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.

Enhanced HP Database Archives Offers Extended Oracle Support

HP introduced an enhanced version of its HP Database Archiving software yesterday that includes extended support for the Oracle Database as well as support for SQL Server 2005. Oracle customers using partitioning as part of their information management strategies can now use HP Database Archiving to archive complete sets of data spanning both partitioned and non-partitioned tables.

The new version of HP Database Archiving includes a visual design environment to help simplify deployments of database archiving projects and reduce costs. HP Designer module, the visual design environment of HP Database Archiving, allows users to rapidly model application transactions, such as purchase orders and sales orders, and to apply business rules and corporate retention policies.

In addition, by reducing the need for specialized skills during implementation, the module enables fast deployment of database archiving projects with existing resources. For example, independent software vendors and system integrators can use HP Database Archiving software, including HP Designer and a developer’s kit, to quickly build and support integrations with third-party and custom applications.

“In the midst of explosive information growth, HP Database Archiving software helps customers meet compliance and e-discovery initiatives as well as drive higher levels of application availability and performance,” said Robin Purohit, vice president and general manager, Information Management, Software, HP. “HP’s latest Database Archiving software represents a significant step forward in the expansion of our information management software portfolio.”

HP Database Archiving allows customers to meet compliance and e-discovery requirements by using open standards such as XML archiving for long-term data retention. This helps customers lower their information management costs by storing the data independent of the application and database while retaining its business context for long-term storage and compliance.

The software enables organizations to leverage investments in existing enterprise reporting tools from business intelligence vendors for e-discovery reporting, all while synchronizing with the HP archiving and retention solution, HP Integrated Archive Platform. HP Database Archiving is currently available. More information is available here.

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Mentat Technologies Announces DreamCoder for Oracle Version 3.0

Mentat Technologies has announced DreamCoder for Oracle version 3.0. The new version of DreamCoder for Oracle, an integrated development environment (IDE) for Oracle Databases, includes a new SQL editor and PL/SQL, which has several new characteristics that facilitate and reduce development time. In addition, the new version includes more than 50 improvements and the correction of a few errors, according to the vendor.

DreamCoder for Oracle enables users to build and execute queries, build and execute scripts, compile and debug SQL and PL/SQL code, create and modify database objects, import and export data, enable user session monitoring and database monitoring, among other features.

New in the latest release are support for multi-language character set (GB2312, BIG5, Hebrew); a new SQL editor; new PL/SQL editor; new Code folding support; alias support; new object fast description (CTRL+CLICK); and support for bookmarks, macros and ranges. The new release also offers Oracle 11g support (SYSASM) and query builder syntax ANSI SQL 2003 support. For more details, go here.

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TopQuadrant Offers First Semantic Application Development For Oracle Database 11g RDF Rule Editing and Inferencing

On Monday, TopQuadrant, a leading semantic technology
products company and a member of the Oracle Partner Network, announced that the company’s TopBraid semantic development suite has been integrated with Oracle Database 11g. This integration allows companies to build semantic applications that access the native Resource Description Framework (RDF) storage capabilities within Oracle Spatial, an option to Oracle Database 11g Enterprise Edition. TopQuadrant has also developed an Oracle rule editor that enables business users and domain experts to define the business rules and application reasoning within a semantic application, without the need to understand database languages such as SQL.

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards, such as RDF and Web Ontology Language (OWL), serve as the foundation for semantic technologies, which are designed to extend the capabilities of information on the Web and enable data to be integrated in a meaningful way. Oracle's RDF Data Model within Oracle Spatial 11g is a scalable, secure and reliable RDF management platform. TopQuadrant’s TopBraid Suite enables customers to rapidly assemble, deploy and manage dynamic ontology-driven applications built using W3C semantic web standards.

“Since its release, Oracle Database 11g has become the database of choice for many semantic projects that operate on large amounts of data,” said Holger Knublauch, vice president, product development, TopQuadrant. “Many companies want to take advantage of the native RDF database within Oracle Database 11g, but in order to build scalable semantic applications, users need server-side reasoning and an Oracle RDF/OWL rule editor. This integration provides organizations with all the tools necessary to build, deploy and manage semantic applications that fully leverage Oracle Database 11g.”

