MSI-ECS Hosts Oracle Database Audit And Database Vault Seminar

To assist businesses seeking to further mitigate security risks, satisfy compliance regulations, and protect their enterprise databases, MSI-ECS organized a seminar to select banks and insurance companies featuring Oracle Database Audit and Database Vault.

Oracle Audit Vault offered organizations a centralized auditing and activity monitoring solution for their Oracle and third party databases. Audit data is consolidated automatically into a secure, centralized repository built using Oracle's proven data warehousing software, and analyzed in real-time against enterprise-defined policies. Any unauthorized activities can be detected immediately using Oracle Audit Vault's alerts dashboard. Also, Oracle Audit Vault can be used to monitor privileged user activities as well as privileged user controls enforced by Oracle Database Vault, the industry's only native solution for real-time enforcement of preventive database controls. By using Oracle Audit Vault, Oracle Database Vault customers are further assured of the integrity of their preventive controls.

On the other hand, Oracle Database Vault is the industry's leading database security solution for addressing regulatory compliance and concerns over the insider threat. Oracle Database Vault helps address access control requirements associated with regulations such as PCI and Sarbanes-Oxley. Oracle Database Vault is available for Oracle Database 9i Release 2, Oracle Database 10g Release 2 and Oracle Database 11g Release 1. Oracle Database Vault has been validated with Oracle PeopleSoft Applications. Validation with additional applications, including Oracle E-Business Suite and Siebel, is currently underway. Using Oracle Database Vault, highly privileged database users can be prevented from accessing application data. In addition, access to applications, databases and data can be tightly controlled based on such variables as time of day, IP address or subnet. In summary, Oracle Database Vault provides the flexible, transparent and highly adaptable security controls required in today's global economy. For more information, about Oracle's business solutions, visit www.oracle.com.

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Oracle expected to post gains despite slump

Oracle Corp. is expected to post small gains in profit and sales when it reports fiscal third-quarter results next week, despite concern about the company's ability to drum up business amid a generally bleak winter for the high-tech industry.

Analysts on average estimate Oracle will post earnings excluding special items of 32 cents a share for the three-month period ended in February, on $5.47 billion in revenue, according to FactSet Research. That compares to earnings excluding special items of 30 cents a share and $5.35 billion in revenue in the same period year earlier.

In December, Oracle itself forecast earnings for the quarter between 31 and 33 cents a share and revenue growth between 1% and 4%, while attributing the results to a strengthening U.S. dollar likely to impact foreign sales.

Wall Street is bracing for the worst. Shares of Oracle have slumped more than 13% in the last month. The stock closed trading Thursday up nearly 2% at $15.63.

In recent weeks, a number of analysts have expressed concern that Oracle's sales of new software licenses - a key metric that reflects the company's ability to draw in new customers - have been undercut by the downturn.

Earlier this month, one analyst went so far as to predict the worst quarter for Oracle since the early 1990s. "The tone of the commentary from our industry sources regarding new license revenue is the worst we have ever heard," wrote Patrick Walravens of JMP Securities in a report, in which he scaled back his earnings estimates for the company.

Still, a number of analysts also point to the company's dependable stream of maintenance revenue from existing customers, while noting that it may well emerge from the downturn in a stronger position.

"The recent sell-off" in Oracle shares is "overdone," Barclays Capital analyst Israel Hernandez wrote in a note to clients earlier this week. While Hernandez said his research points to a "weak" third quarter for the company, particularly for its sales of applications software, it wasn't bad enough "to break [the] stock."

"Oracle remains well-positioned to consolidate share through [the] downturn," Hernandez wrote, though he lowered his third-quarter estimate for earnings excluding special items to 32 cents a share from 33, and revenue to $5.3 billion from $5.5 billion.
Oracle, which originated as a purveyor of database software, has expanded in recent years through a series of acquisitions to also become a powerhouse in business applications software.
That's drawn it into more direct competition with German rival SAP AG.

In January, SAP reported a 13% gain in fourth-quarter profit for the period ended in December, though it also announced it would be cutting over 3,000 jobs this year in an effort to lower costs. See related story on SAP's quarterly earnings.
Oracle has continued to buy other companies during the economic downturn. Last month, it snapped up closely-held mValent Inc. in an effort to bolster its applications business.

Author: John Letzing @ www.marketwatch.com

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Terrazzo Group makes Oracle pay

Terrazzo Management today announced having closed their annual accounts in record time, how the implementation of Oracle Applications had made the administration of their companies so much easier, with greater transparency, more effective controls and with smoother automation of their business processes.

Lave Malhotra, the General Manager of Terrazzo Group, said, 'Today, all our systems are now fully integrated enabling us to view information across the entire organisation. This means sharing of information is now real-time allowing our staff to reduce costs by working smarter. It also allows our management to track the progress of Terrazzo Group companies real-time and make decisions that will further improve the Group's diverse operations leading to possibly faster growth and greater success then what it has already achieved to date.'

'The Oracle implementation undertaken by Intelligent Corporate Solutions (ICS) has been a real success story, right from the go ICS has gone to great lengths to ensure the ERP implementation delivers tangible benefits that were identified at the initial stage of the project. The tangible benefits can now be seen,' he added.
Shumon Zaman, CEO of ICS, commented:

'At a time when the Global Economy is shrinking and doing business becomes harder. Companies that have access to real time information will be better informed and as a result will be able to make the necessary adjustments to their businesses and take advantage of the many opportunities that arise during a down-turn.'



He added, 'I am proud to say our association with the Terrazzo Group and its team, lead by some excellent and talented individuals has been one of mutual respect and high achievement. The speed and accuracy of the implementation has been a true inspiration for others to emulate.'

Terrazzo Group have now also awarded ICS with further implementations to ensure all their businesses are fully integrated with Oracle ERP.

Source: www.ameinfo.com

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