Meta Group thinks that with the release of Oracle8.i (nee 8.1) Oracle Corp is in danger of repeating the mistakes Informix Software made in pursuing a universal database strategy; supporting all complex content from within a single database engine. Oracle8.i integrates web server functionality including content management, message queuing, and an internet file system including directories, files, folders directly into the database. Meta notes it also includes data warehousing enhancements such as hash partitioning. However it thinks the Oracle8.i emphasis on internet will alienate database administrators looking for additional data warehousing performance. Moreover the integration of internet technologies into Oracle8.i will overshadow core database improvements; complicate configuration, installation, and tuning; and result in a slower migration of Oracle7.x and Oracle8 users to the new version.
