ORCL: Oracle Announces Next-generation User Interaction Environment: Oracle WebCenter Suite

Oracle today announced Oracle® WebCenter Suite, a new component of Oracle Fusion Middleware. Oracle WebCenter Suite will improve information worker productivity by delivering a unified, context-aware user experience that integrates a full set of enterprise services. It delivers a unified environment that provides user access to business applications, structured and un-structured content, business intelligence, enterprise search, business processes, and communication and collaboration services. Oracle WebCenter Suite will provide the first user interaction environment that breaks down the boundaries between web-based portals, enterprise applications, and Web 2.0 technologies to enable the rapid creation of flexible, context-sensitive work processes. The product will be based on an open, standards-based architecture and will be used customers to develop their own Web 2.0 centric applications. Oracle WebCenter Suite will also become the default user environment for Oracle Fusion Applications.
"Information Workers need an easy-to-use, task-oriented, rich client user interface through which they can access information and enterprise applications, quickly execute transactions within Enterprise Applications; and share information and collaborate with other people over a variety of channels - messaging, Voice-over-IP, discussions - using familiar desktop and mobile tools," said Thomas Kurian, senior vice president, Oracle Fusion Middleware. "Oracle WebCenter Suite solves this problem by integrating a Java-based Portal Framework; Content Management and Content Integration services; Desktop and Application Integration; Enterprise Search; and Web 2.0-based Collaboration and Communication capabilities into a unified user experience. Oracle WebCenter Suite provides developers with a fast, low-risk way to create flexible, context-sensitive work processes. Competing products offer a limited range of services, can require expensive consulting projects to tie their pieces together, or are based on closed, proprietary technology. Only Oracle WebCenter Suite enables a superior user experience based on a full set of enterprise services that are pre-integrated and based on open industry standards."


Oracle WebCenter Delivers Context-Aware Applications
Oracle WebCenter Suite represents the next step in advanced user-interaction environments and will be the basis for a new generation of context-centric applications that are expected to dramatically improve user productivity. Tasks that currently involve jumping between many different applications and tools that aren't aware of each other and don't share content or context can be streamlined and automated through Oracle WebCenter Suite. Oracle WebCenter Suite addresses the inefficiencies created by "swivel processes" that force users to manually switch between tasks by delivering needed information and applications tightly integrated into the context of a user's everyday workflow.


Oracle Brings Web 2.0 to the Enterprise
Oracle WebCenter Suite is also the first environment to provide a revolutionary approach to deploying the new wave of Web 2.0 technologies across the enterprise. The expectations of end users within a contemporary organization are increasingly shaped by their experience on public web sites that offer highly participatory and personalized interfaces. Oracle WebCenter Suite supports integrating Web 2.0 services such as Mashups, Wikis, Voice-over-IP, RSS feeds, Discussion Forums and Online Web Content Publishing into structured applications, creating a more productive and dynamically evolving work environment for individuals and teams. Enterprises can use Oracle WebCenter Suite capabilities to embed and synchronize task-oriented and information-oriented Portlets and Web 2.0 services to create composite applications or "Enterprise Mashups".
"The need for a new, interactive, task-based enterprise work environment is apparent," said Sue Feldman, Research Vice President, IDC. "IDC has called this the 'Enterprise Workplace.' Oracle WebCenter Suite uses Web 2.0 technology to create a context-aware interactive environment that supports the intersection of people, processes, and information across multiple channels to enhance the productivity of information workers."

Oracle WebCenter Suite Overview
Oracle WebCenter Suite, a component of the Oracle Fusion Middleware product family, is based on a Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) and is hot-pluggable and standards based. Oracle WebCenter Suite will be delivered through six major components:

• Oracle WebCenter Framework: a Java Server Faces (JSF) and Oracle ADF based
  framework that enables developers to embed rich, AJAX-based components, portlets
  and content into their JSF applications to create a dynamic and context-rich
  user experience. The WebCenter Framework will support portal and content integration
  standards including JSR 168, JSR 170 and WSRP 2.0 and will inter-operate with
  standards-based portals including Oracle Portal.


• Oracle WebCenter Services: embeddable Web 2.0 content, collaboration and
  communication components including Oracle Content Database, Oracle Secure
  Enterprise Search, SIP-based VoIP and Instant Messaging Presence Server, Discussion
  Forum and a Wiki service. Voice-Over-IP (VoIP) services to enable click-to-dial
  applications will also be available as an option to Oracle WebCenter Suite.
  


• Oracle WebCenter Studio: exposes the WebCenter Framework and WebCenter Services
  to programmers inside Oracle JDeveloper.


• Oracle WebCenter Anywhere: enables users to connect and work wherever they
  happen to be by exposing critical task flows and services through familiar
  mobile devices, and desktop tools including Microsoft Office and Exchange.
  


• Oracle WebCenter Composer: a browser-based environment for composing and
  customizing the application user interfaces, business rules and policies,
  user profiles and preferences and business processes.


• Oracle WebCenter Spaces: a configurable work environment that enables individuals
  and groups to work together more effectively. Individuals can use their WebCenter
  Personal Spaces to perform structured and free form tasks, organize their
  daily activities, and interact with other users more effectively, while WebCenter
  Group Spaces can allow groups of any size to improve communication, the execution
  of distributed work processes and information sharing.

"Because Oracle WebCenter Suite will provide a comprehensive set of enterprise-class capabilities and rapid integration with Oracle and 3rd party infrastructure, our customers can realize both an immediate boost to productivity and continuing long term savings," said Rahul B. Patel, vice president, Oracle Server Technologies. "Competing technology from other vendors can cost significantly more, take months to stitch together, and typically lacks the flexibility and standards support built into Oracle WebCenter."

Pricing and Availability
Oracle WebCenter Suite will be licensed as an option on top of Oracle Application Server Enterprise Edition at a cost of $50,000 per CPU. The product's first release, Oracle WebCenter Suite 10g R3, will deliver the Oracle WebCenter Framework, Oracle WebCenter Services and the Oracle WebCenter Studio and will include SIP-based instant messaging, online presence, threaded discussion and wiki services as well as Oracle Secure Enterprise Search and a limited use license of Oracle Content Database. It is scheduled to be generally available in calendar year 2006. Oracle WebCenter Composer and Oracle WebCenter Spaces are scheduled to be available in future release.