Google Maps Gets Used For Oracle's Field Service

The word “oracle” has a number of definitions, and they generally relate to knowledge provided by one or more deities - this would, in theory, be some solid intel. But the Oracle company has recently turned to Google in order to get people on the correct path.

I mean that in a literal sense; as acknowledged in a press release, “Oracle today announced the integration of Google Maps for Enterprise mapping service with Oracle Field Service, giving companies new tools to help improve customer service, maximize resource utilization and increase operational efficiencies.”

So technicians will always be on time, company vehicles will save hundreds of gallons of gas, and prices everywhere will plummet! Or not. But there may be slight improvements in all of these areas, and at the very least, the deal has given both Google and Oracle some extra exposure.

“We are pleased to see the innovative ways in which Oracle is using Google Maps for Enterprise to deliver geo-based capabilities that are both powerful and easy-to-use,” said Noah Doyle, the product manager of Google Maps for Enterprise, in the release.Mike Betzer, Oracle’s Vice President of CRM Product strategy, expanded on those sentiments - and mentioned a buzzword or two. “By integrating Google Maps for Enterprise, Oracle Field Service delivers on the promise of an extended Service Oriented Architecture and Web 2.0 collaboration,” he stated. “Oracle CRM users will derive tremendous business value through advanced map views and interactions; at the same time receiving a world-class user experience through the Google Maps User Interface.”

Hey, there - maybe the Google-Oracle development will save time, gas, and money, and also not stress the guy who’s running the whole show.

Hat tip to China Martens of the IDG News Service.

Author: Doug Caverly

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Q&A with Oracle's Charles Phillips -- Putting The Pieces In Place

Computer Reseller News Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) CMP Channel Senior Editor Rick Whiting spoke with Oracle President Charles Phillips in an exclusive interview about Oracle's new SMB initiative. Here are excerpts from that discussion:

CRN: Why undertake this push now with Oracle's Technology products into SMB markets?

Phillips: We've finally got the ease-of-use and packaging right. Before, the focus was on enterprise capabilities like scalability. Now [the database] is a lot easier to install and configure. That's made it a lot easier for the midmarket. Another factor is that some distributors and resellers came to Oracle because they wanted a database on Linux. We're basically the main game in Linux. So the pieces are in place. The number of resellers and, hopefully, customers that can access the product has gone up substantially.

CRN: What are the strengths and weaknesses of Oracle's products in SMB markets?

Phillips: A strength is that customers can start out with [the SMB version of] the product and grow into the enterprise version. The ISV base is unmatched. And we're on every platform everybody cares about. Our only challenge now is reaching more customers via distribution and resellers.CRN: How much of your competition in databases comes from Microsoft?

Phillips: We don't see Microsoft in the enterprise space. They're more focused on competing with Google and building Xboxes. On the very low end, in organizations with 300 employees or less, they have the brand name and a reputation for being easier to use. There is the impression that Oracle is harder to use and higher priced. Our challenge is to re-educate the reseller.

CRN: Why so much emphasis on the channel for this initiative?

Phillips: It's just not a market that's well-suited for a direct-sales force. I think a lot of resellers would like an alternative to Microsoft-certainly the distributors have told us that. Over 80 percent of [Oracle Database] Standard Edition One goes through the channel and that's increasing.

CRN: What other products could be added to the VAD Remarketer program?

Phillips: We have a broad family of products. We have in-memory and embedded databases. There's a lot going on in [Fusion] middleware that could be brought down to SMB markets. And there are other things coming.

CRN: Why establish the new Oracle SMB Technology Program Office?

Phillips: You need a program office to look at this from the customer perspective and to provide focus and accountability. We needed it because with this program we needed to change processes, licensing and packaging, and there are legal and financial aspects to consider.

Source: www.crn.com

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Oracle has increased its offer price for an additional stake in i-Flex

Oracle has increased the price it is willing to pay for an additional stake in i-Flex solutions, a vendor of financial software in Mumbai, India.

The move follows a period of sharp increases in company valuations on India's stock market, and Oracle may have felt that increasing its offer was necessary to make its offer more attractive for i-flex shareholders, analysts said.

Oracle, of California, said Thursday said it has increased its offer price to 2,100 Indian rupees (AU$60) per share, including interest. The company also said that it has raised by about 35 percent the number of shares it has agreed to buy in the pending open offer to i-flex shareholders.

The new open offer price is a 42 percent premium to the 1,475 rupees per share that Oracle first offered, and a 20 per cent premium to i-flex's closing stock price on Thursday of 1,751 rupees.

Indian stock markets are booming, and investor expectations are high, said a financial analyst who declined to be named. Oracle may have not found sufficient support for the offer at its earlier price, he said. The price of i-flex's shares has risen by over 52 percent in the last six months. Oracle informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in September that it intended to acquire an additional 20 percent of the equity of i-flex. It already holds a 55 percent stake in the company. Oracle would be paying about $531 million for the additional stake. Oracle subsequently delayed the open date of the offer from Nov. 6 to Dec. 4.

In an statement to the BSE on Friday, i-flex said that Oracle had increased the number of shares it wanted to purchase in the open offer from the earlier 16.63 million to 28.39 million, representing 34.14 percent of the emerging voting capital. An i-flex spokeswoman declined to comment on the new offer.

Oracle will be paying about $1.7 billion for the additional equity if its offer sails through. The open offer closes on Dec. 23.

Author: John Ribeiro

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