Oracle Jumps On Web 2.0 Train

February 15th, 2007: The Web 2.0 buzz word is already popping up with high frequency in 2007, and Oracle is the latest to use it in conjunction with the latest incarnation of its WebCenter Suite.

A new component of Oracle Fusion Middleware, the company says WebCenter Suite represents yet another step forward in productivity for information workers through the integration of Web 2.0 technology with business processes.

Oracle claims the suite helps developers create more effective solutions that meld transactional processes, business intelligence, structured and unstructured content and communication into a rich on-line work environment. The company says that through this technology, new standards-based applications that are interactive, customisable, extensible and integrated will appear.

“Oracle WebCenter Suite is the first environment to provide a revolutionary approach to deploying the new wave of Web 2.0 technologies across the enterprise,” says Rahul B. Patel, vice president, Oracle Server Technologies. “Because Oracle WebCenter Suite will provide a comprehensive set of enterprise-class capabilities and rapid integration with Oracle and third party infrastructure, our customers can realize both an immediate boost to productivity and continuing long term savings.”

WebCenter Suite is a J2EE development that encourages modular content creation. It enables users to connect and work wherever they happen to be by exposing critical task flows and services through familiar mobile devices and desktop tools including Microsoft Office and Exchange.

It includes a collection of pre-built Web 2.0 services including content management, threaded discussions, wikis, secure enterprise search, instant messaging and online awareness. Oracle claims that these services make it easier for developers to create rich user experiences that bring all types of information and tools together in a single place.

“The vision is compelling, combining transactional, collaborative and analytical modes of working into a single interface; rather than requiring users to jump back and forth between unintegrated enterprise, desktop, and web applications,” said Jim Murphy of AMR Research. “Oracle WebCenter Suite gives developers complete control on how different elements are combined regardless of source, and allows interfaces to be personalised by business users at the individual, group, and organisational levels.”

Oracle WebCenter Suite is free for evaluation and can be licensed as an option on top of Oracle Application Server Enterprise Edition at a cost of US$50,000 per CPU.

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