|
The conference was abuzz with Web 2.0 technologies, from blogs to wikis, viewed on screens as big as a wall and as small as your hand. These same technologies create dynamic, responsive, collaborative organizations that don’t sacrifice performance, security, or efficiency, Kurian said. The result is that customers can use Oracle Fusion Middleware certified with all Oracle application products to transform their businesses.
Kurian’s OpenWorld 2007 keynote (see the highlights) provided an overview of five areas under the Oracle Fusion Middleware umbrella that are central to business today—including Enterprise 2.0, service-oriented architecture (SOA), enterprise performance management (EPM), security and identity management, and grid computing—and previewed where the technology is headed.
Service-Oriented Architecture
“Six years ago, Oracle recognized that enterprise applications were going through a fundamental transformation: from client/server architecture … to a service-oriented architecture,” Kurian said. SOA makes applications modular and Web-enabled, and it is the foundation for the Oracle Fusion Middleware strategy. Specifically, Oracle will continue to refine Oracle Fusion Middleware’s integrated, standards-based environment for building and deploying SOA applications, Web enabling legacy systems, integrating applications, and building more flexible, modular business solutions.
Enterprise Performance Management
If SOA applications generate information, then Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) lets businesspeople act on it. Some of Oracle’s EPM offerings, such as Essbase and Hyperion Financial Management, are new to the company, while others, such as Oracle Business Intelligence, have a longer history. The common denominator is that they bring information from multiple sources alive and put it to work. They allow what Kurian called “insight to action”: the ability to move from strategic planning to decisions to daily operations.
Security and Identity Management
But with so much data crisscrossing the enterprise, organizations need solid security. Kurian highlighted Oracle’s Identity Management offerings, including the Oracle Adaptive Access Manager, which adjusts the amount of required authentication depending on who the user is and what he wants to do, and dynamic role-based security. Oracle products also help with physical security, such as access badges, smart cards, and biometrics. Centralized data and physical security enable organizations to abide by ever-changing regulatory compliance mandates.
Grid Computing
Grid computing, the fifth pillar of Kurian’s keynote, has grown in sophistication since Oracle embraced it in 2003. Grid computing is no longer simply provisioning, loading, and deployment, he said. It also encompasses software patching and other maintenance chores, and includes advanced tools for managing workloads and identifying and eliminating bottlenecks. |
