Sunday, June 23, 2019

Easy Steps To Become Oracle Database Certified

So, in the event you become Oracle Certified? It has been a debatable issue for some time, only one factor is for certain: the Oracle Certification offers an accurate way of measuring your technical abilities. Furthermore, it offers a superior an advantage over people competing for that database administration positions you would like.

Listed here are the steps for you to get an Oracle Database certification:


1. Affiliate Certification

The initial step for you to get your Oracle gets the Affiliate Certification, which mandates that the individual passes two tests to get an Oracle Certified Affiliate (OCA). With this particular qualification, you can be employed in junior database management together member or perhaps an application developer. To obtain the affiliate certification, you need to pass within the three tests described below and also the final “Oracle Database 11g: Administration I” test.

Step One: Take among the following three courses


Oracle Database 12c: SQL Fundamentals 1Z0-061

The examination tests capability to create, retrieve, maintain and edit data inside a database. Mainly, this requires an understanding of important database administration concepts for example relational database. Furthermore, the necessity to understand and employ SQL is essential, because the test will need you to demonstrate your SQL programming skills.

Oracle Database SQL Expert 1Z0-047

Generally, it is really an advanced form of the “Introduction to Oracle9i SQL” test. You'll need proficiency in 76 topics to achieve this exam. You must have a higher knowledge of database objects, control rights, and system-level queries. The questions are require deep knowledge of SQL, and therefore are multiple parts anyway, requiring use of concepts instead of mere recall skills of solutions. Experience of database administration provides you with a notable advantage within this test.

Oracle Database 11g: SQL Fundamentals I 1Z0-051

This test is definitely an improved form of the “Introduction to Oracle9i SQL” test. The information is much more recent and includes set and conditional operators, that are absent within the older version. Therefore, you'd be best selecting this test within the former.

Step Two: Oracle Database 11g: Administration I 1Z0-052

The exam requires understanding regarding how to setup database environments and secure Oracle instances in almost any network atmosphere. Other concepts required to pass this exam include knowledge of database backup and recovery, Oracle Database Architecture, in addition to configuration of security instances. The questions require use of concepts, not only recall skills of knowledge.



2. Professional Certification


The professional certification enables you to definitely manage large databases and develop large-scale database applications. In conclusion, to get an Oracle Certified Professional (OCP), you need to take a teacher-brought course, a test along with a hands-on target.

Step One: Be an Oracle Certified Affiliate

You'll want the OCA certification like a pre-requisite with this course.

Step Two: Take a test

The 2nd part of the OCP certification process would be to have a course from an array of about 50 courses and sit a test. Their email list of those courses can be obtained around the Oracle site. The broad selection means that you could pick the course that most closely fits your training needs. Note that you can't satisfy the needs of the course through self-study you need to take a teacher-brought class, an online class or learn through training-on-demand.

Step Three: Submission of the Already Completed Course

Within this step, you're needed to submit a formerly completed course from a summary of 21 courses. Alternatively, Oracle enables submissions from courses taken in the last step.

Step Four: Oracle Database 11g: Administration II 1Z0-053

This is actually the final exam within the OCP certification process. When you pass this exam, you are able to go to the ultimate process.

Step Five: Submit a training course completion form

When you pass this exam, you just need to develop a course submission because the final part of the OCP certification process.

3. Master Certification


This is actually the greatest Oracle certification you will get. With this particular qualification, you'll well-suitable for operate in senior levels inside it departments handling sensitive database system issues and applications. You'll need an OCP certification to obtain began. You then will require a 2-day exam along with hands-on target.

Step One: Get the OCP Certification


The Oracle Certified Master (OCM) requires you to definitely first have the OCP certification.

Step Two: Complete two advanced courses


The next phase in master certification is completing two courses from a summary of over 30 courses. A few of these courses may coincide with individuals offered within the OCP certification process. Nonetheless, individuals used to get the OCP certification can't be used in this key to satisfy the OCM needs. Furthermore, just like the OCP certification courses, you need to take these courses at school, through virtual class, or by training when needed.

