Highlights on hardware, data centers, and Larry I’m here in San Francisco for Oracle Open World. Just arrived but I already have some first impressions.1. There are signs, billboards, and brochures boasting about Oracle’s commitment to integrated hardware and software. This is the ultimate irony to an industry old-timer like me as Oracle led the open systems charge in the 1990s, lambasting Digital Equipment and IBM for its autocratic systems control. I’ll have to poke around for some old Oracle ads and compare them to its new integrated stack mantra.2. VMware is here and if I stop by its booth, I get a free Espresso. Funny thing is that as far as I know, Oracle doesn’t support its apps or databases running on top of VMware. Based upon ESG Research, I believe that within 2 years or so, large organizations will run Oracle virtualization infrastructure to run Oracle workloads next to VMware, Xen, or Hyper-V workloads. When this happens, I can’t imagine VMware will be very visible at Oracle Open World, let alone spring for coffee.3. Rumor has it that Oracle will either announce its own Ethernet switch or buy one of the remaining independents. Personally, I hope Oracle doesn’t go down this road and decides to work with everyone else.4. I fully expect Oracle to jump much deeper into the security waters. This is becoming a requirement for being in the systems business. 5. Michael Dell spoke this morning about virtualization in the data center. Application and database folks used to refer to this stuff as “plumbing.” Why do they care now? Because distributed applications with huge Hadoop backends need to be tuned with virtual servers, networks, and storage I/O in mind. 6. I’m looking for Oracle to be one of the leaders that transform today’s monolithic enterprised-focused identity management technology to a more web-friendly democratic model.7. It’s funny that after Larry ripped apart cloud computing as nothing but industry hype, many vendors are here at OOW preaching, you guessed it, cloud computing. More soon, time to walk the floor and get indoctrinated. Related content analysis 5 things security pros want from XDR platforms New research shows that while extended detection and response (XDR) remains a nebulous topic, security pros know what they want from an XDR platform. By Jon Oltsik Jul 07, 2022 3 mins Intrusion Detection Software Incident Response opinion Bye-bye best-of-breed? ESG research finds that organizations are increasingly integrating security technologies and purchasing multi-product security platforms, changing the industry in the process. By Jon Oltsik Jun 14, 2022 4 mins Security Software opinion SOC modernization: 8 key considerations Organizations need SOC transformation for security efficacy and operational efficiency. Technology vendors should come to this year’s RSA Conference with clear messages and plans, not industry hyperbole. By Jon Oltsik Apr 27, 2022 6 mins RSA Conference Security Operations Center opinion 5 ways to improve security hygiene and posture management Security professionals suggest continuous controls validation, process automation, and integrating security and IT technologies. By Jon Oltsik Apr 05, 2022 4 mins Security Practices Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe