Oracle will boost MySQL, release Cloud Office suite

Oracle will boost MySQL, release Cloud Office suite

After taking over Sun, Oracle also says it will invest in OpenOffice

Computerworld -  Oracle Corp. today promised to aggressively push its newly acquired MySQL open-source database, rather than kill it.

Oracle also plans to continued to invest in and maintain the independence of OpenOffice.org, the longtime Microsoft Office challenger from Sun Microsystems Inc., but it will also launch a separate cloud productivity suite that's similar to Google Docs, according to Chief Corporate Architect Edward Screven.

Many users feared that Oracle would bury MySQL, a lightweight database that's gaining acceptance in corporate enterprises after starting out as a favorite of Web start-ups, to avoid cannibalizing its flagship Oracle Database.

But Screven said Oracle plans to keep MySQL's sales team independent while improving MySQL's code, support and compatibility with other Oracle apps.

Screven will oversee MySQL, OpenOffice.org and other open-source apps in Oracle's Open-Source Software division.

During a webcast briefing today, Screven and other Oracle executives said the company's acquisition of Sun's many top-notch technologies will allow the combined company to offer "complete, open, integrated systems." That vow appears to be a challenge to IBM, which prior to the Oracle-Sun combination, was considered the largest proponent of enterprise use of open-source technologies.

Here's a look at some of the highlights of today's presentation:

Java: Oracle plans to "extend and enhance the reach of Java," according to Thomas Kurian, an executive vice president. This will be achieved by integrating and simplifying the Java platform runtime -- specifically, delivering Version 7 of the Java Standard Edition client for desktop PCs with a variety of improvements, while making the mobile version, Java ME, compatible with the desktop version to lessen work for programmers.

Kurian also vowed to make it easier for Web developers using JavaScript to work with Java. These moves, he said, will all help revitalize the Java developer community, which Kurian said numbers 10 million.

Finally, The JavaOne show will remain independent, but it will now take place during the Oracle OpenWorld conference, which is scheduled to be held in San Francisco in September.

OpenOffice.org: OpenOffice.org will be managed as an independent business unit, Screven said, with Sun's development and support teams retained. Oracle will continue to support the free community edition of OpenOffice.org. However, Oracle also plans to deliver a cloud offering called Oracle Cloud Office, which Screven said had been under development for a while. Screven did not comment on the fate of StarOffice, the paid, supported version of OpenOffice.org that competes with IBM's own OpenOffice.org-based Lotus Symphony.

Solaris: Sun open-sourced its longtime server operating system in 2005. John Fowler, a former Sun executive who now serves as executive vice president of hardware engineering at Oracle, said the company plans to increase investment in Solaris so that it, among other things, will be able to scale to run thousands of CPU threads simultaneously and handle multiple terabytes of memory.

Linux: Oracle has thousands of customers for Unbreakable Linux, its supported version of Red Hat Linux, Screven said. Oracle will now invest in both Linux and Solaris.

Eclipse: Regarding the open-source software development environment, Kurian said: "Oracle will continue to invest ... we are a leading contributor."                          

By Eric Lai, on 27^th Jan 2010

Windows 7 Drives Record Profit For Microsoft

Better-than-expected growth in Microsoft's consumer business, and strong Windows 7 demand, helped the software giant break a string of disappointing quarterly results.

For Microsoft's fiscal second quarter ended December 31, revenue jumped 14 percent to just over $19 billion and profit rose 60 percent to $6.6 billion. Earnings per share leapt 57 percent to 74 cents, far outpacing Wall Street analysts' expectation of 59 cents per share.

In Microsoft's earnings call, newly anointed CFO Peter Klein, who took over last month for the departed Chris Liddell, said Microsoft sold roughly 60 million Windows 7 licenses during the first half of its fiscal 2010 year. Consumer SKUs such as Windows 7 Home Premium helped drive a 35 percent year-on-year increase in Windows licensing revenue during Q2, according to Klein.

"It was an exceptional quarter for the Windows division," Klein said in the call.

Netbooks, which have been the bane of Microsoft's existence because of their propensity to eat away at Microsoft's Windows Client division revenue, are starting to look like less of a threat. Klein estimated that netbooks currently account for about 11 percent of the PC market, a number that is roughly flat year on year.

Microsoft is trying to become more consumer oriented and the Q2 results suggest it has made some progress in this area. But Microsoft, of course, has traditionally made most of its money from business customers, and its outlook in this regard is decidedly less rosy. Klein admitted that enterprise spending still hasn't seen any kind of meaningful uptick that would indicate a recovery is imminent.

The server hardware market was stronger than expected during the quarter, and customer adoption of Windows Server 2008 R2, as well as Microsoft's virtualization and management offerings, continued to grow during the quarter, Klein said. But the Microsoft Business Division saw revenue drop 3 percent due to the weak IT spending environment. And annuity licensing revenue, which Microsoft derives from volume licensing agreements, was also flat year-on-year.

Klein said Enterprise Agreement sales cycles are starting to lengthen and that overall, Microsoft's unearned revenue, much of which comes from volume licensing, was down slightly for the year, he said.

This is important because annuity licensing has acted as a cushion for Microsoft's revenue in the past. Last July, Bob Muglia, president of Microsoft's Server and Tools division, acknowledged this in a meeting with financial analysts.

"What you have in essence is a shock absorber to the business," Muglia told financial analysts last July.

Elsewhere, Microsoft's Entertainment and Devices division saw revenue fall 11 percent, and Online Services division revenue dropped 5 percent, including a 2 percent drop in online advertising. Microsoft was quick to point out that Bing has gained market share in each of the 7 months since its launch, but has been impacted by declining display advertising rates in international markets.

While it's no doubt encouraging to Microsoft executives to see the Windows cash cow back on its feet, the questions about its enterprise business have probably stifled any champagne cork popping in Redmond. With Microsoft set to launch Windows Azure as a paid service next week, all eyes will be on the Server and Tools division in next quarter's earnings call.

By Kevin McLaughlin, ChannelWeb

  Windows 7 is the next version of Windows client operating system from Microsoft built on the core fundamentals of Windows Vista. Windows 7 offers greater reliability and performance with an improvement in the Security features that were already available in Windows Vista. Windows 7 offers improved navigation, a new taskbar and a streamlined UI so that common tasks done in Windows are done easier and more quickly. These are some of the topics that will be demonstrated in the seminar: New Taskbar, Libraries, Ribbon, Background Processes-Services and Tasks, Multi-Touch.