A Comprehensive Review of the Most Popular Oracle Software Products by GoodFirms

American Business Magnate and investor Larry Elison partnered with Bob Miner and Ed Oates to lay the foundation for Software Development Laboratories in August 1977.  SDL was a database management company and later changed its name to Relational Software Inc. in 1979 and then to Oracle Systems Corporation in 1982. 

Oracle Database became the most influential product of the 1990s.  Oracle Systems Corporation was re-named Oracle Corporation in 1995, also known as Oracle.  In 2007, the company was serving nearly 145 countries.  In 2013, the company plugged into Cloud technology.  Today, this Texas-based computer information technology corporation is the second-largest software company in terms of market capitalization and revenue generation. 

The tech giant has upscaled to a predominant position by specializing in Database Software, Middleware Software, and Applications Software. 

With endless possibilities, the company has been delighting its customers with its cloud applications and cloud infrastructure. 

“Our aim is to help people witness data innovatively, unearth insights, and unlock endless possibilities,” says the company. 

Here, GoodFirms attempted to review a few most popular Oracle software products.  This comprehensive review of Oracle products will help us reveal a more transparent opinion on the following;

• What popular software products and services are on offer?
• Does Oracle cloud infrastructure provide unparalleled scalability, leverage improved automation, and reduce maintenance costs?
• Does the advanced suite of Oracle cloud applications innovate the business models, optimize performance, and provide optimum user experience?
• Does it stand as the number one platform for Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Database as a Service (DBaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)?

GoodFirms has unveiled an in-depth and complete review of the most popular Oracle Software products, focusing on the prominent features, the core advantages, and the disadvantages, in addition to the best viable alternatives.

A Complete Review of Oracle Software Products 

Oracle is a pioneer of preeminent cloud computing solutions and Relational Database Management System (RDMS).  It delivers Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Data-as-a-Service (DBaaS), and Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) with robust networking that helps to deploy mission-critical applications rapidly and seamlessly. 

The advanced business management software is available in the cloud and on-premise modules.  It has become a  frontline provider of high-end storage systems and servers, efficiently managed by Oracle Corporation data centers. 

Oracle has developed over 1,000 innovative software products and acquired over 140+ companies of all sizes and types during its operational business period of almost 45 years.  Here is a glimpse of a few of Oracle’s offerings;

Primarily, we can categorize Oracle software products under two categories-

1. Oracle Cloud Applications 
2. Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 

GoodFirms’ Review of Oracle Cloud Applications

Oracle Cloud Applications is a comprehensive suite of next-generation SaaS-based software solutions that efficiently streamline and modernize various business processes by deploying a single source of truth (SSOT) architecture.  This architecture is believed to offer a resilient cloud service foundation. 

Oracle Cloud Applications aims to elevate business agility and enhance customer experience through an extensive range of advanced business solutions that include enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM), and human capital management (HCM).  These applications are engineered to work in cohesion with the best user experience and AI capabilities.

Oracle Cloud Applications is helping more than 30,000 organizations simplify and automate their business operations.  They can unleash maximum data to deliver projects quickly and upscale overall performance. 

The company also introduced Oracle Fusion Applications in 2011, containing all the Oracle applications to efficiently cater to diverse business requirements.  This suite of applications is much broader than Oracle Cloud Applications as it includes other solutions like finance, procurement, risk & governance, project management, inventory management, manufacturing, talent management, sales, service, and many more. 

GoodFirms has thoroughly reviewed all the Oracle Fusion Applications, starting with Oracle Enterprise Resource Planning, followed by other critical solutions.

1.  Oracle Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)

Oracle Cloud Enterprise Resource Planning is a cloud-based ERP Software powered by artificial intelligence allowing businesses to harness digital transformation capabilities in distinct fields like finance, accounting, project management, procurement, etc.  With simple and easy-to-use modules, the software allows users to easily predict and discover new possibilities with the data, automate tasks, simplify processes, and launch new products.

(Source: Oracle ERP)

Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP is the advanced cloud ERP suite from Oracle.  Since its launch a decade ago, the ERP suite has undergone constant innovation, efficiently managing enterprise operations and supporting cloud and hybrid deployments.  Furthermore, it helps to drill down the advanced analytics and insights so that the sales, marketing, and project management team gets familiar with the latest trends to make quick, informed decisions. 

Let’s check out what one of our clients says about the Oracle ERP system.

Many clients who gave their original reviews at the GoodFirms site have mentioned that they are happy using the Oracle ERP system.  The rating for onboarding is as high as 5 stars.  A few are concerned about customer service.  So, the rating for this element goes down to 3 stars.  Overall, the rating has been 4 stars for this suite.

How Does Oracle ERP Work? 

Oracle ERP system combines high-end technology with high-speed internet connectivity.  A robust ERP platform can dig and access massive amounts of data in real-time.  Various teams can quickly view and analyze information related to customer insights, sales, inventory, finance, human resources, etc.  The user must log in and unleash the benefits of available underlying data. 

Does Oracle ERP Streamline and Modernize Business Process? 

Oracle ERP is an up-to-date software comprising the latest features enabling businesses to follow optimal practices.  Oracles’ ERP software is further backed by transcending technologies, such as the Internet of Things, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality, etc., that improve and modernize business processes.  The overall cost of implementing an ERP system has been reduced with an upfront infrastructure and increased scalability.

The Critical Components of Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP 

Oracle ERP is a SaaS-based suite that effectively manages critical business operations.  These include

1. Financials
2. Project Management
3. Procurement 
4. Risk Management and Compliance
5. Enterprise Performance Management (EPM)
6. Supply Chain & Manufacturing 
7. ERP Analytics

Oracle Fusion Cloud Financials 

Get a comprehensive overview of the finance and accounting landscape on a single board.  Oracle ERP also offers multiple currency exchange rates and ledgers.  Oracle Financials provides an accounting hub, reporting, analytics, payables, and assets.  Organizations can manage revenue, expenses, and joint ventures.  The accounting software complies with the U.S. federal accounting standards.  It automates payment requests to customers and checks with collection agents. 

Oracle Fusion Cloud Project Management 

The project management software from Oracle is a powerful and premium product that lets various teams of the organization complete and delivers all projects within the stipulated deadline, error-free.  The project managers can plan, schedule, and forecast all the tasks, track the progress of projects in real-time, and allocate the task to the right professional.  The managers can monitor the workforce's performance, set project goals, and create the right strategy to complete the task without hiccups. 

The software lets them manage resources, billing, revenue, costs, assets, and grants. 

Oracle Fusion Cloud Procurement 

Oracle has built the Fusion Cloud Procurement solution that streamlines supplier relationship management and automates the procure-to-pay process.  The procurement software is based on an integrated source-to-settle system, allowing strategic sourcing and amplifying business operations.  Oracle Fusion Cloud Self Service Procurement helps manage employee requests for products and services. 

