Welcome to 5 Minute Briefing: Oracle an information resource prepared by Database Trends and Applications Magazine and published in cooperation with the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG). To subscribe, click here.

Oracle Snaps up BEA in an Important Strategic Move

Last week, Oracle’s long pursuit of BEA Systems culminated in success as Oracle announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire BEA Systems in a deal valued at $8.5 billion. The deal was financed by cash on hand and short-term credit. Oracle has more than $8 billion in cash.

“BEA has been a pioneer in middleware,” said Oracle CEO Larry Ellison at the time of the announcement. “The addition of BEA products and technology will significantly enhance and extend Oracle's Fusion middleware software suite." He added, "Oracle Fusion middleware has an open 'hot-pluggable' architecture that allows customers the option of coupling BEA's WebLogic Java Server to virtually all the components of the Fusion software suite. That's just one example of how customers can choose among Oracle and BEA middleware products, knowing that those products will gracefully interoperate and be supported for years to come."

"BEA is a pioneer in middleware, and this combination recognizes the innovation and customer success the company has achieved. Our joint customers have consistently suggested this deal for more than three years," added Oracle president Charles Phillips. "This transaction will accelerate the adoption of Java-based middleware technologies and SOA; advance innovation in enterprise applications infrastructure software; extend our strategic relationships with customers and partners; and increase our penetration in key regions like China."

At the conference call following the announcement, Ellison and BEA chairman and CEO Alfred Chuang did not answer any questions. Ellison emphasized that the deal was an important step in completing Oracle’s vision of becoming the technology vendor of choice at every level of the stack. He added the deal was good for the entire Java community. For more information about Oracle, go here.

Back to top

ANTs Completes Database Migration for Second Customer

ANTs software, a leader in compatible, high-performance SQL data management systems, has announced that using the ANTs Compatibility Server it has successfully re-hosted an application from Sybase to the Oracle database for a second customer, a global manufacturing and financial conglomerate ranked in the top 10 of Fortune magazine’s 2007 list of the largest companies. According to ANTs, re-hosting was achieved with minimal change to the application. The application, Cesar Rojas, senior marketing director, ANTs, told 5 Minute Briefing, is a very important one for the organization, and was developed in-house. “They have a big portfolio of Sybase applications and this is the pilot,” he observed.

The ANTs Compatibility Server is a “database virtualization” middleware layer which allows server side code (queries, functions, and stored procedures) from legacy databases to run natively and transparently against the new target database with minimal application rewriting and recompiling. The legacy application operates as if it were still communicating with the original legacy database, yet the new target database operates as if it were communicating with a native application. The first release of this virtualization server technology is focused on migrating Sybase applications to an Oracle database, although migrations from and to other databases are also planned.

The ANTs Compatibility Server Consortium, a group of ten Fortune 500 or similar companies, is working with ANTs to develop technology and processes for re-hosting pilot Sybase applications to the Oracle database using the ANTs Compatibility Server. ANTs has already received target applications and sample data from several consortium members, and is actively working on their projects.

“With the ANTs Compatibility Server, which is middleware, we allow the application to talk natively with the Oracle database in the back end and we are right in the middle, the middleware component,” said Rojas. “Many of these customers are doing portfolio management and consolidation,” he said. Fueling the desire for standardization, he noted, are initiatives to reduce the overall costs of database management as well as a desire to limit licensing costs. For more information on ANTs Software, go here.

Back to top

Oracle Announces New Integration between PeopleSoft Enterprise 9 and Oracle Customer Hub

Oracle has announced out-of-the-box Oracle Fusion Middleware-based integration between Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise Customer Relationship Management (CRM) 9 and Oracle Customer Hub. With the new integration between PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM and Oracle Customer Hub, users can easily cleanse and remove customer information duplications across systems and realize effective customer information consolidation, data quality management, governance and sharing of data across the enterprise, according to Oracle. The integration is intended to help deliver the benefits of customer insight, reduced data management and marketing costs, and effective compliance with regulations.

"PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM customers need the ability to cost-effectively determine a single version of customer data across the enterprise," said Pascal Laik, vice president of MDM Strategy, in making the announcement. "The integration helps the enterprise clear a major hurdle for data management and experience even further value and insight into their customer data." Having this single view of your customer, basically clean customer data, “is absolutely critical for achieving true ROI in any CRM project, “ Laik told 5 Minute Briefing, adding that “the whole intent of the integration is to provide PeopleSoft CRM customers with best-in-class MDM functionality.”

