Business Intelligence Suite Enterprise Edition 10g Release 3, which is part of the Fusion Middleware technology layer, is aimed at users with heterogeneous environments.
In common with BI specialists and suite and architecture competitor SAP AG, one of Oracle’s aims is to drive analytics deep into the operational side of user organizations, embedding it into operational activities. General enhancements have been made to help make information pervasive throughout the enterprise through the use of dashboards, alerts and reports which are designed to make analytics information relevant and actionable.
A key aspect of the suite is the engine, which can calculate against data in multiple sources including multiple databases and relational and OLAP systems. The value, according to Thomas Kurian, SVP of Oracle Server Technologies, is that business and applications can be defined independently of the underlying data sources and the analytics engine can work across multiple data sources eliminating the need to reconcile data across different systems.
The new suite will also make use of SOA techniques and integrate with Oracle’s BPEL Process Manager to support multiple modes of analytics driven workflow. For example, a BPEL process could be invoked from the BI environment either via an automated alert or manually by an end user. Alternatively, the BI software will be able to direct a BPEL process with intelligence decision points and conditional step processes based on analytics. BPEL processes will also be able to invoke analytics workflows though web services.
Improved integration with other Oracle products will complement the workflow and BPEL process manager integration, with the planned release to deliver pre-integration with Oracle applications, database and Fusion middleware. It will also offer native support for third-party software from vendors like NCR Teradata, IBM and Microsoft, as well as SAP’s Business Information Warehouse.
Another aim is to offer broad based access to information through a range of mediums from interactive dashboards, reports, real-time alerts and ad hoc analytics to mobile disconnected analytics, Office and Excel. By making use of SOA techniques, Oracle also plans to extend access to other mediums such as RSS feeds. Support for JSR-168 will enables BI portlets to be embedded into compliant portals and RSS capabilities should allow access to BI information and alerts via RSS-aware applications.
There are also plans to provide complete integration with Oracle BI Publisher, formally Oracle XML Publisher, for reporting and publishing functionality with the ability to publish to printer, email, WebDAV or dashboards.
Enterprise Edition 10g is shaping up as the foundation for Oracle’s analytics capability. A core part of Fusion middleware, it aims to provide a common BI platform for use across Oracle and non-Oracle software, and is an example of how Oracle is intending to deliver value by engineering its technology and application stack to work tightly together.
