Flashback query & Oracle Total Recall

Park Lane is pleased to present the following paper at InSync 11 at Sydney in August 2011.

Title: Flashback query, Oracle Total Recall and some of it’s uses.

Author: Clancy Bufton

Abstract

Flashback query is part of Oracle’s flashback technology incorporated into the database since version 9. In version 11.2 Oracle Total Recall builds on flashback query and makes the entire history of the database available for online query.

This interesting presentation will look into how these features are implemented, how it is used, and what it can be used for.
Examples include Database Auditing, Change capture and data extraction for data-warehousing.

About InSync11

InSync11 provides the most complete conference program developed by Oracle customers for Oracle customers. This year’s conference theme is “Innovate, Educate @ Connect @InSync11″. InSync11 promises the most comprehensive Oracle applications, middleware, database and servers & storage systems agenda outside the US with the largest number of Oracle customers in one place. This foremost event will showcase over 100 speakers from around Australia and further afield, with updates, presentations and reports from senior Oracle staff as well as an array of presentations from Oracle users. (http://www.insync11.com.au/)

View the complete schedule @ http://www.insync-conference.com.au/web_documents/InSync11_working_programme.pdf

Application Testing Suite

How many times have you had a test plan flipped on its head by a lack of infrastructure? Are you constantly beg, borrowing or stealing hardware in order to get sufficient scalability for realistic load testing? How often has your “dedicated” test hardware been permanently borrowed for UAT or production? Cloud computing has created an opportunity for development teams to have scalable infrastructure “on tap” when and where they need it. However, shifting your test platform to the cloud requires significant preparation, changes in approach, and can involve some risk.

Oracle Application Testing Suite (ATS) Testing Accelerator for Web Services is an accelerated functional testing tool. It can help automate functional and regression testing, load and performance testing and manage the overall test process.

ATS allows users to test the quality and performance of their service-oriented architecture based applications directly at the web service interface level. The Functional Testing Accelerator for Web Services extends Oracle Functional Testing to enable automated functional and regression testing of Web Services. ATS provides an intuitive Web-based console to configure and run load tests and share real-time results with distributed users. Such functionality enables organisations to gather critical infrastructure performance metrics to identify bottlenecks under load.

The ATS tool is comprised of the following tightly integrated products:

• Oracle Load Testing for scalability, performance and load testing.
• Oracle Functional Testing for automated functional and regression testing.
• Oracle Test Manager for test process management, including test requirements management, test management, test execution and defect tracking.

Is your interest piqued? Join James Rabey (Macquarie Telecom) and Murali Iyengar (Oracle) for a highly informative FREE webinar on “ATS in the Cloud”.

Register @ https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/919430520

Bookmark June 23rd on your calendars!

Oracle’s Fusion Applications

There is burgeoning interest around Oracle’s Fusion Applications (aka Fusion Apps) which was due to launch in 2011. The announcement was first heard at the Oracle OpenWorld event (San Francisco) in September 2010.

As part of his keynote speech at Oracle World, the company’s CEO Larry Ellison emphasized the Business Intelligence focus that is the driving force behind Oracle’s Fusion Apps. Components of Oracle’s acquisitions – PeopleSoft, JD Edwards & Siebel – have been brought together to create a suite of applications on a common middleware platform making integration between apps an easier process.

The applications have been divided into seven product families: financial management; procurement and sourcing; project and portfolio management; human capital management; customer relationship management; supply chain management; and governance risk and compliance.

As an example, Oracle Fusion Financials is a 100% open; standards-based set of integrated financials modules. They differ from traditional financial systems by delivering business intelligence (BI) and business insight to users to enable intelligent and informed decision making. It is set to change the way finance professionals operate by providing an innovative new reporting platform and a native BI standard for finance.

In summary, what are the probable benefits we are likely to expect from this suite of products which has been five years in the making and a significant engineering effort?

According to Oracle, some of the key benefits (Source: Oracle.com) of Oracle Fusion Applications include:

• Service-oriented architecture: Built on a SOA foundation, Fusion Applications give users the ability to uniquely manage functions across a heterogeneous environment, such as   Distributed Order Orchestration and Shared Services Procurement.
• Role-Based user experience: Offers a revolutionary new role-based user experience, uniting exception-based processing, business intelligence, transactions and collaboration in context of the work being performed. Fusion Apps provide users with: “what do I need to know”, “what do I need to do”, “how do I get it done” and “who do I need to contact”.
• Embedded business intelligence: Features embedded business intelligence that delivers the right information to make decisions within the context of the work being performed, without having to go to a separate BI system.

However there has been little pressure on the existing client base to rush into adopting Fusion Applications. The current prediction is that customers could move to Fusion Apps at a time they deem convenient i.e. anytime over the next five years.

Combining Oracle’s Application functionality & Fusion Middleware is an exciting step into the future. One cannot deny that for an informed decision to be taken to move in this direction requires significant understanding on the part of existing and potential Oracle customers. To aid your planning efforts, an Applications Planning Tool is available at: http://www.iouc.org/p/cm/ld/fid=52

This tool was created by the Product Development Committee (PDC) & Nadia Bendjedou (Oracle). It has been designed to help you evaluate your current business environment in light of exisiting technology and make the transition to Fusion Middleware an effective process.