Step Three: Submit a Completed Course


This task can also be similar to its OCP counterpart in that you could submit an archived course from a summary of almost twenty courses given or perhaps a course in the list provided in the last step.

Step Four: Oracle Database 11g: Certified Master Exam 11GOCM


This is actually the final exam within the master certification process. Passing this exam basically completes the training needs for the whole Oracle certification process. However, there's a couple of minor steps needed to get the OCM certification.

Step Five: Fill a training course Submission Form


You need to submit this type to show you have effectively completed all of the courses needed to obtain the Oracle Certified Master qualification.

Step Six: Submission of the Fulfillment Package Request


This type can also be posted additionally towards the course submission form, and it is the final requirement of the actual Certification process.

Conclusion:


Generally, Oracle Certified database managers possess the knowhow to operate databases both in the junior and senior levels, with respect to the certification level. Many people might reason that there's little indicate being certified, because the process requires the recall skills of theoretical concepts and going for a multiple choice test. However, while there's credence that certification does nothing to pay for the possible lack of technical competence acquired through experience, it will give validity to such claims. Being an Oracle Certified database administrator, potential employers and customers are easier convinced of the abilities within the field.

Saturday, June 22, 2019

Most Popular IT Certifications

Cisco

Covering Cisco Systems internetworking hardware and the Cisco IOS. Includes: CCDA, CCENT, CCNA, CCNP, CCDP, CCSI, CCIE, CCDE and more...

Citrix Systems

Covering Citrix products and architecures. Includes: CCA, CCEE, CCAA, CCIA, CCI

CompTIA

Popular foundation-level vendor-neutral certifications covering specific technology areas. Includes: A+, CDIA+, Cloud Essentials, Security+, Project+, Linux+, Network+, Server+, CTT+, and more...

IBM

Certifications for IBM hardware and software, including credentials related to Java and MySQL.  Includes: IBM DBA, IBM Certified Specialist, Application Developer, and more...

ISACA

Popular infotech information risk management and auditing. CISA, CRISC, CISM, CGEIT and more...

ISC2

Vendor-neutral security certifications. Includes: CAP, CISSP, CSSLP, SSCP, and more...


Microsoft

Certifications covering the Microsoft operating system (Windows 2012, Windows 7, Visual Basic, C#, Microsoft Office) and software. Includes: MCSE, MCSD, MCTS, MCITP, MOS, MCPD, MCT, MCA, and more...

Project Management

PMI PMP, CAPM, PRINCE2, Agile project management, and more...

Oracle

For Oracle database administrators and developers. Includes: OCA, Oracle OCP DBA, OCE, OCM - Java EE, and more...

Red Hat

Hands-on Linux certification. RHCA, RHCE, RHCSA, RHCSS, RHCVA, and more...

VMware

Virtualization with vSphere and VMware View. VCP-Cloud, VCAP-Desktop Administration, VCDX-Data Center Virtualization, and more...

Friday, June 21, 2019

Learning to be an Oracle Database Administrator (DBA)

Inside a recent forum discussion I authored lower a tough outline from the approach I believe people must take to become competent DBA. This short article represents my ideas with that matter. Remember, this really is only a viewpoint.

  • Step One : Pick Your Beginning Operating-system Wisely
  • Step Two : Consider Oracle Certification (OCP)
  • Step Three : Understand Virtualization
  • Step Four : Broaden Your Operating-system Understanding
  • Step Five : Oracle on Linux
  • Step Six : Automatic Storage Manager (ASM)
  • Step 7 : Real Application Clusters (RAC)
  • Conclusion


Step One : Pick Your Beginning Operating-system Wisely


When you're a new comer to Oracle, you need to minimize the amount of unknowns you throw in to the mix. As a result, you need to most likely start the training process around the operating-system you're most acquainted with. If you're most joyful on Home windows, then go ahead and try the Home windows downloads of Oracle Database. It's a great way to enter into the merchandise, without getting to begin learning any new OS technology.

Most Oracle systems I've labored with happen to be placed on some type of UNIX or Linux, so you'll certainly have to understand individuals sooner or later, until then, stick to that which you know.

