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SaaS will be the norm. Pretty much all systems are already available in this format and most hotels are very comfortable using them - except for PMS. Sometimes this is for psychological reasons of personal comfort with having the data on premise; sometimes there's a genuine difficulty in obtaining reliable, cost-effective communications links. Nonetheless, I am certain this objection will fade over time. Oracle in particular has announced that it will only sell the new version 9 of Opera on a remotely hosted basis, setting the tone for the rest of the industry. Less customization. The age of expecting major PMS vendors to agree to significant enhancements for individual hotels is over. The smaller vendors will probably continue to do so, but it's not feasible for the larger ones. We don't expect Microsoft or Apple to customize their systems for us when we're ready to buy something new, we just adapt to what they offer. The same's true for Oracle, Infor and the other major PMS vendors; their systems are powerful and flexible enough to be useful in most situations. If you want something very specific you'll always be able to find a vendor who'll customize its system for you, just as you can run your own PC on Linux configured just the way you want it, but mainstream will be good enough for most.

The September edition of IEEE Smart Grid includes the following bylined article by Oracle Utilities' Brad Williams highlighting the benefits of leveraging information architecture for data mining and analytics for increased grid investment value.

The September edition of IEEE Smart Grid includes the following bylined article by Oracle Utilities' Brad Williams highlighting the benefits of leveraging information architecture for data mining and analytics for increased grid investment value. The article also discusses the results from Oracle's recent "Big Data, Bigger Opportunities" study which gauged perceptions regarding the business impact of "big data" amongst utilities with smart meter programs in place. The article includes the positive findings from the survey - including a five year improvement plan - but notes that there is still room for significant improvements in effective data management. The article includes a comment from Oracle Utilities' Rodger Smith, noting that utilities will benefit from establishing enterprise information strategies, and from investing in the systems and people needed to make better business decisions.

For its part, Oracle Hospitality will build on the foundation that Micros established in the hotel and F&B industries. Mike Webster, SVP and general manager, Oracle Retail and Hospitality, told Hotel Business that the integration has been going quite well (Oracle acquired Micros in 2014), and that combining the companies into Oracle Hospitality will allow customers to get the best of both worlds: "We're preserving the intimacy and domain expertise that Micros had built and combining that with the scale and global reach of Oracle." Oracle's platform for the hospitality industry offers comprehensive and integrated software, cloud offerings and hardware solutions for hotels, casinos, table and quick-service restaurants, sports and entertainment venues, and cruise operations from small independents to large global chains. Webster noted that the company has several short-term priorities: a seamless transition for customers, an organizational structure based on business segments; and integration of Micros with Oracle's technology.

For its part, Oracle Hospitality will build on the foundation that Micros established in the hotel and F&B industries. Mike Webster, SVP and general manager, Oracle Retail and Hospitality, told Hotel Business that the integration has been going quite well (Oracle acquired Micros in 2014), and that combining the companies into Oracle Hospitality will allow customers to get the best of both worlds: "We're preserving the intimacy and domain expertise that Micros had built and combining that with the scale and global reach of Oracle." Oracle's platform for the hospitality industry offers comprehensive and integrated software, cloud offerings and hardware solutions for hotels, casinos, table and quick-service restaurants, sports and entertainment venues, and cruise operations from small independents to large global chains. Webster noted that the company has several short-term priorities: a seamless transition for customers, an organizational structure based on business segments; and integration of Micros with Oracle's technology.

Highlighting Oracle's recent release of a new version of Oracle Enterprise pack for Eclipse. The article notes that the Oracle Enterprise Pack for Eclipse 11gR1 is a free set of Eclipse-based plugins for developers building Java EE, Java Web, Web Service, Spring and Oracle ADF applications for the Oracle Fusion Middleware platform.

The company plans to serve the hotel, restaurant, cruise and casino industries. Oracle Corp. is setting up a division for hospitality technology services that will serve the hotel, restaurant, cruise and casino industries. Oracle will provide software, hardware and cloud storage for point-of-sale systems, and build out broader mobile-device technology for hospitality staff. The company is looking to make the most of last year's acquisition of point-of-sale system provider Micros Systems. Micros has more than 330,000 hospitality customers across 180 countries.

