competition enquiries in both the US and Europe.

His comment came as he told the BBC that conditions for the tech sector were "getting a little better".

"Things have already stabilised," Mr Ellison said.

But he added that some small companies would never recover from the downturn.

"It has been a killing field in technology, this recession and a lot of the small companies that we used to compete with simply aren't there any more," he said.

Oracle appeared to have been the "overwhelming winner" in its key database markets, he said.

Microsoft jibes

Mr Ellison has long been one of the fiercest critics of Bill Gates.

"We all wish that Mario Monti would put Bill Gates in jail the next time he visits the continent, or even the UK for that matter.

"They should just lock him up right there at Heathrow, but that is probably not going to happen."

His scepticism that Microsoft will face tough penalties is matched by his belief that the best way to beat Microsoft is to produce better products.

"We spend most of our time figuring out how to build better products than Microsoft builds and if we do that I think the market will treat us very, very well," he said.

"We would much rather take away their money than their freedom."

Late last year, Oracle reported falling profits for the July to September quarter but predicted that its profits would bounce back in spring.