Step Two : Consider Oracle Certification (OCP)


I believe the Oracle Certified Professional (OCP) certification is a nice good beginning point for just about any ambitious DBA. It isn't perfect and having the certification does not cause you to an excellent DBA, however if you simply approach it correctly it'll have taken the very first steps along your path. Read much more about the OCP within the following articles.

  • Oracle Certification : Faq's (OCA, OCP, OCE, OCM)
  • Oracle Database OCA & OCP Certification


Step Three : Understand Virtualization


Like a DBA you'll be focusing on a number of os's. A great way to get an understanding of new os's would be to try playing about with Oracle VirtualBox. It will help you to run multiple virtual machines with various os's on your computer, providing you with an chance to obtain more acquainted with these questions safe atmosphere. This may also be a walking stone to doing more difficult stuff later. There's a fundamental illustration of developing a VM using VirtualBox here.

I have written numerous fundamental installation guides for Linux, which you'll find here.

I recommend you play about with creating a couple of VMs, installing Home windows and a number of Linux distros, including Oracle Linux versions, Ubuntu, maybe Fedora too. It isn't important to enter an excessive amount of depth with these Linux distributions initially. This really is much more about reducing your teeth on VirtualBox. Doing a number of things can help you understand virtualization generally and also the product itself. You could also take advantage of studying a fundamental summary of virtualization, like my article here.

Step Four : Broaden Your Operating-system Understanding


Following on in the previous step, when you are feeling confident with the fundamentals to be an Oracle DBA and virtualization, you need to most likely begin to broaden your understanding of os's. This is also true in case your primary learning platform was Home windows. The majority of the work you need to do being an Oracle DBA is going to be on UNIX and Linux systems, so you will need to be comfy on individuals.

The simplest way into that is by using Oracle Linux, that is free and supported. I have already associated with development of a VM and installation articles for a number of Linux distributions, including Oracle Linux, but you will need to know a little more about Linux itself if you're seriously interested in as being a DBA onto it. Read a lot of stuff about this here.

The greater your grounding in Linux, the simpler you'll find more complicated tasks, like RAC installations, later on.

Step Five : Oracle on Linux


When you feel good with VirtualBox and installing of Linux on VMs, you can look at carrying out a simple Oracle installation on the Linux VM. Something similar to individuals described here. Personally, I'd stick to Oracle around the fundamental file system initially, staying away from more complicated features like ASM before you tend to be more confident.

Play about with this particular stuff. Break it and then try to repair it. Do backup and recovery. Do multiple installations. Try upgrades from the database and OS etc. Attempt to mimic normal DBA tasks. Don't merely assume one effective installation means you are prepared to move ahead.

Step Six : Automatic Storage Manager (ASM)


When you're feeling at ease with that fundamental stuff, you can look at searching at installations using Automatic Storage Manager (ASM). Using ASM means you'll need some facets of the Grid Infrastructure technology, that is your walking stone to Real Application Cluster (RAC) installations. Should you spend some time to understand ASM and Grid Infrastructure technologies like Oracle restart, the progression to RAC is going to be much simpler.

Step 7 : Real Application Clusters (RAC)


When all of the previous foot work continues to be done and you'll need a bigger challenge you can look at an online RAC installation. There are several types of these on this web site here.

Oracle RAC requires some understanding in many areas, including os's as well as networking. Without individuals you'll make lots of mistakes and discover the procedure incredibly infuriating. For those who have taken your time and effort to understand all of the prerequisites, it'll seem like an all natural progression.


Conclusion


So now you must the selection:

  1. Come methodically with the technology stack. Browse the manuals along the way and test stuff. Develop a good foundation that may help you progress, have ideas of your and be a great DBA.
  2. Race through attempting to install RAC as rapidly as you possibly can. Write plenty of posts forums complaining how stuff does not work, how difficult Oracle is and just how rubbish people's content is simply because they did not hands-hold you thru doing something you most likely should not happen to be attempting to begin with. In the finish of this you'll have little real understanding and can most likely not manage to doing anything significant like a DBA inside a work atmosphere.


