Its certainly nice to know that Oracle has been working on more than just new ways to annoy PeopleSoft. We editorialized recently that Oracle should get back to the job of building a better database, so its encouraging to note that Oracle is doing just that. As Lisa Vaas reports, Oracle will announce in September Oracle 10G, a major upgrade to its flagship product that supersedes Oracle9i. Theres a list of enhancements that should make database administrators smile, including better management tools and improved rollback, but the release may be best known for the groundwork it contains for supporting grids.
Oracle 10G comes none too soon in the companys battle for database supremacy with IBM, whose DB2, according to one market-share measure, recently surpassed the Oracle database.
IBM is building DB2 along the lines of its Universal Database strategy not only for traditional high-end customers but also—as Steve Mills, Janet Perna and other IBM Software Group executives told eWEEK editors—for the small and midsize market as well.
Linux, of course, has no greater patron than IBM, and Big Blue will announce its eServer 325 for Linux or Windows this week at LinuxWorld in San Francisco. Archrival HP will announce its LC (Linux Compute) cluster at the show. Sun, in another twist to its Linux strategy (if thats the right word), will distribute SuSE Linux. As Peter Galli reports, no one is much worried about SCOs claims.
What are IT people worried about? The No. 1 issue for many is the rush to push their jobs offshore. In our opinion columns, weve previously heard from ITAA President Harris Miller, eWEEK Editor in Chief Eric Lundquist and many readers. This week, Phillip J. Bond, undersecretary of commerce for technology, wades into the vexing fray in our Free Spectrum column, pointing to a new Department of Commerce report and urging IT pros to respond to the global challenge by leveraging the United States educational advantage to acquire new skills. One things certain: The debate will continue.
Finally, as Peter Coffee finds in this weeks report on business intelligence software, there are plenty of new ways to gain awareness of trends that can determine whether your company is headed in the right direction. KXENs Analytic Framework builds predictive models on the fly, Information Builders WebFocus 5 offers advanced graphics, Informaticas PowerAnalyzer 4.0 boasts ease of learning and Qliktechs QlikView 6 integrates data from many sources.
Till next eWEEK, send your comments to stan_gibson@ziffdavis.com.