Oracle customers can now use TopBraid Composer to edit user-defined native Oracle rules and run server-side inferences. With this rule editing support, users can select one or more user-defined rule bases and combine these with pre-defined Oracle rules sets in RDFS, RDFS++, OWLSIF and OWLPRIME. Oracle rules are executed on the server and incrementally on each database commit, which significantly speeds up execution time and simplifies the maintenance of inferences. In addition to pure server-side inferencing, the TopBraid interface allows non-programmers to create hybrid reasoning by combining Oracle rules with other reasoning options from a catalog of available inference engines. “Semantic applications offer a new approach to developing flexible and extensible knowledge management solutions,” said Steve Hagan, vice president, Server Technologies, Oracle. “The integration of TopQuadrant’s TopBraid development suite with the powerful capabilities of Oracle Database 11g, delivers a scalable, secure and easy-to-use solution for building semantic applications.”

In a separate announcement, TopQuadrant announced the general availability of TopBraid Live 2.0, a semantic application deployment platform that simplifies the creation of Web services to a ‘click and connect’ process. Users can easily connect data from RDF stores, relational databases, spreadsheets, email, RSS feeds, as well as data in HTML and XML formats, without the need to understand programming languages. A new Flex API creates graphical ‘information spaces’ as the output, which allow users to browse dynamic information by following graphical links. According to the company, TopBraid Live 2.0 marks the first application deployment technology that enables non-programmers to create and share web services that leverage the power of semantic data stores, semantic queries, semantic reasoning and semantic search engines. For more information, visit here.

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CaoSys Introduces E*Packs for Oracle E-Business Suite

CaoSys, a developer of governance, risk, compliance (GRC) and productivity software for Oracle E-Business Suite, has introduced the first of its XML-based content packs for its product line called E*Packs. E*Packs consist of pre-built content designed to enable customers to “hit the ground running” with its products. The first E*Pack, available is for its enterprise data auditing solution CS*Audit. CS*Audit forms part of the CaoSys compliance toolkit which itself is installed as part of the company's complete suite called CS*Applications. The CS*Audit E*Pack (CS*Audit*EP) consists of a number of predefined audit solutions all configured and ready to use.

According to CaoSys, customers faced with application data auditing issues are often surprised by the number of entities within the database that they need to audit. This often means the costs of implementing an audit solution rise substantially once an audit tool has been selected since the customer must spend time determining exactly what should be included in the audit process. CS*Audit*EP is intended to help reduce these hidden costs by providing the customer with over a 100 key entities and more than 2,000 data points already defined.

With CaoSys, Craig O'Neill, founder and CEO, told 5 Minute Briefing, “Our entire product line has been designed and built specifically for and fully embedded into the professional user interface aspect of Oracle E-Business Suite,” said O'Neill. “Our new business-oriented Enterprise Packs (E*Packs) are pre-seeded content for our own tools and therefore the content-based solutions, just like the tools are fully embedded in the same way.” All E*Packs are delivered and installed onto a customers system using standard XML and are fully configurable and extensible.

The company is currently working on more E*Packs for its other products. “We are working with our partners, ERP Seminars and OraFinApps, to develop many more E*Packs for our tools,” said O'Neill. “We will soon be introducing our SOD Internals Controls E*Pack for CS*Comply to help business with their governance, risk and compliance (GRC) issues,” he noted. “Over the coming months, we will be releasing a number of efficiency and implementation-based E*Packs for our flagship productivity tools CS*Form and CS*Rapport. These E*Packs will include CS*Close to help deal with financial close, CS*Procure that covers the pay cycle, CS*Productivity that provides several metrics relating to business performance and CS*Implement to help with large implementations of Oracle E-Business Suite.” More information regarding CS*Audit*EP is available from the CaoSys Web site.

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Oracle Plans To Build New Global IT Facility

Oracle has announced plans to build a new Global Information Technology facility in West Jordan, UT. Oracle anticipates breaking ground on the 200,000 square foot facility during the summer of 2008 and the company expects to begin operations in early 2010. The new facility represents a $285 million dollar initial capital investment by Oracle.

"Oracle is committed to providing our customers with the highest-level of service, and this new facility will allow us to support our growing On Demand business, as well as the technology infrastructure to support our research and development and customer service requirements," said Oracle president Safra Catz, in making the announcement. The site is expected to house around 100 employees, with wages exceeding 200 percent of the Salt Lake County average wage.

