Oracle Launches Universal Online Archive; Database
Vault for Siebel at COLLABORATE 08
Oracle continues
to expand its enterprise content management offering with the launch
of Oracle Universal Online Archive and Oracle E-mail Archive Service,
components of Oracle Fusion Middleware, yesterday. Oracle Universal
Online Archive provides a highly scalable and manageable archiving
system that combines the infrastructure of the Oracle Database and
the standards-based, hot-pluggability of Oracle Fusion Middleware
with a high-volume data ingestion engine to simplify archiving,
management and rapid retrieval of multiple content types. “This
leverages the functionality of the Oracle 11g database,”
Michelle Huff, a director of product management at Oracle, told
5 Minute Briefing. “We think this is a killer application
to create secure files for unstructured content.”
Intended to serve as a unified platform for all unstructured data, Oracle Online Storage is “a strategy as well as a product,” Huff said. Used in conjunction with Oracle’s Universal Records Manager, archive policies can be established centrally and then applied in a federation fashion. Although Universal Online Archive can be applied to all unstructured data, archiving email is the most pressing concern in many enterprises, Huff said. Oracle’s E-mail Archive Service, which was announced in conjunction with Oracle Online Archive, provides an optimized email archiving interface for Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Notes, and SMTP-based mail systems.
According to Huff, Universal Online Archive addresses a pressing need. “Enterprises have content everywhere but no one place to hold it and discover it,” she said. Being able to actually store content in the database - as opposed to just storing metadata - is a huge breakthrough, she added.
Oracle also announced the certification of Oracle Database Vault for use with Oracle's Siebel CRM, providing extensible, out-of-the-box policies that prevent unauthorized access to critical application data by privileged users. Oracle Database Vault prevents ad hoc access by Siebel business users to Siebel CRM application data, protecting against application bypass and enforcing access through the Siebel application account. Oracle Database Vault separation of duty enables the Siebel CRM application database administrator to onboard new business users without having the ability to view application data.
"Oracle Database Vault enforces real-time preventive controls and extensible out-of-the box policies for Siebel CRM, PeopleSoft Enterprise and the Oracle E-Business Suite applications to transparently safeguard access to sensitive data within the database and help ensure regulatory compliance," said Vipin Samar, vice president of Database Security, Oracle.
For more information about Oracle content management software, visit here. For more information about Database Vault, go here.
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Sybase iAnywhere Announces SQL Anywhere 11 Beta Code-Named “Panorama”
Sybase iAnywhere yesterday announced the beta availability of SQL Anywhere 11, code-named “Panorama,” its data management and synchronization solution. SQL Anywhere, a key component of the Sybase Unwired Enterprise strategy of managing and mobilizing information, powers thousands of embedded and mobile database applications with over 10 million deployed licenses. The new release includes over 200 new features and enhancements.
In development for over two years, the new release “represents what we believe is a significant step forward in the ability to bring mission-critical data out to the front lines and be able to do the kinds of things demanded by today's class of applications in this broad range of embedded and mobile and workgroup kinds environments,” Chris Kleisath, senior director of engineering in the SQL Anywhere product group at Sybase, told 5 Minute Briefing.
Key among the new features are enhanced parallel query capabilities, including parallel sort, parallel index scans and index-only retrieval. The enhanced parallel query capabilities in the database engine “allow it to take advantage of the new dual core kinds of laptops that people are now buying,” said Kleisath. “Very few software packages actually take advantage of that.”
Embedded full-text search has been added to provide a powerful yet compact facility to search the increasing amounts of unstructured data in the front lines. In the area of data synchronization options, there are new failover and load balancing options, background synchronization, and support for MySQL. Additionally, .NET and Perl stored procedures allow developers to leverage their programming language experience to implement database business logic.
With the beta launch, Sybase is also starting up a series of blogs by key individuals on the SQL Anywhere team to allow them to bring their ideas into the marketplace, and enable more interaction with customers and partners “at a very personal kind of level,” said Kleisath. The blog center features senior product management and engineering employees discussing industry hot topics in the context of SQL Anywhere and its feature set.
To learn more about SQL Anywhere, developers can visit the SQL Anywhere home page or visit the SQL Anywhere Blog Center. Developers may register for the beta program here. GA release of SQL Anywhere is scheduled for the second half of 2008.
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DATAllegro Releases New Software Version within Data Warehouse Appliance
DATAllegro, a data warehouse appliance supplier, has announced the release of its software version 3.1, included within DATAllegro v3 data warehouse appliances. The new software version marks the delivery of the next phase of DATAllegro's grid technology and supports various management and integration processes for enhanced ease-of-use.
Version 3.1 “includes a series of technologies that bring us much closer to the augmentation and/or in some cases replacement of Teradata, but it also rounds out the maturity of our technology in terms of data management,” Jesse Fountain, vice president of pre-sale services at DATAllegro, told 5 Minute Briefing.
