Oracle to buy ID theft detection company Bharosa

Acquisition will extend Oracle's Identity Management capabilities and beef up its growing identity management operation. While most of Oracle's recent purchases have focused on growing its applications business, the vendor's latest proposed purchase will beef up its growing identity management operation.

Oracle announced Wednesday that it has agreed to buy Bharosa, a provider of software to help detect online identity theft and fraud. The companies didn't reveal the financial details of the acquisition, which is expected to close next month.

"The transaction will extend Oracle's Identity Management capabilities by adding proactive real time risk-analysis, strong authentication and fraud prevention," Hasan Rizvi, vice president, identity management and security products at Oracle, wrote in a letter to customers.

Identity Management is part of Oracle's Fusion middleware.

Bharosa has two main products -- Tracker, antifraud software that works by verifying a variety of factors to confirm identity, and Authenticator, a suite of secure authentication software, which works with Web browsers to protect a range of sensitive information such as passwords from malicious attacks. Once the purchase is completed, Oracle plans to add some of Bharosa's Tracker and Authenticator software to its existing online single sign-on (SSO) and Web-based authorization security products. The intention is to expand the use of Oracle's identity management software outside of an enterprise to safely encompass external users. At the same time, Oracle committed to continue to make Bharosa's software available on a stand-alone basis and to offer integrations with non-Oracle databases and applications as well as its own products.

Bharosa has more than 30 customers for its real-time fraud detection and multifactor online authentication enterprise security software. Consumer Web sites using Bharosa's technologies include Wells Fargo and National City. In total, the company estimates its software protects 27 million users. Other Bharosa customers are AudioTel, a supplier of software to banks, and I-flex solutions, an Indian financial services software vendor and a majority-owned Oracle subsidiary.

Founded in 2003, privately held Bharosa has its headquarters in Santa Clara, Calif. The company's name means "trust" in Hindi.

Oracle was previously busy on the identity management front in 2005 buying up three companies -- Oblix, OctetString, and Thor -- for their technologies, which the vendor then integrated into its security offerings.

Author: China Martens

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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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