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What Is It?
In 1977, Silicon Valley-based software engineers Larry Ellison, Bob Miner and Ed Oates founded a consulting company, Software Development Laboratories (SDL) and picked up a contract with the CIA to build a special database program code-named, “Oracle.”

Now, in its fourth decade, Oracle continues to increase its momentum with acquisitions, R&D, and advances in its relational database system delivery. Its latest development includes Oracle Database 11g, which introduces Oracle Flashback Data Archive. This new feature transparently tracks historical changes to all Oracle data in a highly secure and efficient manner for many platforms and users.

Who Is it For?

Although originally designed for top-secret development, Oracle is available now to any user who requires a database system that can efficiently track data, either within a solo application or through a database suite. Oracle Database software comes in 63 language-versions including regional variations on several languages. Variations between versions cover the names of days and months, abbreviations, time-symbols such as A.M. and A.D., and sorting.

Features

The features within an Oracle database would depend upon the version, type, and application desired by the user. Oracle 11g is designed for larger corporations, whereas the Oracle E-Business Suite 12 helps global businesses “think globally for better decision-making, work globally to be more competitive, and manage globally to lower costs and increase performance.” The PeopleSoft Enterprise 9 is intended for organizations to successfully deploy fully integrated talent management strategies.

Other applications within Oracle exist, including Oracle VM, a server virtualization software that fully supports both Oracle and non-Oracle applications, and is three times more efficient than other server virtualization products. This product offers customers a single point of enterprise-class support for their entire virtualization environments, including the Linux operating system, Oracle Database, Fusion Middleware, and Application software. These and other Oracle products are certified with Oracle VM, which is available for free download.

Compatibility

Oracle established the OSCP (Oracle Storage Compatibility Program) to ensure that various products would be compatible with Oracle database products NFS file servers, remote mirroring, and snapshot products. This program was discontinued in January 2007, as – at that time – Oracle believed that their NFS file servers, remote mirroring, and snapshot products were “well understood by the customers,” were very mature, and that the Oracle technological requirements were well known.

Most Oracle applications are compatible with Windows and Linux OS; however, the user might become familiar with the type of Oracle application used and whether the version is compatible with current Window and/ or Linux server operating systems.