Oracle Database Management Strategic Directions

1. Best Practices for managing Oracle database servers.
2. Oracle Fusion Middleware products like J2EE, ADF, XML, BPEL, SOA, Web Services, Discoverer...).
3. Oracle Application Servers and Apache.

I am continuing to spend time researching the different software solutions for database management. This is from the perspective of the new versions of software that will be released this year. Some of these products are in the Alpha and Beta stages and we are in Non-Disclosure until the products go GA. We would rather evaluate the new products coming out this year, versus comparing the old versions of the products.

A lot of our customers are tired of going into long time consuming evaluations of different management software. We hope to give them some insights that will give them a deeper perspective of the different options and let them know what other customers are doing and experiencing. Although we have a leadership role with different professional organizations and groups as well as with the vendor companies we want this to be a very independent perspective. Our ONLY goal is to give customers independent insight into the products and experiences from customers working with these products.

I am going to focus on a few areas:

• Database Management (using Oracle and SQL Server).
• The ease of setup and configuration for multiple databases.
• The features that are used by administrators the most.
• A survery from customers of the pros and cons of the different management software solutions.
• Provide a Matrix of the different software solutions. The goal of this is to help anyone that is considering purchasing database management software or renewing licenses.
• Discuss advantages/disadvantages of running 3rd party management solutions to manage a heterogeneous environment or use Oracle Grid Control with plug-ins to manage a heterogeneous environment.
  
• Have administrators running the different software solutions give us their perspective of using the software solutions to manage their database environment. This will include insights and perspectives they have for anyone trying to decide on database management software form Oracle, Quest, CA, BMC and Embarcadero.

Its been very refreshing to work with the different software companies and the individuals helping us with this research. I wish everyone could see how these individuals from software companies are really dedicated and commited to their craft. You've all been fantastic to work with and I personally appreciate your dedication to helping all customers make the right software decisions.

If this research is well received, we are then going to take a second look at these tools and look and see what are good software solutions for managing an entire database infrastructure that includes the middle tier and applications.