At a recent conference, Oracle CEO Larry Ellison stoked speculation that the company is looking toward becoming a software subscription business. Ellison said at the Feb. 8 Credit Suisse Software Conference that licensing revenue "was an interesting number" but that "by far, our most profitable business is existing subscribers that renew their subscriptions every year." In a research note released March 9, First Albany analyst Mark Murphy, in San Francisco, said: "Industry contacts state that the wheels have been set in motion from the highest level at Oracle to <A HREF="http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,1940003,00.asp">do away with license sales</A> within roughly 18 to 36 months, if possible."