Oracle Risk Management and Compliance

The Risk Management and Compliance Solution from Oracle is a native application that constantly keeps track of impending risks and serves as a protective layer for data against cyber threats and changing business disruptions.  It is also an audit and security solution that protects the system against unauthorized access, enabling the organization to comply with industry-standard security regulations strictly.  The risk management software manages privacy mandates, such as SOX, SoD, GDPR, etc., efficiently controlling the ERP security and configurations.  Risk management and compliance automation promote better accountability, collaboration, and transparency.  It provides pre-built controlled libraries & an intuitive workbench, sensitive access certification, and constant security monitoring. 

Oracle EPM 

Oracle Cloud Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) has been discussed separately.  Oracle Enterprise Performance Management helps you create different models and plans to seamlessly operate various departments, such as finance, HR, sales, and supply chain.  Drive agility, nullify delays in decision-making and exceed customer expectations with the advanced EPM modules. 

Oracle SCM & Manufacturing

Oracle Supply Chain & Manufacturing lets users quickly respond to changes in demand and supply and optimize business processes through improved accuracy, forecasts, manufacturing, and execution.  Oracle SCM consists of ten vital modules: supply chain planning, order management, inventory management, manufacturing, maintenance, logistics, product lifecycle management, blockchain, IoT, and Analytics.  All these modules are discussed below. 

Oracle Fusion ERP Analytics

Oracle ERP Analytics is an advanced data analysis software allowing finance teams to unveil the key actionable insights that offer valuable data, drive more profit, and maximize working capital usage.  The team can efficiently track the best KPIs and control business expenditures.  When Oracle Analytics aligns with Cloud ERP, it speeds ROI with the additional support of minimal configurations and pre-packaged components.  

Oracle ERP analytics is empowered by machine learning to provide personalized application analytics and data-driven insights.  Organizations can use this solution to combine data from non-Oracle platforms to get a comprehensive view of all data sources. 

The features include built-in analytics, allowing you to get a complete picture of financial performance, including analyzing the costs, revenue, and profitability scenarios.  You can conduct an in-depth analysis of revenue trends using built-in revenue calculation and distribution to understand revenue generation patterns from various sources.  The Oracle dashboard lets you view overdue vendor payment amounts, analyze discounts, and check payment urgency.

The data visualization tool from Oracle Analytics helps detect frauds and noncompliance related to expenditures and remediate such anomalies or any other policy violations.  Analyze complete finance and procurement data using invoices, requisitions, and payments.  Identify the operational loopholes, improve procure-to-pay efficiency, and unveil cost-saving opportunities supported by data analytics and visualization.  To optimize returns, operational and financial managers gain real-time insights into asset health and economic life, depreciation value, asset lifespan, etc.

Here’s What a Customer Said About Oracle ERP

Newly Added Features of Oracle ERP  as of 2022

• Oracle has unveiled new machine learning capabilities to automate the categorization of uncategorized transactions and improve spending patterns.  It appears to be a handy feature for the procurement teams. 
• Oracle Intelligent Document Recognition is now enhanced to improve the accuracy of invoice scanning and provide touchless processing. 
• Oracle Intelligent Performance Management now allows key decision makers to identify the latest trends and increase accuracy in their predictions.  It also delivers vital business performance insights across the various departments.
• Oracle ERP Analytics has been further enhanced to uncover the trends regarding HCM, payroll, and procure-to-pay cycle supported by supply chain and financial data. 
• Oracle has updated the Risk Management and Compliance APIs and bolstered ERP applications' security.

Oracle Cloud Fusion ERP Vs.Oracle NetSuite: The Key Differences

2.  Oracle Fusion Cloud Enterprise Performance Management

Oracle Cloud Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) is a top-rated performance management software and embedded analytics solution that allows businesses to become more agile, scalable, and flexible.  It also gives organizations real-time critical insights to stay competitive and understand the frequently-changing business landscape to act accordingly. 

Oracle Cloud Enterprise Performance Management Application has become a global leader in International Data Corporation (IDC) Marketspaces’ evaluation of the best EPM.

Source: (Oracle ERM)

Business executives can create strategic plans, budget estimates, forecasts, and reports across different functions, such as finance, sales, marketing, supply chain, and human resources.  Oracle’s cloud-based enterprise performance management has elevated productivity and enhanced collaboration.  It has made planning more efficient, quick, and accurate with the support of next-generation technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and predictive analytics.  The financial operations have become more streamlined, owing to automated processes.  Recently, the company announced a few enhancements to its EPM product, where users get the facility to streamline their journal process easily and speed up data discovery with multi-dimensional analysis, AI-guided digital assistant, and narrative reporting.

How Does EPM Work?

Oracle Enterprise Performance Management Solution is usually used by the finance and accounting teams in addition to the sales and marketing departments.  They use the software to analyze and understand the reports through the EPM cycle.  The platform provides valuable operational data and viable management insights to conduct daily transactions and streamline business processes seamlessly.

Does Oracle EPM Provide Agility and Model Business Processes to Drive Improved Decisions? 

The software provides built-in best functions and practices, allowing you to make dynamic calculations.  It further automates the calculations of the balance sheets, cash flow, income statements, and rollovers without needing customization.  You can adjust, eliminate, and reclassify the data based on the hierarchy to carry out complex consolidations and speed up the close process.  They get ample support from built-in consolidation, which easily handles legal procedures and complex calculations.  Oracle provides a  tax schedule solution that automates the tax process and eliminates the use of spreadsheets.  The process includes all crucial activities, including data gathering, tax calculation, and analysis.

The Essential Components of Oracle EPM 

Oracle Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) components are categorized into nine categories based on their core functionalities.  These include-

1. EPM Platform 
2. Planning
3. Profitability and Cost Management
4. Financial Consolidation and Close
5. Account Reconciliation
6. Tax Reporting
7. Narrative Reporting
8. Freeform
9. Enterprise Data Management

EPM Platform

Oracle EPM Platform provides a smart view for data import, manipulation, and distribution in the Office-based interfaces.  The software conducts free-form analysis and provides pre-created content, data integration, task management, intelligent performance management, intelligent process automation, intuitive and engaging interfaces, and personalized user flows.

Oracle Cloud EPM Planning

Create accurate and connected strategic plans to stay ahead of the competition and efficiently manage business uncertainties using scenario modeling.  Plan for capital assets, expenses, and financial statements, and retain the top talent with predictive analytics and intelligence, coupled with best practices across operations and lines of business.  Use predictive planning to improve decisions and data analysis to leverage faster insights.  The main functionalities include planning, budgeting, and forecasting, apart from scenario modeling and retaining the top talent through effective workforce planning.  The other features include

• Integrated business planning and execution.
• Financial statement planning.
• Transforming financial insights into data-driven IPM. 

Oracle Cloud EPM Profitability and Cost Management

Oracle has developed this software to streamline the allocation of resources and proficiently manage the costs to maximize profitability.  The application provides quick insights to generate more profits by understanding the key metrics and drivers.  The core functionalities are

• Flexible modeling and allocations.
• Point-and-check actions.
• In-depth analysis of reports.
• Allowing you to test the potential changes in your business.

Companies don’t need IT to create and manage business models.  They can use what-if scenarios to carry out product testing to know the impact of the change.

