Margaret Terry Lindquist - July 2007
Most CIOs will tell you that software integration is one of the most pressing challenges they face. Connecting disparate systems, legacy applications, and the cutting-edge, best-of-breed applications that businesses today demand is a task that will test even the most agile, innovative IT department. When Oracle first started acquiring other business application providers, conventional wisdom was that the company was digging its way into a deep, dark hole. Either customers would be forced to migrate from the software they were using into the Oracle application suite, or they would continue to use whatever software they had installed—past the point where they were getting good return on their investment and past the point where the software was providing up-to-date functionality. The result, some feared, was that companies with established IT systems would be quickly outclassed by newer, more-agile companies that could hit the ground running with the latest customer- and partner-friendly systems.
But the latest big announcement from Oracle intends to solve that problem for our customers. Oracle Application Integration Architecture is designed to allow customers to tie Oracle applications, legacy applications, and industry-specific software from numerous best-of-breed partners into an integrated system
that will meet the needs of businesses now and in the future. This comes in addition to our other big announcement of the year, the introduction of Oracle Database 11g, the newest edition of a database that has set the standard for innovation since its first release. This issue is full of insight into both new product offerings.
We round things out with continued coverage of Oracle's 30th anniversary, including a candid interview with Oracle's chairman, Jeff Henley, who speaks about the challenges and successes in Oracle's history. It's a nice look back at where we've been, even as we plot a course for the future.
Margaret Terry Lindquist is editor in chief of
Profit Magazine.