Key functionality for the new integration includes real-time, bi-directional sync of customer data between PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM and Oracle Customer Hub through Oracle BPEL Process Manager; enhanced "fuzzy" search capabilities in PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM customer search screens using data quality management configurable match rules; duplicate prevention in real-time from PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM customer entry screens; identification of duplicate customers within PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM and merge of duplicate customers using the Oracle Customer Hub DataSteward; and real-time and batch customer data enrichment using out-of-the-box connection services to Dun & Bradstreet.

The PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM integration to Oracle Customer Hub is standards-based and provides the framework for customers to integrate other third-party customer data hubs and data quality tools that they may already have in place. For more information about Oracle, go here.

Back to top

Enterprises Don’t Install Oracle CPUs

Our friends at Sentrigo shared this data with us in the wake of Oracle’s release of its latest critical patch updates (CPU). In a rolling survey of Oracle database users, only 10 percent of the respondents had installed the latest CPU and two-thirds had never installed a CPU. “It is a hard process,” Slavik Markovich, CTO at Sentrigo, told 5 Minute Briefing. By not patching their databases, however, companies are putting their systems at risk. Sentrigo’s Hedgehog, a host-based database activity monitoring and protection software solution, provides a virtual patching ability that immediately protects databases against vulnerabilities that have been discovered, but not yet patched. For more information about Sentrigo, go here.

Unisphere Research, our research arm, conducts proprietary research with leading IT user groups. To read abstracts of these studies, go here. Are you interested in having proprietary research conducted for your company about issues of concern to you? For more information, send an email to Tom@dbta.com.

Back to top

Executing the Vision

As we noted above, Oracle’s acquisition of BEA is another step in Larry Ellison’s vision to become the vendor of choice for every layer of enterprise technology. The idea that Oracle can fulfill this vision by consolidating software vendors was dismissed in the beginning. But it is working. Arch-rival SAP recently rolled out new products from its recent acquisition of Business Objects and acknowledged that it was open to more acquisitions. And in a controversial move that is being hotly debated, Sun snapped up MySQL. We are at the start of seismic shift in enterprise technology and once again Oracle is setting a strategic direction for the industry. To follow trends in the industry, keep reading 5 Minute Briefing and subscribe to Database Trends and Applications magazine e-edition here.

Back to top

Top 10 Reasons to Attend COLLABORATE 08 – IOUG Forum

COLLABORATE 08 – IOUG Forum, taking place April 13-17, 2008 in Denver, CO is the premier customer-driven event for education, networking and meeting exhibitors face-to-face. Here are the top 10 reasons why you can’t afford to miss this event:

1. Increase the efficiency and the effectiveness of your Oracle technology with the valuable solutions and strategies presented across six education tracks at the IOUG Forum.

2. Improve the connection between the business and technical aspects of your Oracle environment through focused content delivered by fellow users at the IOUG Forum.

3. Receive in-depth Oracle technical and applications training across three different educational forums. Bring your entire team to take advantage of as much education on Oracle technology and applications presented at the entire event.

4. Exchange ideas and best practices and discuss hot topics with other Oracle technology professionals facing the same issues as you.

5. Network! Network! Network! Build solid, career-lasting relationships with industry peers across all technical disciplines that you can continue to foster long after COLLABORATE 08 is over.

6. Test-drive the latest Oracle solutions with Hands-On Labs and other IOUG University Seminars.

7. Meet with more than 250 of the top Oracle solution providers under one roof in the Exhibitor Showcase and test new and existing solutions.

8. Attend a world-class symposium experience with an attractive hotel and registration rate.

9. Flexible registration options that accommodate a variety of schedules and budgets. Click here for a training proposal to provide to management to obtain approval to attend.

10.COLLABORATE 08 is the Oracle education and technical training event of the year providing the comprehensive education, networking and top Oracle solution providers that can't be found anywhere else.

If you are a member of the IOUG, register for COLLABORATE 08 – IOUG Forum by March 13 to save up to $400 USD! Enter priority code EM10 when registering.

If you are a not a member but would like to save on COLLABORATE registration and take advantage of other member benefits, such as SELECT Journal, IOUG’s technical publication, and the Library of Oracle Knowledge (LoOK), a repository filled with thousands of technical tips, articles and papers, click here.