Oracle Cloud EPM Financial Consolidation & Close 

Oracle introduced this software to efficiently manage the consolidation and close process without any hardware requirement or infrastructure investment.  It is a streamlined end-to-end solution ensuring that the data gathered from various sources and business activities are accurate, reliable, transparent, compatible, and auditable.  The features include advanced consolidation and close, intelligent process automation, dynamic calculations, compliance, and transparency. 

Oracle Cloud EPM Account Reconciliation

Oracle has introduced cloud-based account reconciliation software to efficiently and proficiently manage the reconciliation process.  It automates specific reconciliation tasks that include variance analysis and high-volume transactions.  It automates specific reconciliation tasks that include variance analysis and high-volume transactions.  Companies can validate their financial statements and verify account balances through an automated process.  Companies can validate their financial statements and verify account balances through a computerized process.  Organizations can evaluate the performance of reconciliations in real-time to ensure they are all appropriately created.  There are types of account reconciliation modules; Transaction Matching and Reconciliation Compliance.  Apart from these, the software also provides connected financial close.

Oracle Cloud EPM Tax Reporting

Oracle EPM tax reporting is a comprehensive solution that helps build an effective and transparent corporate tax structuring system that lets organizations view real-time financial data and processes.  It streamlines country-by-country reporting (CbCR), tax provisions, and data collection.  The tax reporting platform integrates seamlessly with other Oracle financial applications.  The features are country-by-country reporting, improving tax process, and complete tax provision.  Oracle has built this tax reporting software in compliance with the U.S. GAAP, IFRS, and other critical tax regulations.

Oracle Cloud EPM Narrative Reporting 

Oracle Narrative Reporting is a specialized solution that focuses on regulatory reporting, narrative, and management in addition to a protected, collaborative, and process-driven platform.  It authors, reviews, defines, and publishes management and financial reports used by internal and external stakeholders.  The users can access quicker and more accurate insights through data and narrative.  They can directly view the reports to a single version of the truth from a centralized platform.  You can get direct access to source data, secure collaboration across the reporting process, publish and distribute reports, and get external and regulatory report requirements. 

Oracle EPM Freeform 

The Cloud EPM Freefoam allows organizations to flexibly work with multiple data sources, whether on-premise or cloud applications.  Users can easily upload and harmonize spreadsheets and manage data inputs.  It enables you to streamline operational and financial planning, create unified reporting, and centralize user management in one place.  It provides Essbase and spreadsheet reporting and helps to model complex business structures. 

Enterprise Data Management in Oracle Cloud EPM

Oracle Enterprise Data Management is cloud-powered data management software that offers optimal self-service and comprehensively integrated business prospects with the support of connected applications.  It can configure business prospects to allow change management within a specific business domain and facilitate cross-application.  Also, it provides application data management via a single frame of the window.  Also, it includes application data management via a single frame of the window.  Also, it provides application data management via a single frame of the window.  The system encourages peer-to-peer application dimension sharing, where app owners can share subsets of thereof or dimensions with their applications.  It leads to faster and seamless information-sharing.  You can collaborate and co-author in real time, connect diverse enterprise applications, rationalize disparity across business prospects, and much more.

The Latest Addition of Features in Oracle EPM as of 2022

• Now, it has become much easier for the users to streamline their journal process using EPM’s new journal cloud capabilities, which include account reconciliation and posting journal entries, making adjustments, and tax-related journal management. 
• Oracle EPM utilizes data science to automate data analysis and identify complex financial patterns, anomalies, and data correlations. 
• Oracle releases a new AI-based assistant that speeds up and streamlines the work. 
• The reporting framework gets more intuitive and advanced, enabling users to quickly create and distribute reports supported by new charting and visualization tools. 
• Connected EPM planning provides a unified view of financial and operational business planning with more accuracy and agility.

Oracle Cloud EPM vs. OneStream: The Key Differences

3.  Oracle Fusion Cloud Supply Chain Management & Manufacturing 

Another innovative product and advanced ERP solution from Oracle is the cloud-powered Supply Chain Management and Manufacturing system.  The software streamlines the flow of product and financial data based on the latest market, supply, and demand trends to efficiently fit the needs of modern enterprises and customers.  It also unifies the business process, including intelligent order fulfillment, effective inventory management, and end-to-end seamless collaboration on supply chain and logistics. 

Source: (Oracle Supply Chain Management)

Oracle Supply Chain Management also digitally manage the product lifecycle and procurement processes with innovative material handling methods, reducing overall costs, mitigating disruptions, and overhauling customer experiences.  Transformative technologies like the IoT, Blockchain, Analytics, Industry 4.0, etc., have allowed businesses to harness operational efficiencies, optimize enterprise performance, and make accurate predictions to gain an edge over competitors.  It is critical to note that Oracles’ supply chain management software is leading the way forward in warehouse management systems and transportation management solutions.

Does Oracle SCM Allow You to Create a Resilient Supply Chain?  Network and Process?

Oracle SCMstreamlines and simplifies replenishment by creating the best inventory policies and consumption rules.  You can categorize the inventory policies based on goods' location, while overstock, stockout, etc., help choose and compare the inventory policies.  It further offers backlog management, which helps manage and optimize open orders to minimize order delays and achieve margin targets.  You can schedule new orders using the available supply and prioritize orders in the backlog.  It helps to maximize revenue and service.  Respond quickly to ‘what-if’ scenarios and shipping constraints to optimize the solution. 

Oracle SCM also provides Channel revenue management, a broad concept that simplifies trade campaigns and promotions and minimizes claim errors and disputes.  It automates the claim settlement process, improving profitability and cash flow.  It further manages supplier rebates, optimizes the rebate programs, and manages deductions.

Oracle SCM and Manufacturing Modules

Oracle Supply Chain Management System contains a broad spectrum of applications that digitize all business operations and streamline tasks, focusing on constant innovation and driving productivity.  These modules include

1. Supply Chain Planning 
2. Inventory Management
3. Manufacturing 
4. Maintenance 
5. Order Management
6. Logistics
7. Product Lifecycle Management
8. Procurement 
9. Blockchain & IoT 
10. Analytics

Oracle Fusion Cloud Supply Chain Planning 

The Supply Chain Planning solution helps you comprehensively plan the entire supply chain process with the help of real-time insights, stakeholder inputs, supply constraints, and data gathered from machine learning to enhance the customer service experience.  Oracle has provided an intuitive and modernized dashboard that allows organizations to tackle and resolve the most complex planning issues.  They can view the opportunities through analytics, KPIs, screen layouts, and workflows, which helps manage the plans faster and with better results.  Also, predict the product trends and automate replenishment ordering through Oracle Cloud Demand Management.

The intricate features of supply chain planning are demand management focusing on automating replenishment planning, segregating elements, and launching new products.  It also includes scheduling the production process to increase efficiency, backlog management for managing and optimizing open orders, and more. 

Oracle Fusion Cloud Inventory Management

Oracle Inventory Management System is an integral part of the supply chain management software that provides complete real-time visibility of goods flow and control across the organization and global supply chain network.  The software helps meet specific customer demands, optimize stock, minimize costs, and enhance storing capabilities to increase satisfaction. 