The company plans to serve the hotel, restaurant, cruise and casino industries. Oracle Corp. is setting up a division for hospitality technology services that will serve the hotel, restaurant, cruise and casino industries. Oracle will provide software, hardware and cloud storage for point-of-sale systems, and build out broader mobile-device technology for hospitality staff. The company is looking to make the most of last year's acquisition of point-of-sale system provider Micros Systems. Micros has more than 330,000 hospitality customers across 180 countries.

The Aug. 3 edition of FCW includes an article highlighting the Information Technology Alliance for Public Sector's recommendations for improving Federal cybersecurity. The article notes that the Obama administration turned to industry experts from technology firms, including Oracle, for ideas and feedback.

The Aug. 3 edition of FCW includes an article highlighting the Information Technology Alliance for Public Sector's recommendations for improving Federal cybersecurity. The article notes that the Obama administration turned to industry experts from technology firms, including Oracle, for ideas and feedback.

Vendor eyes multi-channel as it builds cloud portfolio. Oracle is hitting retailers with a flood of enterprise software as it seeks to establish itself as a key cloud player in the market. The software vendor will launch six products covering critical ecommerce, customer engagement, order management, order fulfilment, loss prevention, and brand compliance. Jill Puleri, SVP and GM at Oracle Retail, said: "Retailers looking for agility, performance, and cost predictability are increasingly considering the cloud. "The new Oracle Retail Cloud Services help eliminate the time and cost constraints that too often hamper retailers' ability to respond to new opportunities for growth." Many of the products are dedicated to enabling multi-channel operations, a focus for retailers seeking to integrate their online and offline business amid rising customer expectations.

Vendor eyes multi-channel as it builds cloud portfolio. Oracle is hitting retailers with a flood of enterprise software as it seeks to establish itself as a key cloud player in the market. The software vendor will launch six products covering critical ecommerce, customer engagement, order management, order fulfilment, loss prevention, and brand compliance. Jill Puleri, SVP and GM at Oracle Retail, said: "Retailers looking for agility, performance, and cost predictability are increasingly considering the cloud. "The new Oracle Retail Cloud Services help eliminate the time and cost constraints that too often hamper retailers' ability to respond to new opportunities for growth." Many of the products are dedicated to enabling multi-channel operations, a focus for retailers seeking to integrate their online and offline business amid rising customer expectations.

The November 7 issue of Campus Technology includes an article highlighting the announcement that University of Akron in Ohio began implementing Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition and Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise Performance Management, both hosted on Oracle Cloud Solutions for Education and Research. The article notes that the new technology is part of the university's Vision 2020 strategic plan to increase enrollment, improve the learning experience, and increase funding. The article also notes that East-West University (EWU) has implemented Oracle's PeopleSoft Campus Solutions to help automate administrative processes and improve information management. The article includes comment from Susan Rzyczycki, assistant vice president applications services, University of Akron, who notes that the Oracle Cloud Solutions for Education and Research provided the university with an additional option for its strategic planning needs--while also preserving internal capabilities to focus on core competencies. The article also includes comment from Farid I. Muhammad, director of title III, East-West University, who notes that by selecting the Optimized Campus implementation model for Oracle's PeopleSoft Campus Solutions, the university receive the benefits of Oracle's complete, integrated solutions that enable higher education institutions to adapt to the changing needs and demands of all their constituents, at an affordable cost.