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Corporate IT Spending Could Slow in Coming Months

Corporate IT spending could slow in coming months, according to a new survey by ChangeWave Research. In a poll with nearly 2,000 respondents, 25 percent said that they intend to spend less on software in the next 90 days compared to the previous 90 days. In contrast, only 12 percent said their companies plan to spend more. While that could represent some seasonal buying patterns, 13 percent said that economic weakness and lack of capital budgets was the culprit. The hottest area for investment - virtualization. Unisphere Research, our research arm, conducts proprietary studies of IT trends. 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.

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The Airline Terrorist Watch List

The so-called airline terrorist watch list, announced with great fanfare after 9-11, has become a case study in how not to assemble a big database. Thousands of people who have names similar to those on the watch list are denied boarding their flights including high-profile people like Senator Edward Kennedy. Usually, when powerful folks get bit by something like that, the problem gets fixed pronto. But not in this case. Clearly, the Department of Homeland Security has no idea how to fix the list. Its latest idea is for airlines to integrate limited biographical data with the watch list on their own. That means a passenger may be detained by one airline and allowed to board by another, depending on the quality of their data integration. To follow trends in the industry, read the e-edition of Database Trends and Applications magazine here.

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Share Your Feedback on BEA Products

Oracle recently acquired BEA Systems, a leading provider of enterprise application infrastructure solutions which allows user community members to more easily build, deploy, and manage applications.

In order to continue serving the membership and greater Oracle user community, the IOUG would like to know what IOUG members are currently running BEA product(s). Please complete the Insta-poll at www.ioug.org (bottom left-hand corner) to let us know what BEA product(s) you are currently using.

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The IOUG Stellent SIG Presents: Portals, WebCenter or Stellent - Which Should You Choose?
Date: Thursday, June 12, 2008
Time: 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EDT

Reserve your Webinar seat now!

During this session, the three Oracle products that allow you to build portal based applications will be presented. You will see an overview of Oracle Portal, the brand new Oracle WebCenter 11g and Stellent UCM + Site Studio. For each product, you will see the pros and cons and the area where they fit best. Screen shots and customer case studies will be highlighted throughout the presentation. At the end of this presentation, you will have a solid understanding of these three products, how to use them and what you should use them for.

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There Has Never Been a More Exciting Time to be an IOUG Member!
The Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG), a membership organization comprised of more than 20,000 Oracle technology and database professionals, continues to enhance its member benefits. Now, you can take advantage of:

• Enhancement voting, where you can provide feedback directly to Oracle regarding pending enhancement requests on topics ranging from Application Express to PL/SQL to RAC.
  
• Fusion Middleware Portal , where you can obtain suggestions, tips and opinions based on real user experience from the site’s blogs, discussion forums, podcasts, an online repository and more.
  
• Oracle Professional Exchange Network (OPEN), a social networking tool that allows you to share information and best practices with Oracle users from across the globe via its wikis, discussion forums, Ask the Expert feature, and “Collaborator” tool.
  
• And much more!

Click here to join the IOUG today!

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Receive FREE Oracle SQL Injection Training and Attend the Follow-up Webinar

Interested in learning about SQL injection? Oracle is offering free training materials titled “Defending Against SQL Injection Attacks.” After the training, participants are encouraged to attend the follow-up Webinar, taking place Wednesday, June 18 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. CDT, to have their questions answered by Oracle experts.

The Oracle training materials will highlight some of the coding practices required to eliminate SQL injection vulnerabilities when developing in an Oracle environment. The follow-up Webinar will provide you the chance to ask Oracle security experts questions about the proper coding practices required to prevent SQL Injections. Webinar speakers include:

• John Heimann, Senior Director of Security Programs in Global Product Security, Oracle Corporation
  
• Jenny Tsai-Smith, Senior Director of Server Technologies Curriculum Development, Oracle Corporation

Dive deep into the issues surrounding SQL injections, and register* for this Webinar today!

*Space is limited.

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Share Your Oracle Knowledge: Become an Author

Packt Publishing, a leading publisher of Oracle technology books, is looking for authors on various Oracle subjects. Become an author, or co-write with one of your colleagues, on one of the following titles:

• Getting Started with Oracle Warehouse Builder
  A step-by-step guide to creating and implementing your first data warehouse
  
  The target audience for this book is business analysts, database administrators and business intelligence developers, who have been handed their first Business Intelligence project and will be using Warehouse Builder to manage their data. This will be a beginner's tutorial (akin to a Dummy's Guide) that runs through the basics with real world examples.
  