Inventory Management System offers cycle counting and physical counting for quick reporting purposes.  The application seamlessly integrates with other Oracle solutions, such as Warehouse Management, Order Management, Purchasing, Cost Management, Process Manufacturing, mobile supply chain, etc.  The organization can track all its items at every stage of the inventory cycle and efficiently perform the ABC classification of goods.  They can detect the accurate location of inventory items and predict when they will reach their final destination.  Companies can efficiently manage their stock levels from their mobile devices and resolve stockout, shipping, or delivery issues.  The software serves as a protective layer against unexpected changes in demand supply or creates a buffer stock to secure against stockouts.  The main features are complete material management, inventory and service level optimization, cost management, and optimized profitability. 

Oracle Cloud Manufacturing 

The manufacturing software from Oracle is a cutting-edge solution that utilizes digital technology practices, such as the Internet of Things and Adaptive Intelligence, to unify data across the shop floor, boost business agility, and escalate production efficiency.  Oracle Cloud Manufacturing syncs with supply chain management, enterprise resource management, cost management, etc.  It improves sustainability and minimizes manufacturing costs. 

Oracle Manufacturing Software offers various types; discrete manufacturing, process manufacturing, mixed-mode manufacturing, job shop manufacturing, repetitive manufacturing, etc.  The software integrates with supply chain management to effectively collaborate with suppliers to upscale analytics, visibility, and execution across the production and supply chain schedule.  The core features include discrete manufacturing, process manufacturing, contract manufacturing, mixed-model manufacturing, production scheduling, connected factory, and more.

Oracle Maintenance Cloud

As the name suggests, Oracle Maintenance Cloud is a specialized software that optimizes and streamlines maintenance processes.  The software is built on the modern cloud, enabling it to leverage digital transformation technologies like AI, IoT, and machine learning, helping manufacturers make quick, accurate decisions.  Oracle maintenance software receives complete support from the asset management system to increase capital spending and enhance more significant profitability margins. 

The application is handy when offering integrated supply chain materials, managing costs, embedded analytics, and intelligent maintenance solutions.  It maximizes user productivity, improves visibility into maintenance issues, and ensures labor and spare parts availability. 

The primary functions are asset management, providing comprehensive visibility of company-owned physical assets. 

Oracle Fusion Cloud Order Management

Oracle Order Management is a centralized order management system and an advanced order hub that provides seamless order capture and faster fulfillment execution, amplifying customer satisfaction and increasing profit margin.  It is an end-to-end omnichannel solution that offers built-in integrations orchestrating orders across multiple platforms with support for various payment modes.  The software tracks the price and order configuration via direct order entry.

Omnichannel order management helps unify the customer experience through order orchestration and fulfillment.  It automates the entire order process and validates orders online to seamlessly handle complex deliveries and services.  Strategic pricing management allows you to categorize your customers based on their buying patterns and price factor to segregate the products and services. 

Channel revenue management is a broad concept that simplifies trade campaigns and promotions and minimizes claim errors and disputes.  Global order promising lets you promise a more accurate, faster, and more reliable order delivery date and ship items based on availability.  At the same time, product and service configuration offers a flexible and user-intuitive experience and the ‘Finish it for Me’ capability to configure complex and customized products easily and remaining selected items to match the best customer requirements with optimum possible solutions.

Oracle Logistics 

Oracle Logistics is a leading and top-rated logistics software that streamlines the transportation network, optimizes the fleet, and provides and simplifies an end-to-end warehouse management system.  The tool aims to improve the efficiency of the supply chain network and manage costs to maximize business outputs.  Oracle’s logistics system is an integrated solution that uses cutting-edge technologies to automate an array of repetitive processes and centralize all data under a single unified cloud. 

The solution manages global trade through a centralized compliance platform so companies can efficiently conduct cross-border trading hassle-free.  The tool reduces shipment costs and optimizes delivery options across all transportation modes.  It also streamlines vehicle routes with a real-time location tracking facility and monitors the wear and tear of the vehicle.   

Oracle Logistics further efficiently manages the warehouse, transportation, fleet, and global trade in addition to logistics network modeling and uses AI and machine learning to process logistics digitally. 

Oracle Fusion Cloud Product Lifecycle Management (PLM)

The Product Lifecycle Management Software from Oracle manages all the processes and operational data of the product or service at each stage of the lifecycle.  Oracle has specifically designed this tool to streamline new product launches and meet the current needs of the innovation process. 

It offers a complete Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) service helping organizations to become more agile, adaptive, and responsive.  Oracles’ PLM solution is further embedded with digital technologies, such as Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things, and Artificial Intelligence, providing a digital thread enabling them to innovate product design and manufacturing process.  Regarding features, it includes innovation management, quality management, product development, configurator modeling, and product data master management. 

Oracle Procurement 

Oracle Procurement Software is a comprehensive source-to-pay system powered by pre-built analytics, seamless collaboration, and intuitive user experience to provide business agility, automate various processes, and streamline supply chain relationship management.  Furthermore, the application helps to minimize overall risks and costs and maximize profitability. 

The software efficiently manages spending and improves the shopping experience, while strategic sourcing offers increased value.  Users can even manage supplier contract lifecycle and compliance, leverage real-time business data, and use analytic insights. 

Oracle Blockchain & IoT

Oracle Blockchain Solution is a prebuilt Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) application equipped with all capabilities and functionalities to support decentralized and public ledger networks.  It includes computing, storing, and managing cryptocurrencies securely.  The platform consoles blockchain networks and supports integrated operations.  Developers can quickly start developing applications by getting a comprehensive proof of concept within the shortest possible time. 

Oracle Blockchain is based on the Hyperledger Fabric project and provides its open source extended version.  Oracle uses TLS 1.2 data encryption and a web-based firewall application to fortify security to protect blockchain elements from cyber attacks.  It also uses a prebuilt Oracle Identity Cloud Service Integration to define user and role management and authenticate the Oracle Blockchain console.  There are four types of Oracle Blockchain products.  These include Oracle Blockchain Platform Cloud Services and Oracle Blockchain Platform Enterprise, and Intelligent Track, Trace, and Oracle Database Crypto-Secure Data Management. 

IoT

The Internet of Things Applications from Oracle utilizes sensor data from connected devices and appliances to unleash intelligent data insights for innovative manufacturing, predictive maintenance, and making smart decisions related to business processes.  Also, Oracle’s significant products, like Cloud ERP, SCM, HCM, etc., are integrated with IoT to improve business outcomes.  You gain improved visibility in logistics, supply chain, workplace safety, and much more with the rapid assimilation of IoT into digital strategy.  There are five Oracle IoT applications: Smart Manufacturing, Connected Assets, Connected Logistics, Workplace Safety, and Service Monitoring. 

Oracle Analytics 

Oracle Analytics is a built-in native cloud software platform for supply chain management that enables users to unearth underlying drivers that help to minimize costs, maximize resources, and enhance efficiency.  Users can easily customize visualizations with additional sources and personalize user experience across all devices.  Oracle Analytics is supported by machine learning to leverage better forecasts without coding. 

