Oracle prepping broad-based social-networking suite

Oracle is developing an enterprise social-networking suite that employs technologies initially developed for internal use by the Oracle Asia Research and Development Center, according to a pair of official company documents.

The technology, titled Oracle Social Suite, has apparently not been formally announced by Oracle. It combines a wide range of social-networking features, according to an internal case study produced in September.

They range from the basics -- such as a blog system that uses Movable Type as a front end; bookmarking; tagging; and aggregated information feeds -- to more conceptual ideas, like Oracle Social Graph, which provides a visual map of the connections between users and content.

The suite also includes OpenSocial Container, which enables users to plug in applets that meet Google's OpenSocial standard.

An architectural rendering of the suite depicts it as a layer that sits on top of Oracle's database, middleware and search technologies, culminating in a top layer of "social-enabled" enterprise applications.

Oracle has already moved in this direction through its Social CRM (customer relationship management) applications, but the company is apparently hoping to make social technologies more pervasive.

The Social Suite project dates back several years at OARDC, according to the documents.

OARDC is a distributed division, with hundreds of employees working in nine cities and seven countries, across multiple time zones. Growing frustrated with sprawling e-mail volumes, repetitive meetings and high travel expenses, OARDC began adopting social tools, according to the documents.

The effort eventually became a beta project code-named "Shiji." Over time, the technology was pushed out to other Oracle business units, the documents state.

It is not clear when or if the Social Suite will become a commercially available product. Neither document provides a release date, although one states that Oracle is "actively recruiting" proof-of-concept customers in Japan.

Oracle may be wise to test the commercial waters slowly, given the saturation level in the social-networking market. Scores of companies are selling platforms for enterprise and outward-facing use, and not all are making it. An Intel-backed product called SuiteTwo, announced in 2006 to great fanfare, is being phased out.

Oracle's suite may have the most appeal for Oracle-centric shops, since it is built on top of many Oracle products.

Social Suite will also have to find a comfortable role alongside technologies like Beehive, Oracle's secure messaging and collaboration platform.

An Oracle spokeswoman could not immediately provide additional comment.

Author: Chris Kanaracus @ IDG News Service

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SAP, Oracle Fail to Settle Copyright Suit Over Code

SAP AG, the world’s largest maker of business-management software, failed to reach a settlement in Oracle Corp.’s $1 billion copyright lawsuit accusing it of stealing software code.

A two-hour settlement conference yesterday in federal court in San Francisco ended without an agreement, according to a court filing today in the two-year-old lawsuit. Another settlement conference is scheduled for Nov. 30. Settlement talks last year were unsuccessful.

Oracle, based in Redwood City, California, sued SAP in 2007 alleging it stole copyrighted software codes and support documents to bolster a service for customers that use Oracle software and eventually switch them to SAP products. Oracle has said it may seek as much as $1 billion in damages. A trial is scheduled for February 2010.

SAP, based in Walldorf, Germany, said in 2007 that it had made “inappropriate” downloads of Oracle’s support documents. The company denied it had access to Oracle’s intellectual property and said its Byran, Texas-based TomorrowNow unit had a right to make use of Oracle’s Customer Connection Web site and download support materials on behalf of its customers.

SAP said in court filings that it favors a settlement.

Kim Pineda, an Oracle spokeswoman, and Saswato Das, an SAP spokesman, didn’t immediately return voice-mail messages seeking comment.

The case is Oracle Corp. v. SAP AG, 07-01658, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

To contact the reporter on this story: Karen Gullo in San Francisco federal court at kgullo@bloomberg.net.

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NouvEON Hires Former Oracle Director of Sales

NouvEON announced today the appointment of Steve DeSutter as director of sales. He begins with NouvEON on Feb. 23.

DeSutter brings a strong and unique combination of leadership, management and sales capital experience to NouvEON at a time when the firm is experiencing rapid growth. For the past four years, he has served as the director of North America strategic accounts for Oracle Corp. In this role, DeSutter was a member of the executive management team, delivered revenue, software integration development alternatives, and marketing leverage through high-level sales and alliance partnerships. In addition to his leadership role at Oracle, he was responsible for executing complex enterprise deal strategies and coaching executive sales and alliance teams.
In his new role at NouvEON, DeSutter will further position the company to meet future goals.

He will be an integral part of the senior leadership team, and will be responsible for providing leadership in sales, coaching the sales team and standardizing sales processes.

"This was not an easy role to fill," says President and CEO of NouvEON, T.J. Eberle. "Our requirements were tough in a market where outstanding, successful candidates in sales leadership roles seemed to be a needle in a haystack. I am delighted with the choice we made. Steve is an important addition to our team."

DeSutter has more than 27 years of experience in leadership roles within national and global organizations including Apple Inc., Global Logistics Technologies and Enovia Corp. He began his career in 1982 with Apple Inc. While at Apple Inc., he led the company's successful penetration of UNIX into the enterprise telecommunications market. Desutter also has strong international experience. He served as international sales director for Enovia Corp., where he worked across Europe and the U.S. to lead Enovia's sales initiatives. DeSutter has also been a part of several start-ups where he led sales force hiring and development.
"This is a fantastic opportunity to join a high growth consulting company," says DeSutter. "It is my goal to help NouvEON continue rapid growth and expansion."
DeSutter received his undergraduate degree in industrial engineering from the University of South Florida.

About NouvEON
NouvEON is a regional business and technology consulting firm that specializes in managing and delivering high-value solutions to mid-market and Fortune 1000 companies throughout the Southeast. Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, NouvEON represents a "New Era" in consulting services. In this "New Era", NouvEON provides an excellent Cost to Quality ratio by combining its proprietary LIFT™ model (Local accountability, Industry knowledge, Flexible delivery and Technology Business Solutions) with its Employee Owned Network (EON™) of experienced and highly qualified business professionals. The result: NouvEON value-efficient models have resulted in a 100% referenceable client base.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com

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