Oracle Rebrands Middleware As Fusion

Oracle is slapping a new "Fusion" moniker on its array of middleware and development tools.

"Oracle Fusion Middleware" to be formally announced Monday, will be the umbrella brand for some 32 products including Oracle's J2EE server, portal, data integration, application development, business intelligence, identity management, and collaboration offerings, said Rick Schultz, vice president of product marketing for middleware.

The products will also still carry their usual version designation, as in Application Server 10g, he added.

The group is borrowing the "fusion" moniker that has already been applied to a proposed next-generation applications that would meld the best features and functions of the current Oracle, PeopleSoft and JD Edwards portfolio.

Schultz also sketched in some more details of when Oracle will add integration between its middleware and its newly acquired applications from PeopleSoft and JD Edwards.

"When we acquired PeopleSoft and JD Edwards, their apps worked only on our competitors' middleware exclusively. We're committed to continuing that support on whatever middleware but it's natural that customers in this installed base have asked when Oracle middleware products will support them," Schultz said.

Oracle plans to roll out PeopleSoft integration in two phases starting in the second quarter of 2005 with certification for Oracle's BPEL process manager its LDAP directory servers. The second phase, slated for the fourth quarter of 2005, will add planned certification of its J2EE server, portal server and integration server, the rest of its identity management technology. All of this integration pertains to PeopleSoft Enterprise Versions 8.4, 8.8, and 8.9, he said.

For JD Edwards there is an analogous two-phase rollout planned. The first, due in the third quarter, will see Oracle's J2EE server, portal server, identity management and BPEL process manager certified for JD Edwards. The remaining components will be certified in the first quarter of 2006, he said.

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