Oracle provides pre-built analytics for an order management system to understand the latest demand trends and improve fulfillment performance.  It also provides a clear picture of inventory movement and valuation and streamlines the procurement process.

What’s New in Oracle SCM as of 2022

• The drag and drop capabilities allow users to effortlessly and efficiently manage production schedules, real-time production performance, and work order synchronization. 
• Now, you can process large orders in the background and ensure fast and secure credit card payments. 
• Oracle Procurement has been equipped with new bidding functionality, allowing you to pitch better negotiations.
• Oracle Transportation Management has enhanced logistics by improving the accuracy of transit times with machine learning capabilities.
• Product Lifecycle Management tracks the history of product development and approval management with improved analytics.

Oracle SCM Versus SAP SCM  - The Key Differences

Oracle Human Capital Management Solutions 

Source:(Oracle Cloud Human Capital Management)

Oracle Cloud Human Capital Management is a next-generation HCM solution that digitizes and streamlines end-to-end human resource administrative tasks.  It focuses on hiring a competent workforce and optimizes talent management.  All core HR functions like recruitment, onboarding, training, payroll, and performance evaluation are transformed, enhancing employee engagement and productivity.  After Oracle acquired PeopleSoft in 2004, it integrated the knowledge and intellectual property features into HCM Cloud.

“A solution from hire to retire.”  - as claimed by Oracle 

Is this a Trustable, Proven, and Agile HCM Solution?

Oracle HCM provides a single source of truth to unleash the HR data, helping the HR team make accurate hiring and talent retaining decisions.  The HR Software from Oracle effectively caters to the requirements of various industries, including communications, financial services, healthcare, retail, manufacturing, retail, and many more.  Oracle claims its HCM solutions have increased workforce efficiency by 11% and minimized legacy by 29%. 

Oracle HCM provides a streamlined recruitment process, seamless onboarding, personalized learning, goal-based career development, etc.  The software aims to create a viable opportunity marketplace for career growth, enhance performance management, and build succession planning for identifying the right talent.  It also includes recruitment analytics and reporting with the benefits of real-time data, comprehensive visibility, predictive analytics, and workforce insight.  Oracle HCM can be integrated with LinkedIn.

The Exclusive Oracle HCM Products

Human Resources

Oracle Human Resources allows HR professionals to proficiently and effectively plan, manage, and optimize the workforce to upsurge productivity.  Increase the workforce configuration to improve localization and scalability.  Oracle Human Resources include streamlining the core HR activities, such as data validation based on company policies, managing business processes without coding, workforce modeling and predictions, strategic workforce planning, HR Help Desk, and more. 

Talent Management

The talent management tool from Oracle is an innovative solution that allows HR leaders to attract the best talents based on their expertise and experience.  They can hire, onboard, and view the performance of all employees from a centralized window in real-time.  It becomes much simpler to source the right candidate for the desired position, stimulate internal mobility, and make hiring decisions.  The various functionalities of talent management include a streamlined recruitment process, seamless onboarding, personalized learning, goal-based career development, etc.  The software aims to create a viable opportunity marketplace for career growth, enhance performance management, and build succession planning for identifying the right talent. 

Payroll Management 

The payroll software optimizes payroll processing irrespective of company size and type.  It helps to nullify the global compliance risks and adheres to local laws and tax regulations.  The application provides financial flexibility and simplified payment options.  Enhanced features allow dated transactions to be directly transferred into the payroll system.  A third-party integration option offers a seamless experience while mapping values and framing business rules.

Workforce Management 

The workforce management system efficiently manages the workforce and laborers by tracking their attendance, leaves, absence, hours worked, payroll, and overall performance.  The absence management feature helps manage employee absences through the easy configuration of policies and complete visibility of absence with data analytics.  The time and labor feature provides comprehensive data about laborers and their working hours, including their daily schedules, meal costs, and breaks.  The system immediately alerts HR about employees’ ill-health conditions and prevents workers from facing costly accidents through a workforce health and safety application. 

HCM Analytics 

Oracle HCM Analytics is a built-in native cloud solution that uses real-time workforce insights to enhance decision-making and utilize the data to improve employee engagement, attrition, compensation, and much more.  Get a complete picture of the workforce with vital insights on employee headcount, hires, resignations, etc.  It helps HR teams to understand the changing workforce dynamics and the impact of unplanned absences.  HCM analytics allows the users to gain a comprehensive view of the hiring process and improve diversity and inclusion initiatives.

What’s New in Oracle HCM as of 2022

• Oracle introduced a new payroll system to support companies operating in France.  This facility is extended to 13 countries, including  Bahrain, Canada, China, Kuwait, Mexico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
• Oracle ME Platform is an employee engagement solution that enables the workforce to grow and thrive, focusing on improving every worker’s experience.  The platform helps to boost employee retention with personalized guidance and relevant connections. 

Oracle HCM vs. SAP HCM  - The Key Differences

Take a look at a customer’s review on Oracle HCM

Oracle Advertising and Customer Experience (CX)

Source: (Oracle Advertising &CX)

Oracle unveiled its customer relationship management software way back in 1998, which was later renamed Oracle Cloud CX.  The Oracle Data Cloud aligned with Oracle CX in 2021 to become Oracle Advertising and Customer Experience (CX).  It is an advanced suite of software solutions with applications for creating marketing campaigns, advertising products, and services, boosting sales, streamlining e-commerce platforms, and augmenting customer service.  The software connects business data across all these platforms to build long-lasting customer relationships and comprehensively view all customer interactions. 

Does this Software allow users to reach the right audience at the right time?

Oracle has already introduced AI-powered solutions for customer experience applications allowing companies to access first-party data from different sources and integrate it with third-party applications.  It helps deliver exceptional customer satisfaction levels, which leads to increased customer acquisitions and retention.

Oracle Advertising and Customer Experience (CX) Platforms Include

Oracle Advertising

Oracle Advertising allows you to leverage meaningful data and offers a wide range of innovative products, such as contextual intelligence, moat measurement, OnRamp, Audiences, and Activation. 

• Contextual Intelligence is a content analyzer tool that accurately matches it with digital ad campaigns using different contextual targeting techniques and ensuring viable brand safety measures.  The tool also helps filter content based on viewability and remove all forms of invalid traffic to safeguard spending and ensure no impressions are generated via bots. 
• Moat Measurement is a marketing analytics and ad measurement tool that allows advertisers, marketers, and publishers to measure their ad performances and campaigns on different platforms.  Moat Analytics includes pre and post-bid solutions to remove invalid traffic, while Advanced Attention Metrics focuses on customer engagement. 
• OnRamp is an automated self-service onboarding platform and data enrichment solution embedded with the CX data application.  It lets you separate users in your CRM database and securely uploads Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and other data. 
• Audiences Solutions help advertisers reach their best potential buyers with the highest propensity to buy products and services.  It further produces accurate audience datasheets to create effective marketing campaigns and increase the audience base.