Oracle Financial Services has expanded its Oracle Financial Services Enterprise Risk Management suite to include a new model risk management solution, as well as enhanced offerings for regulatory capital management and credit risk management. Oracle's Enterprise Risk Management suite, part of the Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications family, provides a single, unified platform that helps today's financial institutions meet increasingly complex compliance requirements and performance objectives. The end-to-end platform enables financial services organizations to effectively identify and manage risk to support their risk-adjusted performance objectives, promote a proactive risk management culture and mitigate the costs of compliance. Model Risk Management To meet evolving regulatory mandates, financial institutions require a comprehensive view of risks associated with inaccurate or improperly applied financial and business models. Many firms are struggling to achieve this transparency because they continue to manage their models in siloed environments. Oracle Financial Services Model Risk Management provides a common environment to manage all risks associated with the use of models, including risks arising due to poor data quality, incorrect or inappropriate use, design flaws, incorrect implementation and unauthorized access. The solution delivers a single repository for all model information across the enterprise, includes pre-built dashboards to jump start benefits and provides drill-down capabilities for in-depth insight. This application provides a common environment to manage risks associated with the use of models including risks arising due to data quality, incorrect or inappropriate usage, design flaws, incorrect implementation and unauthorized access. The solution helps firms to improve governance around the use of models through a comprehensive, structured and consistent framework for periodic assessment and validation of models ac

Results of an Oracle Utilities survey released this morning show that electric utilities in Canada and the US are only in the early stages of putting smart meter data good use. But they could be doing a better job of using the data they are collecting. The survey was of 151 utility executives in Canada and the United States. The study, Utility Transformations - Big Data, Bigger Opportunities: Plans and Preparedness for the Data Deluge, shows that utilities on both sides of the 49th Parallel are collecting significantly more interval data from smart meters. The frequency at which they are gathering smart meter data is 180 times more than in the past - every four hours compared to once a month. And the vast majority of them are collecting information such as outage and voltage data. Linda Jackman, group VP of industry strategy for Oracle Utilities, tells Canadian Green Tech in an interview that despite the improvement on the data collection front, utilities aren't using the data as effective as they could be. She was surprised to find utilities collecting certain types of data, but then not using that data to inform business decisions. According to the results, 78% of utilities surveyed are collecting outage data with 59% of them using, meaning nearly 20% aren't correlating outage data with customer communications as an example. For voltage data, the levels are 73% and 57%, respectively. "In outage and voltage data, the fact that everybody is not collecting that data, I think is surprising. You've rolled out a smart meter and you're not collecting outage data when it has the ability to talk to you around outage data? Why am I not collecting it? But then only 60% of them are using it once they have collected it, I think is also surprising," says Jackman. "So what we're seeing is that utilities are still in this very early stage and very formative stage of collecting the data but actually don't know what [they're] going to do with

The March 11 edition of University Herald includes the following article on Oracle's announcement of Oracle Student Cloud, a new student information system for higher education institutions. The article includes comments from a blog post by Cole Clark, global vice president of education and research, Oracle, who notes that no other company can draw on the rich portfolio of IP, development talent, implementation experience, and industry expertise than Oracle. The article also notes Oracle will release new features for Oracle Human Capital Management (HCM) Cloud and Oracle ERP Cloud services.

The March 11 edition of University Herald includes the following article on Oracle's announcement of Oracle Student Cloud, a new student information system for higher education institutions. The article includes comments from a blog post by Cole Clark, global vice president of education and research, Oracle, who notes that no other company can draw on the rich portfolio of IP, development talent, implementation experience, and industry expertise than Oracle. The article also notes Oracle will release new features for Oracle Human Capital Management (HCM) Cloud and Oracle ERP Cloud services.

The April 28 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education includes the following article highlighting the open-source software market in higher education, with a focus on the Kuali Foundation.  The article includes comment based on an interview with Mark Armstrong, vice president for higher education product development, Oracle, who notes that when building an ERP-scale product via open-source, it is really difficult to sustain long term.  Additionally, the article further discusses that Oracle remains a big supporter of community-sourced projects and that Kuali has produced interesting and creative work, challenging the notion that the ERP marketplace lacks competition and that for-profit vendors mercilessly bilk colleges.

