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Oracle Corp. is pushing grid computing beyond its Oracle 10g database and application server to encompass the companys enterprise applications.
At the companys semiannual Analyst Day in Redwood Shores, Calif., last week, Oracle executives discussed developments designed to increase the functionality of the companys E-Business Suite through integration with the 10g infrastructure software.
“We have put an extremely modern, open architecture into [the upcoming Version] 11i.10” of E-Business Suite, said Ron Wohl, executive vice president of Oracle applications. “We vetted all that wonderful new technology that was released earlier this year [in Oracle 10g Application Server] and put it into 11i.10.”
As part of the E-Business Suite 11i.10 rollout, due at the end of the summer, Oracle will relaunch its CRM (customer relationship management) platform with a major rewrite and functional upgrade to existing capabilities. Included will be new screens and the ability to access deeper sales data, including more information about customers and transactions, Wohl said.
Version 11i.10 also will feature enhancements to sourcing and procurement applications .
The upgrade will include tool sets targeted at specific vertical markets. One of these is the Healthcare Transaction Base, which was previously a stand-alone offering and provides an underlying set of services that helps government agencies and health care providers build process-oriented applications. Transaction Base enables users to organize and map information, as well as to analyze and drill down on that information.
Oracle executives shed light on enhancements the company plans to make around its database business. Oracle will beef up reporting in its Enterprise Manager and Oracle Grid Control offerings. The company will streamline integration between third-party software tools and grid-provisioned resources, as well as automate resource provisioning.
Although Oracle has been beating the drum about grid computing for more than a year, some customers said they still dont see the benefits.
“Id like to see how [Oracle intends] to show benefits of grid over conventional systems,” said Matthew Regan, past president of the Delaware Valley Oracle Users Group Inc., in Malvern, Pa. “Im not going to replace the new [Hewlett-Packard Co. servers] I just bought to take advantage of grid. … I have to put a business case around it.”