Back to top

COLLABORATE 07 Attendees: Session Podcasts Now Available

If you attended COLLABORATE last year, but haven’t registered for COLLABORATE 08 – IOUG Forum, April 13-17 in Denver, CO yet, you may want to remind yourself why you can’t afford to miss this event. Now you can.

COLLABORATE 07 attendees can download* the Podcasts and presentations from top COLLABORATE 07 sessions. You can also visit the IOUG Online Proceedings for a full listing of sessions and available presentations and white papers.

Then, remember to register for COLLABORATE 08 – IOUG Forum before March 13 to save! Enter priority code EM10 when registering.

Back to top

Thank You to the IOUG’s 2008 Alliance Members

The IOUG would like to thank its 2008 Alliance Members for their support. Alliance Members uphold the IOUG's mission to represent the voice of Oracle technology and database professionals. They provide IOUG members active, integrated ways to participate in the IOUG community. Thank you to the following participants:

• ANTs Software
  
• Database-Brothers, Inc (DBI)
  
• datango
  
• FreeSoft
  
• Gear6
  
• iDashboards
  
• IT Convergence
  
• WireCache Transparent Database Accelerator

To become an Alliance Member, click here or view other vendor opportunities here.

Back to top

Two Oracle Education Events Taking Place in the Rocky Mountain Region

If you are planning to attend RMOUG Training Days, taking place February 13-14, 2008 in Denver, CO, you can now save on COLLABORATE 08 - IOUG Forum, also taking place in Denver, CO, April 13-17, 2008.

Save on either of these opportunities:

• Attend IOUG Sunday University Seminars for only $400 USD*, almost a $60 discount.
  
• Attend the entire COLLABORATE 08 conference for only $1,095 USD*, with up to $1,000 in savings

To take advantage of either of these discounts, you must first be registered for RMOUG Training Days. Upon registration completion, you will receive an e-mail confirmation with a promotional code to secure your COLLABORATE 08 – IOUG Forum registration discount. Simply enter the code when registering for COLLABORATE 08 – IOUG Forum and save!

*Registration rates apply to all registration periods with the exception of onsite.

Back to top

Join the IOUG to Take Advantage of Exclusive Member Benefits

Take advantage of exclusive IOUG member benefits, including the opportunity to save up to $400 USD on COLLABORATE 08 – IOUG Forum, taking place April 13-17 in Denver, CO, by joining the IOUG today. IOUG members have exclusive access to:

• SELECT Journal, the IOUG's quarterly technical publication that was rated a top member benefit in the IOUG's 2007 membership survey.
  
• Library of Oracle Knowledge (LoOK), an online repository filled with thousands of technical tips, articles and papers.
  
• Discounted registration to COLLABORATE 08, a premier customer-driven event presented jointly by the IOUG, Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) and Quest International Users Group (Quest), offering attendees numerous educational sessions, networking opportunities and vendor interaction.
  
• And much more!

Join the IOUG today!

Back to top

Download the Latest Tools from Oracle

Make Sure You’re Kept Up-to-Date and In-the-Know

Join the Oracle email community and receive:

• Notifications of exclusive offers, hot new downloads and upcoming live events
  
• Details of informational Webcasts and on demand events featuring customer case studies, key industry experts and thought leaders as well as influential Oracle Executives
  
• Latest information on Oracle products and services including those from our key partners
  

Sign up today!

Get your FREE CIO Magazine Applications Strategy Guide, along with other resources, including a FREE online SOA assessment, white papers, interactive tools, case-studies and Podcast featuring executive insight. Find out why leading organizations are changing the way they think about their business, strategic applications, and going-forward IT strategies.

Get SOA Expertise On Demand
Watch an incredible lineup of leading companies and industry experts share their experiences designing and implementing SOA solutions. Find out why these organizations chose an SOA approach, how they secured management approval and addressed the challenges and lessons learned during implementation. View the Webcast!

SOA Management with Oracle Enterprise Manager
View the new Webcast, "SOA Management with Oracle Enterprise Manager" to get the latest on Oracle Enterprise Manager's hot new SOA and middleware management capabilities, including Oracle Application Diagnostics for Java and enhanced runtime governance for SOA.

Receive Your Complimentary BPM Whitepaper
Oracle's innovative approach to business process management (BPM) promotes closed-loop business optimization facilitating an iterative business process development effort allowing for continuous collaboration between business managers' process models and IT's implementation details. Register now and receive your copy of Oracle Empowers Business Process Excellence through Business and IT Collaboration.