The April 28 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education includes the following article highlighting the open-source software market in higher education, with a focus on the Kuali Foundation.  The article includes comment based on an interview with Mark Armstrong, vice president for higher education product development, Oracle, who notes that when building an ERP-scale product via open-source, it is really difficult to sustain long term.  Additionally, the article further discusses that Oracle remains a big supporter of community-sourced projects and that Kuali has produced interesting and creative work, challenging the notion that the ERP marketplace lacks competition and that for-profit vendors mercilessly bilk colleges.

...For Ovation Brands choosing to move the POS to the cloud was a matter of "future-proofing." The company already had experience and a comfort level with the cloud through its back-office system and was ready to move its POS above property with very specific goals in mind. "We were looking for something that had high-speed to value, lower cost of ownership and would save us from the traditional IT intensive POS implementation where you have to administer it and have a staff to support it," Benson says. "Having the POS in the cloud helps us modernize the way we conduct business."

...For Ovation Brands choosing to move the POS to the cloud was a matter of "future-proofing." The company already had experience and a comfort level with the cloud through its back-office system and was ready to move its POS above property with very specific goals in mind. "We were looking for something that had high-speed to value, lower cost of ownership and would save us from the traditional IT intensive POS implementation where you have to administer it and have a staff to support it," Benson says. "Having the POS in the cloud helps us modernize the way we conduct business."

Highlighting that Oracle announced its solution for health insurance exchanges that provides state governments with the functionality and services required to help ensure health insurance exchange success. The article notes that the Oracle solution enables state governments to phase in additional programs as requirements or legislation changes and supports key Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology guidance. The article also includes comments from Mark Johnson, senior vice president, Oracle Public Sector noting that Oracle offers a robust solution which consists of proven technologies that are architected to work together, and include the necessary capabilities to deliver a successful program.

An article highlighting Oracle's unveiling of the Sun Netra 6000. The article notes that for Oracle, the attraction of the Sun hardware is not only for its business potential, but also as a vehicle for selling more Oracle software

Make my retail experience 'good for me' say customers in new Oracle global research. Consumers are demanding a retail experience that is global, yet localised for their needs and expectations, and is 'good for me', defined and dictated by individual preferences, discloses new research from Oracle. Findings from the 'Evolution of Experience Retailing' survey reveal that as consumers around the world demand accessibility to the global marketplace, their requirements dictate how retailers should prioritize strategies and key business imperatives to meet customer demand and compete more effectively.

Article highlighting a new research report conducted by Oracle and Economist Intelligence Unit, titled "Water for All," which surveyed 244 senior water utility executives across 10 countries. The article notes that the study found that 45 percent of water executives say "wasteful" consumer behavior is the biggest barrier to meeting future water demands while another 33 percent say tariffs are too low to stimulate greater investment. The article points out that in developing countries, however, a lack of capital for investment tops the list of barriers, while worries over climate change stand third overall. The report also credits technologies such as smart meters and desalination with making the water sector more innovative to help utilities address escalating water demand.

Saks, Inc. is evolving to embrace omni-channel retailing through a series of infrastructure and systems enhancements slated to take place over the next several years. This is a transitional time for the company and these investments will position Saks for the future, allowing it to deliver incremental sales and improve operating margins over time.  To support its omni-channel and IT initiatives, Saks will invest one-third of its $120 million CapEx on Project Evolution, a multi-year transformation of and investment in systems technology with Oracle. Project Evolution will deliver new merchandising, finance and human resources systems and capabilities on an integrated application suite for the entire business.

J.C. Penney Co. Inc., for one, is adding more programs from Oracle to its lineup. It already uses an e-commerce platform and web site personalization technology from ATG, and site search from Endeca Technologies-two companies that Oracle acquired within the past two years. The department store chain, No. 20 in the Top 500 Guide, is now adding Oracle software for analyzing customer demand by product and managing merchandising and supply chains.

While there's been much focus on consumer mobile devices, there's also much to be gained from using mobile devices equipped to help run the business. This is especially true for retailers when critical, day-to-day decision-makers are in the field visiting stores. Imagine a district manager walking into a store with an iPad that provides current sales trends, inventory reports or labor productivity for that store, complete with exceptions highlighted and the ability to drill into details...