In a flurry of recent activity, Oracle has announced a slew of new products and updates aimed at enterprise database users, e-business owners, open-source enthusiasts, and marketing professionals. The latest announcements revolve around Oracle Database 12c, Oracle Project Procurement, Oracle Linux 7, and Oracle Data Cloud.

The new products come at a time when the Redwood City, California-based company seems poised for growth. Oracle opened a new cloud computing technology center in Seattle this week that will be home to 100 of its cloud engineers. Oracle also is trying to buy Maryland-based hospitality technology maker Micros Systems, but has met resistance from that company’s shareholders.

New Database

Version 12c of Oracle Database now includes the new Oracle Database In-Memory technology intended for powering real-time enterprises. Options in the new version include Oracle Multitenant and Oracle Database In-Memory. Multitenant helps consolidate and manage multiple databases as one, while the In-Memory option extends the power of the database.

Oracle said the latest version of Database will let customers more easily develop applications with new types of data, accelerate database and data warehousing performance, and simplify delivery of DBaaS environments.

Project Procurement

Oracle Project Procurement is the latest addition to Oracle’s E-Business-centered portfolio management and procurement applications. It’s intended to help project teams avoid silos around project management and procurement by establishing and measuring strategic objectives.

With an in-memory visualization layer that uses Oracle Endeca Information Discovery, the new product aims to reduce the communication gaps between project management and procurement. It integrates with other Oracle products, including E-Business Suite Project Portfolio Management and E-Business Suite Advanced Procurement, to let businesses easier manage the procurement process.

Linux 7

Introduced last week, Oracle Linux 7 is the company’s latest version of the open-source operating platform. Like previous releases, Linux 7 is free to distribute and, according to the company, is the only major enterprise Linux distribution that publishes all bug fixes and security errata publicly.

Linux 7 is a general-purpose operating system designed to run any Linux application. Features include XFS, Btrfs, Linux Containers, DTrace, Ksplice, Xen enhancements, and the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 3. The operating platform supports Oracle Database 12c and is used by all x86-based Oracle-engineered systems.

"Oracle Linux allows users to benefit from an open approach for emerging technologies, like OpenStack," said Wim Coekaerts, Oracle senior vice president of Linux and Virtualization Engineering.

Data Cloud

Finally, Oracle is combining its BlueKai Audience Data Marketplace and other of its data services to create Oracle Data Cloud. The platform provides access to Oracle’s data-as-a-service products, including Oracle DaaS for Marketing and Oracle DaaS for Social.

With the Oracle DaaS offerings, customers can connect across enterprises with external and internal data sources, which can then be used for deeper analytics and modeling. Oracle DaaS offers ID and addressability mapping, letting users link such customer attributes such as e-mail, social handles, phone numbers, third-party cookies, and mobile identifiers.