Support, software quality and cost will be the among main
issues discussed at the annual conference of the UK Oracle User
group in Birmingham next week (1 November).
Ronan Miles, chairman of the UK Oracle User Group, spoke to
Computer Weekly about the challenges users face and emerging themes
ahead of the publication of the organisation's annual user survey.
The research aims to identify users' concerns with Oracle, where
the company has improved and what else users would like it to
do.
Miles said his members were keen to get an insight into Oracle's
strategy and product roadmap, particularly into the supplier's
plans for the next release of its enterprise applications suites
(Oracle 11i).
Oracle User Group members needed more information on Oracle's grid
strategy to assess whether grid computing can be applied within
their own datacentres, he added.
Users will also want more clarity on the company's strategy for
development tools and languages. Miles said users were concerned
about the future of the Oracle Designer/Developer tools suites.
In particular he said Oracle users were still unsure about whether
to trust Java or adopt Microsoft's .net alternative. He believed
Oracle's biggest challenge would be convincing existing users to
migrate to the J2EE platform.
Miles said user group members would be continuing their push for
Oracle to reduce the cost of running and maintaining its products.