Strong Momentum

Emphasizing strong momentum in the “two strategic products that will determine our future,” Oracle Executive Chairman and CTO Larry Ellison said during Oracle’s first-quarter earnings call that the company is “well on its way” to becoming the world’s largest cloud application vendor and is poised to gain share in the cloud infrastructure segment “very, very rapidly.” Those two strategic products? Cloud-based ERP and Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud Service.

Oracle already has more than 20,000 customers for its Oracle Fusion cloud ERP and NetSuite cloud ERP services. And offering Oracle Database as an autonomous cloud service means that the world’s most popular database is now self-managing and self-patching, so it not only performs substantially better than comparable Amazon Web Services products, Ellison said, but is also more reliable, more secure, and much less expensive to operate. Read more of Ellison’s perspective.

— Rob Preston, Oracle Editorial Director

A DBA’s Take on Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse: No More Knobs

Jim Czuprynski, an experienced database architect and published author on database troubleshooting, has spent a month hammering on Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse. His conclusion: “A lot of DBAs are scared of autonomous, but I see it as a force multiplier.”

Three Reasons to Integrate Sales Force Automation with Customer Service

Integrating standalone sales force automation applications with customer service apps enables salespeople to get more insights into their accounts, understand how (and when) to approach customers, and ultimately close more deals— giving reps a lot more incentive to use the system, says Oracle’s Stephen Fioretti. More expert insight.

Is Blockchain Right for You?

How can a company sidestep the hype to determine whether a specific use case is better implemented with blockchain or another data management solution? The Oracle Insight group has developed a simple framework with six qualifying criteria that business leaders can use to evaluate the pros and cons, starting with how many parties will be sharing data.

Tech Bracelet’s a Charm for Mallorca Resort

Meliá, a $2-billion-a-year hotel chain, has begun providing guests at two of its resorts with smart wristbands embedded with a chip that connects wirelessly to the hotel chain’s smartphone app. Guests can use the waterproof band to pay for drinks, food, spa treatments, and resort store purchases and to access their room. Here’s the tech it needed to make it happen.

‘Bob’s Spreadsheet’ and Other Signs of Finance Failure

Does your finance team depend on a spreadsheet named for one staff member, such as “Bob’s spreadsheet”? And did Bob leave the company four years ago? This is just one of many warning signs that your finance department isn’t updating its processes the way a modern finance department must. Here are three critical actions every finance department should undertake.