Special Report: Oracle enterprise apps

No longer just a database company, Oracle has been shifting its focus to applications in recent years, striving to achieve dominance largely through a slew of acquisitions. All this month, SearchOracle.com will be examining Oracle's changing role in the enterprise applications space, including the progress of Fusion, Oracle's massive integration project. Our coverage will include breaking news and interviews from the Collaborate '06 conference in Nashville, as well as news, analysis and tips from our archives.

• Oracle beefs up database security at Collaborate '06: Oracle's new Database Vault and Secure Backup offerings promise to make it easier to avoid internal threats and automate disk-to-tape backup. SearchOracle.com talked to Oracle's Mark Townsend at Collaborate '06 in Nashville to find out more.
  
• Collaborate '06: Podcast interview with IOUG president: Independent Oracle User Group President Ari Kaplan and board members Steve Lemme and Tony Jedlinski discuss the latest Oracle news from Collaborate '06 with News Editor Mark Brunelli, including Oracle's new support pledge for PeopleSoft and JD Edwards users, the new Database Vault product, Oracle's Linux ambitions and more.
  
• Oracle to certify Siebel apps on Fusion Middleware: Oracle outlined plans for extending back-office integration to Siebel's front-end systems at the Collaborate conference held this week.
  
• Open source EnterpriseDB takes aim at Oracle customers: Andy Astor, EnterpriseDB's president and chief executive officer, explains his firm's plans to lure Oracle customers over to the open source world.
  
• IOUG: Linux to be top platform for Oracle by next year: The IOUG is kicking off Collaborate '06 by showcasing new survey results which indicate that Linux will soon overtake Sun's Solaris as the top platform for Oracle database deployments.
  
• Oracle releases new version of CRM On Demand: Oracle says the new version of CRM On Demand offers enhanced customization capabilities and better support for sales organizations.
  
• OAUG to unveil new user forums at Collaborate '06: The executive director of the OAUG tells Oracle business applications users what to expect from the Collaborate '06 conference in Nashville.
  
• Collaborate '06 Preview: IOUG's Kaplan on RAC, security, mobility and more: IOUG president Ari Kaplan explains what's on tap for the Collaborate '06 Oracle users' conference being held this month in Nashville.
  

• Iron Age Shoes gives the boot to Microsoft and SAP: When Iron Age Shoes execs wanted to gain more insights into business processes, they chose the Oracle E-Business Suite over competing products from Microsoft and SAP.
  
• Oracle fixes 36 more vulnerabilities: Reducing its load from the previous quarter, Oracle has released 36 patches for vulnerabilities in its various products.
  
• Blue Shield cleans up HR with Oracle-PeopleSoft HCM: Blue Shield of California deployed Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise Human Capital Management 8.9 to automate transactions, centralize IT and modernize its HR department.
  
• Siebel buy further complicates Fusion plans: Experts say Siebel software will likely become the CRM centerpiece of Oracle's Project Fusion, but not for a long, long time.
  
• Oracle prez details Fusion middleware plans: Oracle's new plan to target rival SAP's customers involves moving to a componentized application stack powered by Web services and Fusion middleware.
  
• Oracle further unwraps Fusion, nips at SAP: Oracle Corp. executives said the company is at the halfway point in building a services-enabled Fusion Application suite as the battle of words between Oracle and SAP continues.
  
• Oracle makes 'big splash' with ECM entry: Forrester analysts give high marks to Oracle's newly updated enterprise content management suite.
  
• Oracle's Wookey touts app changes: Oracle executive John Wookey, who is expected to take over the reins of Oracle's restructured applications division, speaks about the future of Oracle CRM products and the E-Business Suite in an interview.
  

• Report finds SAP winning war with Oracle: A new report from Forrester Research finds that SAP has the edge in its longstanding battle with Oracle.
  
• SAP, Oracle playing catch-up with BPM technologies: Large software vendors are 12 to 18 months away from catching up to the established pure-play business process management vendors, according to an analyst with Gartner Inc.
  
• Expert predicts new front in Oracle-SAP battle: Forrester Research analyst Ray Wang sizes up the past, present and future of Oracle and SAP's fight for business applications dominance.
  
