In a recent blog post, I looked at some new survey results and asked if database administrators (DBAs) really care about installing the latest Oracle patches in a timely fashion. Here are a couple of the more interesting responses:

“My employers or customers have regularly installed the patches since the practice began, so here’s one vote in the minority,” wrote a commentator named Dave. “What the survey fails to specify is whether or not the respondents had responsibility for managing the patches. Yes, I haven’t done the patches for years - but also yes, someone else has done them.”

Meanwhile, Ravi Krish had an interesting approach to patching:

“In my last job as DBA for a huge IT consulting multinational I was leading a half yearly CPU patch application project for all the clients. We used to apply if not regularly at least half yearly the CPU patches. Quarterly is a bit too frequent and requires way too much time and effort considering there were hundreds of databases on multiple clients,” Krish wrote. “In my current job for a government agency, there has not been a single CPU applied. I’m proposing to apply one now and in future look forward to applying as they are released. There are only about 5-6 databases here and it’s not too time consuming to apply for about 5 databases every quarter.”

Thanks for writing in, folks.

Oracle E-Business Suite users take note:

The good news about the latest Oracle Critical Patch Update (CPU) is that like the last few Oracle CPUs, there aren’t any new Oracle Application Server or Developer 6i patches needed for Oracle E-Business Suite 11i, according to a recent post on Integrigy Corp.’s Oracle Security Blog.

“There is a significant Oracle Jinitiator patch that fixes a previously discussed vulnerability,” Integrigy wrote. “The key part about upgrading Jinitiator is that all previous versions must be removed from the client PC since every new version of Jinitiator is a unique install and does not remove the previous version.”

The post went on to say that for E-Business Suite Release 12 users, Oracle has created a cumulative Oracle Applications patch which was included in the 12.0.4 update.

“Oracle continues the push to keep all customers on recent versions by only certifying the CPU patches with 9.2.0.8, 10.1.0.5, 10.2.0.2, and 10.2.0.3 for the database and RUP4, RUP5, or RUP6 for the Oracle E-Business Suite 11i,” Integrigy says.

Just a heads-up.

The results of a new Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) survey suggest that the majority of Oracle-based enterprises intend to upgrade to Oracle’s Fusion middleware infrastructure within the next two years.

Now, that’s not particularly surprising. But this is:

The survey, which generated 449 responses from OAUG members, also found that two out of every five Oracle-based enterprises will increase spending on middleware in 2008, despite the fact that many enterprises still aren’t sure of middleware’s true value to their operations.

Taken together, the results suggest to me that at least some companies out there are spending money on middleware without fully understanding the reasons for doing so.  And with Oracle’s acquisition of middleware giant BEA Systems Inc. still fresh on our minds, I think the issue deserves further examination.

I’m researching a new article on the OAUG survey for publication later this week and really need to rally the SearchOracle.com troops in an attempt to understand this potential phenomenon. Do the results make sense to you? Why or why not? And why is middleware important, or unimportant, at your organization?

Maybe it’s simply a matter of business folks getting ahead of the IT groups, or vice versa. Or maybe the survey results simply don’t hold water. Whatever it is, I want to hear from you.

I just came across what is definitely the most interesting take on Sun Microsystems’ planned $1 billion acquisition of MySQL, the Swedish open source database management system provider.

In a recent column entitled “The Sun-MySQL deal stinks,” Tech industry columnist John Dvorak says that he believes Oracle founder Larry Ellison had a hand in the deal. Now that seems incredibly funny to me, but could it be true?

In the column, Dvorak rhetorically asks how a company like Sun can afford to pay $1 billion when the MySQL only brings in about $60 million a year in revenue. The answer, he said, is that the Sun couldn’t do it without Oracle’s help.

“I’m close to being convinced that Oracle wanted to buy MySQL to kill the product, but knew that it couldn’t pull off the stunt itself. It would be too obvious, especially to European Union regulators. So it sent in a stooge to do the job,” Dvorak wrote.

The columnist went on to point out that Sun would be a likely candidate for such treachery.

“This deal stinks from top to bottom,” Dvorak wrote. “Sun and Oracle, have been strategic partners for years.”