Oracle Marketing

Are you planning to launch a cross-marketing platform where you can integrate all your marketing solutions and unify all prospect customer data into a centralized database?  If yes, then Oracle Marketing is a one-shop application that offers a comprehensive view of B2-B and B2C data-driven marketing campaigns and automated marketing solutions to capture real-time customer behaviors, optimize lead generation, and enhance marketing communications.

1. B2B Marketing includes Oracle Eloqua Marketing Automation, Oracle DataFox Data Management, CrowdTwist Loyalty and Management, Content Management System, Infinity Behavioral Intelligence, Oracle Maxymiser Testing and Optimization, etc. 
2. B2C Marketing involves Responsys Campaign Management, Oracle BlueKai, Audience Segmentation, Oracle Unity Customer Data Platform, etc. 
3. Fusion Marketing, marketing automation, campaign management, customer loyalty & engagement are the other modules in the marketing software.

Oracle Sales

Get intelligent recommendations to focus on the essential prospects with support from machine learning-powered CRM solutions.  The tool provides in-depth, relevant, and quick customer insights from different seller plug points.

The Core Oracle Sales Products Include

Sales Automation 

Increase your sales team’s productivity through data-entry automation and provide faster records while making CRM updates.  It efficiently manages customer data and accurately monitors sales report performance.  The application is fully supported by Sales Force Automation Software, providing comprehensive customer data and helping to create effective sales planning.  The other supporting modules are Sales Planning, Performance Management, and Customer Data Management.

Commerce

It helps you create a premium e-commerce site using which you can quickly start earning revenue.  The features include account and contact management, customer-specific catalogs & pricing, customer payouts, workflow approvals, recurring orders, delegated administration, and more. 

Configure Price & Quote

Oracle CPQ helps customers to create a proper purchase order by entering step-by-step, completely configured details and optimizing sales orders to maximize deal profitability.  The features are optimized sales channels, intuitive configuration, error-free orders, professional quotes & proposals, improved margin control, automated approval workflows, etc. 

Subscription Management

Oracle Subscription Management Software is a cloud-based solution that streamlines billing, contracts, and revenue for product and service-related organizations through CRM integration and providing details about customer behavior.  It manages subscription-based orders and quotes, automates billing & payments, provides AI-powered analytics, fixed hybrid & recurring order management, and handles mixed orders of hard goods & services. 

Partner Relationship Management

Oracle PRM provides a premium portal to establish a robust and effective collaboration between business partners and channel managers.  Using this portal, they can easily share all information, manage leads, and create quotes.  It even offers partner recruitment & onboarding, manages Market Development Funds, orders and leads, integrated customer support, connected business intelligence, partner co-branding, etc.

Oracle Services

Oracle Services is a customer service software that enables organizations to forecast their specific customer needs and quickly assign technicians to provide an exceptional experience. 

The Service Products include

B2B Services and B2C Services

It offers innovative and frictionless services delivered through customers’ preferred channels.  The software gets a boost through IoT-based service monitoring for connected assets and provides an intelligent advisor, knowledge management, and Oracle Unity Customer Data Platform for B2B & B2C services.

Field Service

The field service lets customers schedule a technician for a task, track their real-time location, communicate with them, and provide feedback for their services.  The solution also includes real-time vehicle routing, strong collaboration, capacity & quota management, real-time reports & dashboards, contingent workers, etc. 

Enterprise Service Management

It transforms and digitizes workflows and assets and improves team productivity.  It diagnoses issues related to field services through a wide range of features, such as IoT-based asset monitoring, service logistics, knowledge management, order management, live experience, subscription management, etc.

What’s New in Oracle CX in 2022

• Oracle Fusion Cloud Sales are indicated to improve the experience of the buyers', driving more revenue and sales. 
• Oracle’s new Oracle CloudWorld is noted to highlight all the elements of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Oracle Cloud Applications.  The event is focused on discussing the latest innovations related to Oracle Database, MySQL, and modern Java applications.

Oracle CX vs. Salesforce - The Key Differences

How Oracle Cloud Applications Add Business Value 

Oracle Cloud Applications are using the latest technologies and implementing the best practices to escalate business innovation, deliver optimal performance, and efficiently manage the entire process from one place.  All Oracle Enterprise Suite of Applications, namely the ERP system, the EPM platform, the SCM software, the HCM solutions, and the CX tools, have enabled organizations to upscale their prospects, boost productivity, maximize profitability, and outperform their competitors.

Oracle Cloud Applications: Pros & Cons

Oracle Cloud Applications Pricing 

Oracle Cloud Applications pricing model depends on the specific product chosen by the customer.  The subscription is based on various modules, including per unit price, per hour, and per month.  For more details, you can check this page here. 

Final Verdict for Oracle Cloud Applications 

Oracle Cloud Applications is a comprehensive business management solution that optimizes and streamlines all the business processes and activities, including enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, inventory management, finance, human resources, customer relationship management, and experience.  But these applications are not regarded as viable for startups, small, and medium-sized enterprises due to their high price and complex procedures.

GoodFirms’ Review of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) is an innovative, modern, and next-generation cloud service that helps you create and deploy diverse applications and efficiently run all IT from existing workloads.  You can simplify and accelerate enterprise applications migrations to new native clouds and data platforms, escalate cloud computation performance, and improve storage capacity on the virtual network accessible from the on-premise cloud network.  Additionally, its distributed cloud services no longer restrict customers by location; rather, it offers more flexibility in how customers can deploy cloud services.

Does this next-generation cloud infrastructure allow users to run any application faster and with utmost security?

OCI has also gained impetus for offering unmatched and superior price performance and a robust security platform with an automated database and data protection.  OCI provides support for most hybrid cloud environments.  It also includes auto-detection and remediation.  Oracle, in July 2022, revealed its 39th cloud region - Mexico, and with this, the company continues its global cloud region footprint expansion.  The company aims to have 44 cloud regions by the end of the year.

“Seamlessly migrate, build, and run applications,” - claims the company.

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure includes an extensive assortment of high-quality autonomous and secured services.  These include

#1.  Migrate On-Premise Applications to OCI

If you wish to reduce the total cost of ownership and boost productivity, then you should consider migrating the on-premise applications to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.  These include JD Edwards, E-Business Suite, Sibel, and Hyperion.  OCI provides flexible migration and deployment facilities with the help of Cloud Lift services and efficiently manages critical integrations and customizations.  It also enhances the application performance and bolsters app security with a robust database and cloud infrastructure. 

• E-Business Suite is a comprehensive and integrated ERP solution, which you can easily migrate to OCI to increase efficiency, reduce deployment costs, and improve performance.  You can deploy the E-Business Suite on OCI using automated provisioning. 
• Migrating JD Edwards to OCI offers the same benefits as above.
• While moving PeopleSoft to OCI, you don’t have to make any business process changes or re-architecture the application.  The migration is done for conducting demonstrations, testing, development, and production purposes. 
• Hyperion migration improves performance and efficiency and saves costs.
• Sibel is a fully integrated CRM solution that you can move to OCI to gain the same advantage mentioned earlier, such as enhancing performance.