• Face-off: Oracle vs. SAP: The SAP/Oracle battle for supremacy in the business applications market is as fierce as ever. Who will emerge victorious? Who should? In this face-off article, two prominent experts from both sides of the fence make their respective cases.
  
• SAP vs. Oracle: Users speak out: As the battle for business applications supremacy heats up, Oracle users are standing by Larry Ellison and Fusion while SAP customers say NetWeaver will lead the way to victory.
  
• SAP vs. Oracle: Round two: We recently asked two prominent experts to argue their respective cases for SAP vs. Oracle. These follow-up columns are their official rebuttals of each other's arguments.
  
• Can Oracle be unseated as a top SAP database?: SAP would love to change the fact that the Oracle database is highly used among its customers, explains Joshua Greenbaum, principal analyst at Enterprise Applications Consulting.
  
• Is Ingres a viable alternative to Oracle for SAP users?: Database pros responding to a column express serious reservations about one venture capitalist's plan to market open source Ingres to SAP users.
  
• SAP, Oracle make public services push: Many municipalities are seeking to standardize their IT systems to run more efficiently. In response, Oracle and SAP are entering bidding wars to get license wins.
  
• Microsoft's strong midmarket channel thwarts Oracle, SAP: As Oracle and SAP aim for more small and midsized businesses, they are encountering a strong and complicated Microsoft channel partner network.
  
• SAP's new ad blitz takes aim at Oracle: Hoping to improve brand recognition in the U.S., SAP launched a major advertising campaign, with a TV ad that aims at Oracle's newly acquired J.D. Edwards and PeopleSoft customers.
  
• SAP launches midmarket push against Microsoft, Oracle: SAP is aiming at the midmarket with new versions of its preconfigured best practices software. Challenges exist as Microsoft is gaining the most momentum, according to analysts.
  
• SAP trumps Oracle in march to SOA: SAP is several steps ahead of rival Oracle Corp., as it makes its business software services based by 2007, according to a report by Forrester Research Inc.
  
• Oracle's Phillips swings at SAP: Oracle president Charles E. Phillips Jr. sharply criticized SAP, and touted his company's ability to deliver a complete infrastructure and application package.
  
• Oracle's OFF SAP program shows early results: It's only been a month, but already Oracle is touting its OFF SAP program as a growing pipeline of success.
  

• Oracle takes integrated approach with G-Log buy: Oracle bought G-Log to address a growing demand for logistics software integration, but the firm still trails rival SAP and other transportation software makers, analysts said.
  
• Siebel's reign ends as shareholders approve acquisition: Siebel's shareholders approved Oracle's acquisition of their company, further shrinking the number of enterprise CRM vendors and setting up a battle between SAP and Oracle.
  
• Oracle adds pieces to retail suite: Oracle acquired two software vendors in recent weeks to bolster its retail-specific software suite against rival SAP. Meanwhile, SAP hangs its hat on two retail customer wins.
  
• Column: Oracle vs. SAP: The Siebel Factor: The sudden uptick in big deals reported by Siebel made Oracle look good, but it's unlikely a Siebel acquisition will alter the competition between SAP and Oracle.
  
• Oracle acquisition highlights data management wars: The Oracle-Siebel combo not only gives Oracle access to Siebel's customers, but also its infrastructure, improving Oracle's standing in the battle against SAP and IBM.
  
• Oracle updates J.D. Edwards software: New additions to J.D. Edwards World products promise to enhance customer service, as well as streamline the transition to Project Fusion when the time comes.
  
• PeopleSoft upgrades come with Oracle pledge of continued support: Despite some continuing criticism of Project Fusion, Oracle executives were out in force pledging long-term support for two new PeopleSoft supply chain management apps.
  
• PeopleSoft users mull big choices: A new Yankee Group survey sheds light on PeopleSoft users' post merger plans.
  

• Problems transferring Oracle data after upgrade to XP
• Can't open Reports Builder
• Why does HRMS go live before Financials?
• Identifying the source of high CPU usage
• Getting information on forms and reports from OAM
• What is the "yellow bar"?
• Making checks out to a factoring company
• Advice for a beginner studying E-Business Suite
• Documents for beginner to E-Business Suite
• Difference between E-Business Suite 11.5.6 and 11.5.9
• Book recommendation for Oracle Financials
• Retrieving Oracle SID name in Reports

Russell Arno, Oracle applications suite expert