Oracle will add Captovation — a Minnesota-based vendor of enterprise content management (ECM) strategies — to its ever growing list of acquired software companies.

Oracle — which has acquired well over 30 companies over the last few years, including CRM giants PeopleSoft Corp. and Siebel Systems Inc., and just last week announced plans to acquire middleware pioneer BEA Systems Inc. for $8.5 billion — said Captovation’s software will become a key component of the Oracle Enterprise Content Management Suite. The deal is expected to close next month and financial details were not disclosed.

The company says the new addition will help Oracle ECM customers reduce transactional management costs and simplify the process of complying with federal data retention regulations. 

Oracle has done a lot to expand its content management capabilities in recent years. In 2006, Oracle acquired Stellent Inc. and last October released a new version of Oracle ECM based on Stellent’s technology.

We’ve been looking closely at Oracle’s content management plans. Here’s a list of articles we’ve run that should serve as a primer on what Oracle is doing in the space:

• Oracle’s content management software plan takes shape
• Oracle updates records management system
• Oracle Database 11g and the information management challenge
• Oracle takes on SAP with new GRC suite
• Oracle buys GRC firm LogicalApps

I’d be interested to hear comments and reviews from Oracle ECM customers. What do you think of Oracle’s offering? Does the company need to improve the ECM Suite in any way? Post your comments here and I may contact you for a possible news article on the topic.

Sun Microsystems’ bombshell $1 billion acquisition of open source database management system vendor MySQL has serious implications for Oracle, including the possibility that it may lead to a database price war.  

Sun’s MySQL purchase could boost the open source DBMS’s credibility with large, deep-pocketed organizations, according to IT industry analysts. And if that happens, the big three proprietary database technology vendors — Microsoft, IBM and Oracle — may respond by coming up with new database offerings that can better compete with the low total cost of open source.

Even if a price war doesn’t come to pass, Oracle could still be facing a far more serious competitor in MySQL in the long term. The reason, said one analyst, is because the needs of MySQL’s customer base — which consists mostly of smaller organizations — are growing. As their needs become more complex, so will the MySQL product, and that could mean a more robust DBMS that is better equipped to take on Oracle.

Sun announced plans to buy MySQL last week, just after word hit the street that Oracle will buy middleware pioneer BEA Systems Inc. for about $8.5 billion.

A new Wall Street Journal column points out that both acquisitions come amid increased fear about a possible recession in the U.S. that could hurt technology spending. Large software vendors like Oracle and Sun, the article said, are responding by buying companies that help customer build Web-base software and services — areas that are expected to remain hot regardless of the economy.

Does the Wall Street Journal’s assessment make sense to you? Do you think that a price war is a real possibility? Does MySQL stand a chance of becoming a direct Oracle competitor? Tell us what you think.

Oracle yesterday released its Critical Patch Update fixing vulnerabilities across its database and application product lines. But do Oracle database administrators really care?

The Oracle security update contained patches for 27 flaws, including eight flaws in Oracle Database, and six new security fixes for Oracle Application Server. The most serious database flaws included SQL injection vulnerabilities and an XML DB handling error.

Recent research, however, indicates that many DBAs may not install the new fixes at all. Database security company Sentrigo surveyed 305 DBAs, developers and consultants and found that two thirds had never installed an Oracle critical patch update.

I’d like to hear from some DBAs on this topic. In your experience, is failure to implement these updates truly a common practice? Or, do you think these survey results skewed by the number of consultants and developers responding? Let me know what you think and we’ll hopefully use your comments in an upcoming news story.

Oracle’s acquisition of BEA Systems Inc. is likely to make the merger-happy database and business applications giant the market leader in enterprise middleware, and IBM and SAP are unlikely to take the threat lightly, according to one IT industry expert.

“SAP’s NetWeaver is among the weakest of middleware platforms, despite [the fact that it is part of] one of the strongest ecosystems,” said Ray Wang, a senior business applications market analyst with Cambridge, Mass.-based Forrester Research Inc. “[And] IBM will be threatened by an Oracle dominance in middleware.”