Oracle Applications consists of the following modules-

1. Developer Services- It focuses on deploying and running modern cloud applications using low-code tools and services.  These include API Gateway, API Management, DevOPS, Java, Resources, Notifications, Resource Manager, etc.  Apex is Oracle’s low-code development platform for building, deploying and managing modern and data-driven applications.  The application integration allows developers to seamlessly connect on-premise applications with SaaS-based solutions to accelerate and improve the visual development experience and embed the best integration practice. 
2. Oracle Containers and Functions help to deploy microservices applications on the open source Kubernetes and Docker services, which are known for their managed high performances.  It also includes an advanced serverless platform enabling developers to build, run, and scale applications without managing the infrastructure.  OCI, SaaS platforms, and platform services sync with cloud functions.
3. Oracle has built Compute Services to create instances or efficiently manage bare hosts that can flexibly fit any workload and meet computing and application requirements.  Once the instance gets created, you can easily access it from anywhere and make changes according to your specific needs.  OCI offers two types of instances; bare metal and virtual machines. 
4. Oracle is responsible for maintaining hardware and ensuring safety, security, and integrity.  Oracle Cloud Storage service provides users with multiple cloud storage options and high-performance computing facilities to meet specific storage needs.  The advantage of using this Oracle service is that you have to only pay for the space you are utilizing.

#2.  Migrate, Optimize & Extend Custom & Third-Party Applications to OCI 

This Oracle service enables you to seamlessly migrate custom and third-party applications to OCI without much rearchitecting or reintegrating applications.  The service provides boosting performance at cost-effective prices with the support of IaaS. (Infrastructure-as-a-Service).  It also offers robust protection to the software development lifecycle with industry-leading data management practices.  It also supports open source MySQL, Kubernetes, Java, etc. 

Users can use Cloud Lift Services for swift and low-cost migration, while Oracle Coach Cloud Clinics is used for kickstarting development.  The process involves connecting to custom third-party applications, developing autonomous open source databases, observability and management, security and compliance, migration, cloud-native, and more. 

The Modules include-

Application Integration- Oracle Application Integration Framework helps build custom applications where you can change the menu options, view add pop-up dialogs, user third-party services, and specify the method of presenting results to the users.  Oracle Integration involves aligning Oracle prebuilt connectivity with third-party, cloud-based, and on-premise applications allowing users to quickly migrate and sync their data and access real-time reliable data from diverse sources.

Analytics & BI - The service lets you use business intelligence and augmented analytics to gain real-time insights from all sorts of data.  You can access and process meaningful data, make accurate predictions, and make informed business decisions. 

Oracle Networking- The Networking and Connectivity Solutions from Oracle focus on upscaling, streamlining, and cost-efficiently managing the customer networks.  Customers can easily connect with a secure, customizable, isolated Virtual Cloud Network to leverage affordable data egress charges.  Also, users can improve their connectivity through granular access control over networking on physical and virtual networks.

Oracle Database- It is an advanced and leading multi-model database management system from Oracle that helps to organize enormous volumes of data structurally and store that in the digital format.  Oracle Autonomous Database allows customers to process online transactions, data warehousing, and workloads.  It offers unmatched security against all data breaches and serves as a unified database for processing all data types.  It is available as on-premise, cloud, or hybrid models.

Check out a review from an Original Customer

#3.  Host an Oracle ISV Application 

Suppose you are an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) looking for a robustly secured, scalable, flexible, and high-performing cloud-based solution to host your application.  In that case, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is indeed an optimal choice.  It has automation capabilities and unmatched built-in security to deliver extraordinary user experiences. 

Can ISVs trust OCI?

Oracle ISV provides an array of services, including simplified migration, easy management with autonomous services, complete SLAs, built-in security, autonomous data management, flexible deployment, and more. 

It also includes ISV Accelerator, a set of technical Enablers that allows you to quickly implement or move your newly-hosted products or services on Oracle Infrastructure-as-a-Service.  It uses the best approaches to rapidly onboard initial customers and create a repeated plan for the new onboarding process.  If you have to onboard the first two customers, use Cloud Build Track services that offer additional go-to-market enablers that help to expand your market presence.

The Modules include-

Machine Learning

Oracle Machine Learning Services reduce deployment time and manage in-database models using SQL, Python, REST, AutoML, and no-code interfaces.  It includes Oracle Machine Learning Notebooks that simplify the learning curve for data scientists by offering open-source Apache Zeppelin notebook technology. 

• Anomaly detection helps developers detect critical incidents and issues to resolve the problem faster. 
• Data Science Service provides JupyterLab Notebook that enables access to various open source tools and frameworks.  You can build advanced machine learning features and hyperparameter tuning. 
• AI language focuses on analyzing text using built-in and trained models to create sentiment analysis, text classification, etc., for which you don’t need machine learning expertise. 
• AI Speech to Text digitally converts audio content into text.  It offers prebuilt acoustic and language models, analyzes data from audio and video files, etc. 

Data Lakehouse 

Using the prebuilt AI services and frameworks, you can implement a data lakehouse on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Oracle has created this data storehouse by aligning the data lake and data warehouse.  It is a modern data architecture that stores and analyzes the entire data. 

• Data Warehouse involves autonomous administration and eliminates all manual tasks like scaling, backups, repairing, patching, etc., ensuring consistent high performance and providing unparalleled security. Data scientists can gain real-time insights and discover hidden data relationships. 
• Big Data service provides a cost-efficient Hadoop environment to build highly scalable and secured Hadoop-enabled data lakes for processing large volumes of data. 
• Data Catalog is a metadata management service that uncovers data and provides data governance support. 
• Data Flow offers a comprehensively managed Apache Spark Service to simplify processing complex tasks and extensive datasheets without deploying infrastructure management.
• GoldenGate provides real-time data mesh services to upsurge the accessibility of data through replication and carrying out instant data analysis.  Users don’t need to compute data for data execution and monitoring. 
• HeatWave is a machine learning-powered in-memory query accelerator that boosts the MySQL performance using mixed workloads and orders of magnitude for analytics.  When using HeatWave, you don’t need a separate machine learning tool.
• Cloud Streaming is an Apache Kafka-based event streaming platform that provides exceptional third-party product integrations across different categories using DevOps and SaaS applications. 

Open Source Databases 

Oracle has built open source databases, such as MySQL HeatWave Database service, that aligns machine learning, transactions, and analytics in a single MySQL database and provides real-time analytics. You don’t have to duplicate the cost of extraction, transformation, and load (ETL). 

There is another Oracle managed service known as Oracle OpenSearch, using which you can easily store, search, and analyze large volumes of data.  It also automates patching and backup services through the OpenSearch insight engine. 

Native VMWare

Native VMware provides unmatched security and monitoring services, flexible compute shapes, integrated solutions & native workloads, mitigates operational changes, and more.

#4.  Security and Compliance Management 

Oracle provides robust security and comprehensive compliance solutions to safeguard your valuable data and applications from unethical hacking, unauthorized breaches, and cyber-attacks.  Oracle claims to have more than a decade of experience protecting data and delivers a highly-secured platform for all business sizes and types.  Oracle’s security-first design principles help to minimize risks and provide built-in security controls. 

