Inside the Mind of an Oracle User

A new survey by the Independent Oracle Users Group (IOUG), the association of Oracle technology and database professionals, reveals insights into the leading platforms and applications within the Oracle universe. The IOUG initiated this survey of its members to develop a more comprehensive picture of the rate of technology adoption among Oracle-based enterprises.

The survey reports that today’s Oracle-based enterprises are more than just Oracle databases and applications. Most, in fact, run diverse environments that include a wide range of technologies and solution vendors. And, while Oracle database shops continue to keep up to date with Oracle’s latest tools and platforms, there’s increasing interest in commodity or open-standards based solutions.

Database consolidation tops agendas over the coming year, the survey finds, cited by 35 percent of respondents. This is a particularly urgent challenge, as the survey confirms that along with Oracle environments, 93 percent of respondents also run multiple, non-Oracle databases. Almost half, 47 percent, report that they run more than 20 Oracle databases at their sites.

According to the survey, another 34 percent are also planning database migrations, likely from Oracle 9i – the current leader – to 10g. Server consolidation is also a top priority among respondents, cited by 27 percent. The survey finds that Linux may take the top spot away from Sun Solaris over the coming year as the reigning OS platform in Oracle shops. Also among the top five priorities is moving to a service-oriented architecture, which is underway at 26 percent of the enterprises surveyed. Twenty-five percent are also focusing on improving their data storage resources.

The IOUG survey covers the multiple layers of the technology stack:

* Databases: Oracle 9i is still the dominant database, but just about all respondents either have moved or expect to move to Oracle 10g over the next year. Development tools and languages: Oracle development tools are the tools of choice; SQL and PL/SQL are the dominant languages used in database application development.

* Operating systems and infrastructure: Sun Solaris is the leading Oracle deployment platform, but respondents indicate they are likely to be moving away from Solaris and toward Linux. Use of Windows to support Oracle environments will also see a decrease over the coming year. Middleware: Oracle Application Server is the middleware of choice; and the Fusion Middleware suite is expected to gain traction over the coming year.

* Analytical tools: The analytical/BI tools space is fragmented within the Oracle market, with no single vendor taking a substantial lead. Leading this space are Oracle’s own analytical tools, which are tied with those offered by Business Objects. Coming in at third place are Cognos’ set of BI applications.

* Enterprise applications: PeopleSoft is the leading enterprise package at Oracle sites. Almost one out of four respondents currently run PeopleSoft applications, up from 2001. However, close to a third of these users do not know how they will proceed in the wake of Oracle’s acquisition of the ERP vendor.

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