  Prerequisites: Experience in the basic use of Oracle RDBMS
  
  
• Oracle Warehouse Builder – An Administrator’s Handbook
  Managing fast, efficient, secure systems

The target audience for this book is database administrators. The title will be a handbook that covers the administration tasks that a DBA needs to master when using OWB. This includes: learning to configure and manage repositories, setting up backups and enabling recovery, managing security and maximizing system efficiency.

Prerequisites: Familiarity with Warehouse Builder and data warehousing

• Web 2.0 Solutions with Oracle WebCenter
  Developing real world enterprise applications in an online work environment

The target audience for this book is java developers with a focus on Web 2.0 development. The book will be a tutorial for developers, covering core techniques in putting together an enterprise application.

Prerequisites: Knowledge of JDeveloper and ADF Oracle Application Development Framework

Packt will work closely with the author/s during the writing phase and provide full editorial support. In turn, no previous writing experience is needed…many of their authors have been first-timers.

Author Requirements:

• Expertise with the specific topic area of the book
  
• Proficiency in English
  
• Previous authoring experience is not necessary, but a plus
  

If you have questions or want more information about this opportunity please contact Sheila Cepero, Manager of Oracle Publishers Program, at sheila.cepero@oracle.com.

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Download the Latest Tools from Oracle

Quarterly Content Management Update
Please join Oracle product management for the first quarterly update webcast for Oracle Content Management customers. Don't miss this chance to get up-to-date information and other relevant news on recent product updates. Join us on June 5th at 12:00 p.m. ET!

FREE Webcast: Get Control of The Heterogeneous Systems That Support Your Oracle Environment
Imagine the time and money you could save - and devastating downtime you could avoid - with a complete, top-down perspective for administrators and business decision-makers. Oracle Enterprise Manager plug-ins and connectors help you do all this and more. Register to view the webcast!

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

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Oracle Seminar - Reduce Corporate Risks by Identifying and Protecting Sensitive Electronic Documents
Don't wait until sensitive documents end up in the wrong hands. Learn how to assess and minimize the risks associated with the authorized and unauthorized distribution of sensitive electronic documents. Click here to register.

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.

Oracle Webcast - Utility Computing Made Simple: Automated Provisioning and Patching Solutions for Oracle Grid Computing
Register today to view an Oracle Webcast featuring Noel Yuhanna, Principle Analyst at Forrester Research. Along with a reality check on the status of utility and grid computing, you'll discover how to maximize your investment in these technologies—by spending less time managing them.

Oracle Webcast: Strategic Planning & EVA Metrics in an International Trading Company
Featuring: Valora Group
22 May 2008 -8am PST, 11.00am EST
This leading European trading company in FMCG reviewed its strategy and restructured. Hear how it developed, tested and implemented the strategic plan and monitors progress towards its goals. Speaker: Manuela Guidicelli – Group Financial Planning. Register today!

Be a part of our growing community!
Get started in the Web 2.0 Resource Library, hosted by Oracle. It's a fast-growing wiki where you can learn from others and share what you know. Click here to get started! 

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!

FREE Oracle Coherence Webcast: Get Improved Performance Across the Grid
If you develop and deploy service-oriented architectures; Java Platform, Enterprise Edition (Java EE); or .NET applications, don’t miss this informative Webcast. Click here to register and learn how to predictably scale mission-critical applications.

Automate the Masking of Sensitive Data for Secure, Scalable Data Sharing
Register now to view this technical presentation on how Oracle Enterprise Manager Data Masking Pack can help you protect sensitive data. You'll learn how Oracle helps you use data masking rules to replace confidential or sensitive production information with realistic but scrubbed data. Click here to view this FREE Webcast today.

FREE Enterprise Manager Webcasts: Optimize Service, Minimize Downtime, and Better Utilize Resources
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Get Started with Oracle on Windows DVD
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"The Promise of Enterprise 2.0: Make it Real"
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"The Trust Factor: Secure Enterprise Search for High-Value Content"
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Find What You Are Searching For? Begin with Oracle Secure Enterprise Search Two-Disc Resource Kit
This kit is full of valuable information for anyone evaluating or interested in enterprise search technologies, including complimentary product. Click here to receive your free copy!

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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.

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