Key enhancements in DATAllegro's version 3.1 software include a DASQL command line interface, used for automating the ETL process from an existing system into a DATAllegro appliance; partition management to facilitate rolling partitions; as well as an enhanced grid technology usability feature and a new query history management and reporting tool. Additionally, SSL support has been added to improve security for in-flight data, and there is enhanced integration support for Ingrian, and RSA encryption key management.
“We integrate with either JDBC or ODBC and we've made that a lot more robust, handling more complex structures for tools like Business Objects or Informatica,” noted Fountain. Moreover, the new software version offers added support for user space quotas; support for scripting languages PHP and Perl, and support for Ingres version 9.1.
There is also support for UTF-8/Unicode, for internationalization of the product. ”We've had that for a while actually,” said Fountain, “but this is a more formal - integrated across the entire product - ability.” For more information on DATAllegro, go here.
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DataMentors Offers Businesses Internet-Based Real-Time Transactional Data Cleansing and Matching Service
DataMentors, a full-service data quality and management solutions company, has launched NetEffect, an Internet-based real-time transactional cleansing and matching solution. The solution is offered in two ways - as a service or as installed software, Robert Orf, president of DataMentors, told 5 Minute Briefing. “Wherever it is housed, the Web service is still the same and it works the same way; it is just a matter of it talking to a server that is housed at the customer location versus it being housed at our location,” said Orf.
NetEffect works with DataMentors' DataFuse product, the batch and incremental update-based data cleansing, data standardization and relationship matching technology, explained Orf. “The initial database would be built using DataFuse. It goes through all of our standard processes, loads the ODBC supported database,” said Orf, “and once the database is loaded, NetEffect gives you the ability to, via Web services, access that database with free-form data.”
One of the primary uses of the solution is for Web sites where data is entered by individuals about themselves. “Sometimes you don't have the ability to identify those people with an account number or something like that. What NetEffect will do is give you the ability to immediately call our Web service from the point of entry, standardize the name and address, bounce it against the database with high probability of finding non-exact matches,” said Orf. “For instance, if I am in the database as Bob Orf and I type in Robert Orf with a variation of my street address, NetEffect will come back with all of the potential matches and - based on the application - you can determine what it is you want to do with certain situations - whether it be a high probability of match or low probability of match - so you know something about the person at the point of entry. For marketing purposes, that can be pretty critical.”
With NetEffect's pattern-based matching methodologies, even extremely corrupt records, which include misspelled names, addresses, email addresses or phone numbers, can be matched with accuracy. This functionality is well-aligned with the needs of industries requiring immediate and highly detailed security or marketing profiles and is customizable to meet specific customer needs, according to DataMentors. NetEffect uses recognized Internet-based protocols and can be used with both secure (SSL) and un-secured access methods. For more information, go here
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COLLABORATE 08 Opens with Great Expectations
COLLABORATE
08, the Oracle user community conference and exposition, opened
in Denver this week amid great expectations. Despite the move out
of Las Vegas and the downturn in the economy, final attendance was
expected to meet or exceed last year’s mark. At the top of
the list of attendees agenda is learning about enterprises’
real-world experiences with Oracle Database 11g, which was unveiled
last year. “It is at an inflection point,” Ari Kaplan,
outgoing president of the IOUG, told 5 Minute Briefing in an exclusive
interview. “And with 400 new features, it has something for
everybody.”
Tracking the progress of Oracle’s Fusion strategy also has people’s attention. “People want to see what is out there now and what there is going to be in the future,” Kaplan said.
COLLABORATE 08 reflects real change in the Oracle user community over the past three years, Kaplan added. In addition to bringing together the Oracle database and applications users community, Oracle has purchased around 40 companies in the recent past, Kaplan noted. The users of those technologies have also found a place at the conference. “We have been able to forge an alliance,” Kaplan said.
At the same time, Oracle’s participation with the user event has increased. “They are leveraging their relationship with the user groups,” he added. For more information, visit the COLLABORATE 08 Web site or the IOUG Web site.
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Hyperion-Oriented Initiatives Launched By OAUG
The Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG), the world’s largest knowledgebase for Oracle Applications users, has announced a Hyperion-oriented series of initiatives, which provides educational and networking opportunities designed to enable members to more effectively use Hyperion applications. Key elements of the series include hosting a Hyperion eLearning Webcast series, creating a Hyperion special interest group (SIG) and offering educational sessions tailored to Hyperion users at COLLABORATE 08. “We are seeing a lot of Hyperion users,” Jan Wagner, the president of the OAUG, told 5 Minute Briefing.
The OAUG Hyperion SIG was formed to serve as an educational resource and to enable its members to make the most of their Oracle Hyperion Suite of products. COLLABORATE 08 features more than 80 Hyperion-focused sessions offering opportunities to gain insight into Oracle’s strategy and the future development of Hyperion products. “The OAUG’s Hyperion-oriented initiatives demonstrate our commitment to support users of this line of products,” said Wagner.
Overall, Wagner said, COLLABORATE 08 reflects the strength of the Oracle user community. “We are doing something right, “ he said. For more information, visit the COLLABORATE 08 Web site or the OAUG Web site.
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