Get Started with Oracle on Windows DVD

Learn how Oracle gives you the power to grow by providing a scalable, easy-to-use platform for running your business at a price you can afford.
Request your free copy of this DVD, containing Oracle Database 11g software, whitepapers, tutorials, etc.

Content Management Resource Kit CD
Develop a strategy for managing unstructured content- start with the Content Management Resource Kit CD. This free CD is full of valuable information for anyone evaluating or interested in content management technologies. Learn more about content management through white papers, customer videos, product demos and more. Order your CD today!

Reduce financial operations costs, free-up resources for more strategic tasks, and accelerate your processes into overdrive. Integrate Oracle Imaging and Process Management (IPM) with your current Oracle Financial Management Solution. Click here to view an on-demand Webcast and learn more!

What kind of ROI is possible with content management technologies?
Attend on online seminar and read an independent study written by Forrester Consulting and learn how Oracle customer, Emerson Process Management, achieved a 177% risk-adjusted ROI and payback within 12 months of deploying Oracle Universal Content Management. Register Now!

Oracle Web Seminar
"The Promise of Enterprise 2.0: Make it Real"
Join Oracle and Andrew McAfee, Associate Professor, Harvard Business School to learn how your organization can successfully deploy Enterprise 2.0 capabilities, and bridge the gap between structured and unstructured data.  Register now!
 
Oracle On-Demand Event
"The Trust Factor: Secure Enterprise Search for High-Value Content"
The Gilbane Group joins with Oracle to discuss how Secure Enterprise search can connect disparate resources and integrate your business.

Reduce financial operations costs, free-up resources for more strategic tasks, and accelerate your processes into overdrive. Integrate Oracle Imaging and Process Management (IPM) with your current Oracle Financial Management Solution. Click here to view an on-demand Webcast and learn more!

Drive Better Results with Top-Down Application Management
Get your FREE Oracle Enterprise Manager DVD kit, containing database, middleware, applications and other typical data center components. Oracle Enterprise Manager helps organizations increase IT insight and reduce resolution times with integrated management.

Achieving Fast Close - Latest Research and Expert Thinking
This popular webcast from Oracle is now available for replay. Also download the Oracle Whitepaper 'Fast Close. Are We There Yet? or order the highly acclaimed book ‘Fast Close to the MAX®’ at a 80% off the usual price with free shipping to anywhere in the world.

Tour Oracle's Austin Data Center
Using Oracle OnDemand managed services can help you achieve greater ROI, reduce risk, and significantly enhance your system performance. Join Oracle On Demand SVP Mike Beck for a tour of Oracle's Austin Data Center and download a FREE Forrester white paper to learn more.
 
Get Your Free 2-Disc DVD Kit: Oracle Unbreakable Linux
Oracle Unbreakable Linux delivers enterprise-class support for Linux with premier backports, lifetime support, comprehensive management, and extensive testing, all at significantly lower costs. Discover how your organization can realize the full potential of Linux—Order your free 2-disc DVD kit today.

Back to top

Founded in 1993, the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG) (formerly International Oracle Users Group) is a user-driven membership organization for Oracle technology and database professionals serving more than 15,000 database administrators, developers, architects, technical managers and other Oracle professionals throughout North America and worldwide. The IOUG empowers its members and the broader Oracle community through their technical publication, SELECT Journal, Web site resources including more than 3000 papers, tips and articles and networking with other users through online discussion forums, Special Interest Groups and a network of regional Oracle user groups. For more information about the IOUG, please visit the IOUG Web site.

Database Trends and Applications, published by Unisphere Media, provides timely coverage of the technology and intelligence needed to conceptualize, plan, initiate, implement and manage large-scale integrated information projects. Unisphere Media also publishes 5 Minute Briefing: Data Integration, a summary of news, trends, and insights addressing crucial data integration challenges and 5 Minute Briefing: MultiValue, a review of news, technical tips and insights for the MultiValue database community. Visit our Web site here.

Keep Getting This Newsletter

Don't let future editions of 5 Minute Briefing: Oracle get lost. Take a moment to add the newsletter's address to your anti-spam white list: Oracle@dbta.com. If you're not sure how to do that, ask your administrator or ISP. Or check your anti-spam utility's documentation. Thanks.

Back to top