Oracle on Thursday formally introduced a data integration lineup capable of handling big-data loads in heterogeneous environments with real-time performance -- a combination that's increasingly in demand.
Oracle's new portfolio includes two key products: Oracle GoldenGate 11g, the new name for the products acquired along with GoldenGate last year, and Oracle Data Integrator 11g, the latest upgrade of technologies gained through the 2007 acquisition of Sunopsis. The products remain distinct, but the work behind the latest release involved more than simple rebranding.
The strength of the GoldenGate technology is change data capture (CDC) for real-time updating. In contrast to conventional batch-oriented techniques, and the latency they entail, CDC monitors changes in source systems at the log level and then instantly applies changes in data to target systems.
Real-time-oriented businesses such as telcos and online retailers are well represented among GoldenGate's customer base.
CDC technologies aren't typically used for heavy-duty data transformation work such as aggregation. But that's where Oracle Data Integration 11g (ODI) comes in. ODI is distinguished from conventional extract, transform and load tools in that it offers the alternative extract, load and transform (EL-T) approach.
ETL tools handle all three steps on separate data integration servers. The EL-T approach moves processing-intensive transformation into the target database, where it can be done much more quickly (in much the same way that in-database analytic processing offers performance advantages).
By combining CDC and EL-T, companies can keep pace with high-volume operational workloads while also handling required transformations in near real time. Oracle executives said it's not uncommon for companies seeking these technologies to process more than 50 gigabytes per hour.
Oracle GoldenGate 11g and Oracle Data Integration 11g still have separate runtime environments, but Oracle has made it easier to use the two together by making it possible to handle configuration and administration through the ODI user interface. Other vendors offer CDC and EL-T technologies, but Oracle says it's unique in integrating the two to meet emerging real-time demands.
Oracle has also added certified GoldenGate integrations with Oracle applications including Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, Siebel and JD Edwards. But the company insists that the tool continues to support a wide range of third-party applications (including SAP) and competitive databases (including Microsoft SQL Server, IBM DB2, Teradata, Netezza and others).
Filling out the list of 11g upgrades now shipping, Oracle has also released Oracle Data Quality for Data Integrator 11g and Oracle Data Profiling 11g on Thursday. Jointly developed with Trillium, these two data quality products were introduced in 2007, and they fill out Oracle's data integration portfolio.