The Explicit Oracle Security Features Include- 

Cloud Infrastructure Security includes monitoring and safely migrating Cloud Guard Security, Zones, Scanning, etc.  It also offers threat intelligence, web application firewall, Autonomous Linux, Government Cloud, Bastion, and more.  

Cloud Database Security simplifies compliance on cloud and on-premise and protects data against breaches through robust encryption and various other Oracle security tools.  These include audit vault, data masking, database firewall, key vault, and more. 

Cloud Applications Security safeguards the Oracle and non-Oracle applications against fraud and data misuse.  It uses Cloud Access Security Broker to detect threats on the whole cloud stack and workloads.  It also offers Risk Management Cloud and IAM.

Identity & Access Management improves scalability and minimizes operational costs.  It optimizes compliance abilities and regulatory mandates to protect sensitive data and applications on the cloud and on-premise. 

Corporate Security & Privacy Practices enables organizations to enforce strict security policies to ensure confidentiality and integrity of data hosted on the cloud and on-premise. 

Advanced Customer Services helps fortify security when developers transform data to the cloud or multi-cloud.  It helps to mitigate any attack surface or alert overloads through proactive threat monitoring, enhanced visibility of vulnerabilities, and improved data security controls. 

#5.  Global Cloud Data Center 

Commercial & Government Cloud Regions 

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure or OCI’s data centers are globally distributed, enabling organizations to quickly and seamlessly create, migrate, and run workloads complying with regional data regulations. 

The different global cloud regions include commercial and government cloud regions.  These are the U.S. Department of Defense Regions, the U.K. Government regions, the U.S. National Security regions, and the US FedRAMP regions. 

Oracle Hybrid Cloud

Oracle Hybrid Cloud provides multiple deployment strategies like deployment of portable devices or moving a complete cloud to the customer data center.  Using a hybrid cloud architecture means deploying public and on-premise cloud to streamline IT solutions and make workloads more flexible. 

The Hybrid Cloud environment also involves 

• Oracle Dedicated Region Cloud@Customer that moves all SaS-based applications and public cloud services to the data center and runs them without residency issues. 
• If you want to speed up deploying cloud workloads outside data centers, use Oracle Roving Edge Infrastructure. 
• Oracle Exadata Cloud@Customer efficiently manages the database of the data center and aligns Exadata’s performance with scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. 
• Oracle Cloud VMware Solution helps to run native workloads on Oracle cloud and reduce risks with built-in customer isolated tenancy.

What’s New in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure of July 2022

• Recently, in July 2022, Oracle announced that organizations using OCI will have to implement and enforce new governing rules, allowing them to set resource quotas for disabling certain services and ensure that tenancies comply with guardrails. 
• Now, you can use the CN-series container firewall in OCI to safeguard the Kubernetes containers. 
• Oracle also increased the capabilities of Identity and Access Management (IAM) to address identity sprawl using unified IAM platforms.  You can effortlessly manage entitlements and access across cloud and on-premise applications.
• OCI’s security has been further fortified through next-generation security practices, such as threat detection using cloud services, automation to minimize data loss, adopting layered security strategies, and appointing hands-on experienced cybersecurity experts.
• You will not require a new separate Graph database to analyze data connections, such as customer trends, insights, fraud detection, etc.  Oracle Autonomous Database will do all these tasks for you. 
• OCI Terraform-enabled resource manager will support private access.

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure: Pros & Cons

OCI Services Pricing Models 

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure offers a simplified pricing model, categorized into five tiers.  These include-

1. Consistent Global Pricing- Oracle Cloud Infrastructure’s consistent global pricing model proves handy for all those organizations willing to expand their presence in various geographies without spending more on budget.  Businesses can seamlessly move to different demographics with a consistent experience in every region without compromising performance. 
2. Pay As You Go- This is a more flexible pricing model where you only need to pay for the service or resource you use. You can easily change the service or migrate to another cloud region. OCI pricings are both monthly and hourly without any other additional charges. 
3. Oracle Universal Credits- You can purchase some OCI credits in your account and use them over some time.  These credits get debited while using the OCI service.  You can use any service in any region with ease. 
4. Bring Your Own License-  BYOL allows you to use your existing Oracle on-premise platform on OCL or higher automated and managed software versions. 
5. Oracle Support Rewards- The pricing model enables customers to earn more value than they spend while using the different OCI services.  It means that if they pay $1 for a service, they make a reward of 25¢ as this amount gets deducted from their license support bill.

OCI Pricing in Detail

OCI Top Alternatives 

Suppose you think that Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Services is exceeding your budget estimate or the services are complicated to understand and implement.  In that case, you can certainly explore a few other alternatives to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, such as Google Cloud Platform, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Microsoft Azure Solutions.

Final Verdict for Oracle Cloud Infrastructure 

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure has simplified the development and deployment of cloud-powered native applications, enabling users to run them faster and in a more secure environment.  It also seamlessly migrates and runs all IT-based workloads to new data and native cloud platforms.  However, it needs to simplify its pricing structure and make documentation simpler to improve its cloud services.

Some Original OCI Customer Reviews

Will Oracle Continue to Provide Exceptional Cloud Applications & Expand its Cloud Regions: GoodFirms’ Final Take 

Oracle Corporation is one of the predominant and early cloud computing and cloud applications providers that has gone from strength to strength by introducing new innovative products and services to redefine transformative technologies.  On the one hand, Oracle Cloud Applications has streamlined and optimized various business processes like finance, project management, supply chain management, customer relationship management, human resource management, etc.  In contrast, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure enables businesses to create, run, and migrate applications from existing workloads to a new native cloud.

Oracle has to battle stiff competition from some of the most notable tech giants, including SAP, Microsoft, Google, AWS, IBM, and Salesforce.  Its effort to continuously upgrade the product and innovate the cloud services has allowed it to provide improved solutions in terms of product lifecycle management, infrastructure performance, the total cost of ownership, and better load balancing. 

Oracle has, over the years, expanded its cloud regions globally and is currently spanning 38 geographies, providing more than 80+ Infrastructure Cloud Services.  It plans to increase its cloud services to more areas in the upcoming years. 

Oracle recently gained the pole position in Wall Street forecasts for profit and revenue growth, witnessing a hike in demand for cloud services and products.  One of the other prime reasons that have led to a 17-18% increase in revenue is Oracle’s acquisition of Cerner Corp. 

However, considering the days to come, the company needs to improve its documentation of cloud and customer services by making it more proactive.  It has the potential to become the best cloud application vendor and service provider and stand as the top Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Database as a Service (DBaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) solution.

If you are an Oracle customer using any of its products or services, please feel free to share your reviews on our platform. 

You can also read a complete and detailed review of Oracle’s major acquisition NetSuite here.  Also, GoodFirms has published reviews of its key competitors like Salesforce CRM and Microsoft software products. 

Also, you can go through GoodFirms’ detailed reviews of HubSpot CRM, Xero Accounting Software, Zoho software solutions, Zoom,  Zoho Meeting Video Conferencing Tool, and Android Studio, Google’s Official IDE.