Oracle’s planned $8.5 billion takeover of BEA also highlights just how important middleware is to the big players’ software marketing plans.

“Each vendor’s last mile solutions depend on a strong middleware tool and a community of individuals and solutions providers who build and extend the platform,” Wang said. “[The] acquisition also marginalizes SAP NetWeaver’s role as a standalone middleware solution.”

Wang added that Oracle probably sees BEA’s attractive customer base as a means to further its “vertical ambitions.”

“BEA brings high end custom development clients to the table,” Wang said. “With a blue chip base of the best internal IT shops — those in telecom, financial services, and public sector — Oracle or any acquirer could cement its leadership in middleware over IBM, Microsoft and SAP. These custom development shops represent the best and brightest user base and the most lucrative.”

The bottom line?

“Oracle’s long term merger strategy centers on gaining the biggest installed base around not only mission critical applications, but also middleware,” Wang said. “At the end of the day, it’s also about selling more database and gaining the largest share of the IT wallet. We expect accelerated consolidation along key battle grounds of middleware platforms such as Master Data Management, business intelligence, portals, business process management, and other information management tools. Don’t expect the competitors of BEA to sit still.”

Do Wang’s points make sense? Is Oracle a good fit for BEA? Let us know.  

Larry Ellison, everybody’s favorite yacht-racing former-playboy billionaire, is beloved by journalists looking for a memorable quip . . . or a blog post. Here are a few amusing ones I’ve come across over the years:

On business:

“A corporation’s primary goal is to make money. Government’s primary role is to take a big chunk of that money and give it to others.”

“When you’re the first person whose beliefs are different from what everyone else believes, you’re basically saying, “I’m right, and everyone else is wrong.” That’s a very unpleasant position to be in. It’s at once exhilarating and at the same time an invitation to be attacked.”

“Bill Gates wants people to think he’s Edison, when he’s really Rockefeller. Referring to Gates as the smartest man in America isn’t right… wealth isn’t the same thing as intelligence.”

“You know, in Rome if they did not like somebody, they threw them to the lions in the coliseum. Today we have the media.”

On being filthy rich:

“When I started Oracle, what I wanted to do was to create an environment where I would enjoy working. That was my primary goal. Sure, I wanted to make a living. I certainly never expected to become rich, certainly not this rich. I mean, rich does not even describe this. This is surreal.”

“I think after a certain amount of time I’m going to give almost everything I have to charity. Because what else can you do with it? You can’t spend it, even if you try. I’ve been trying.”

“Being first is more important to me. I have so much more money. Whatever money is, it’s just a method of keeping score now. I mean, I certainly don’t need more money.”

On parenting:

“My son first wanted to go to Stanford, which I thought was O.K. The weather is pretty good, and it’s a fairly short drive to the beach. But it wouldn’t be as good as let’s say, Pepperdine, which is in Malibu. And he said, ‘Dad, what about the education?’ I said, ‘Clearly, I failed as a parent.’”

On giving hope to slackers and hackers:

“I left school without a degree, came to California. I never took a computer science class in my life. I got a job working as a programmer; I was largely self-taught. I just picked up a book and started programming.”

Enjoy, Tim

Our favorite security blogger — Pete Finnigan of the Oracle Security Weblog — today wrote about an instance of data theft that should serve as a valuable life lesson to anyone.

According to a recent article, TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear wrote a newspaper column in which he posted his personal bank account details. Clarkson was hoping to make a point that a recent loss of HMRC data was no big deal.

Well, the joke was on Clarkson when someone unlawfully debited his account and made a donation to a  UK diabetes charity.

According to Finnigan, the lesson here is clear: “Don’t mess with data, especially data that relates to your personal details; there will always be someone who can abuse it.”

SearchOracle.com and its sister site, SearchDataManagement.com, regularly cover and examine the implications of instances of data loss and data theft. Here are some of the best articles we’ve had on the subject thus far:

• Data breach concerns running rampant, survey finds
• Veterans Affairs data theft should be ‘call to arms’
• Marriott breach spotlights internal data security
• Data leakage could be caused by messaging technology