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 27th
Jan 2010
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