It's your choice. Choose wisely. :)

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Six Hot Big Data Certifications for 2018

In 2018 (and beyond), an organization’s capacity to innovate as well as be depends partly on being able to leverage, manage, and evaluate big data. Relevant and timely insights enable companies to produce correct business decisions.

Numerous enterprises, however, still face a skills gap in data management and analysis. It’s no doubt the eye in high-quality data management and analytics professionals is actually high.

According to Glassdoor, Data Investigator was the most effective IT role in 2017. McKinsey forecasts insufficient around 190,000 data scientists in 2018 within the united states . States. Plus a recent Forrester Research report claims the curiosity about data engineers continuously increase in 2018. Enterprises may also be trying to find data architects, data analysts, database managers and managers.

If you are a IT professional with current big data abilities, growth prospects are encouraging. You'll find an growing volume of big data certifications offered by vendors, universities and institutes searching to handle the growing curiosity about technical expertise.

Certifications demonstrate a holder’s understanding of specific tools, platforms and technologies and constitute one of the criteria with an employer to judge whether a job candidate gets the understanding and real-world skills to help implement a company’s big data analytics plan and allow it to to sustain a hostile edge.

Listed below are six in the hottest big data certifications:


1) Certified Analytics Professional (CAP)


The Certified Analytics Professional (CAP) certification can be a vendor-neutral global qualification administered with the Institute for Operations Research as well as the Management Sciences (INFORMS). This certification is perfect for candidates with experience with business analytics. It validates an over-all understanding from the seven stages in the analytics process:

  • Framing business problems
  • Framing analytics problems
  • Acquiring data
  • Selecting methodology
  • Model building
  • Deployment
  • Model lifecycle management


Candidates must possess whether master’s degree inside an analytics-related discipline and three many years of professional analytics experience, or possibly a bachelor’s degree inside an analytics-related discipline and five years at work experience with analytics, or possibly a non-analytics degree and seven years of professional analytics experience.



Additional eligibility needs include previous or current employer’s endorsement of necessary soft skills and acceptance in the CAP Code of Ethics. The Cap exam is multiple-choice getting a 3-hour duration as well as the credential should be restored every 3 years.

2) PGP in Big Data Analytics and Optimization (formerly CPEE)


This globally-recognized credential is supplied with the Worldwide School of Engineering (INSOFE). It offers an 18-week program accessible in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, India. Aspirants are necessary to accomplish 10 courses comprised of lectures and labs on analytics having a concentrate on Hadoop and Rtools.

The courses cover statistics, text and social media analytics, optimization, machine learning and enormous data analytics. Candidates are evaluated with exams within the finish of each and every module, daily quizzes plus a real-world culminating project. Admittance for this program is founded on academic qualifications and experience additionally to performance by having an entrance exam.

3) MCSE: Data Management and Analytics


This certification has replaced the Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE): Business Intelligence, which was stopped on March 31, 2017. The MCSE: Data Management and Analytics credential prepares candidates for roles in database design, database analysis and business intelligence analysis. It certifies skills in SQL administration, developing data solutions for enterprises, and ultizing business intelligence data for business rise in on-premises and cloud environments.

Candidates are necessary to earn one or more in the following MCSA certifications:

  • SQL Server 2012/2014
  • SQL 2016 Database Administration
  • SQL 2016 Database Development
  • SQL 2016 BI Development
  • Machine Learning
  • BI Reporting
  • Data Engineering with Azure


They need to also pass among 12 MCSE elective exams. For that certification to remain valid, you'll have to pass another elective exam yearly. Sitting for your annual exams also demonstrates your keenness to know technology and augment your abilities.

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

The Three Hottest Database Certifications Right Now

You want data. I love data. Everybody likes data. Data enables us to determine patterns, create patterns where it normally won't exist, making vital business decisions. Among the best methods to prove just how much you want data, just how much you understand it, and demonstrate how adept you're at managing it is to buy certified.

The accessible database certifications differ around the folks attempting to achieve them. When creating your selection you need to ask: where shall we be held going? What it's I wish to administer, create and develop? Then think about what data your business needs.

You’ll need to choose your personal path for certification, as well as the purpose of space and time, let’s take a look at three from the hottest data certs presently available: Oracle’s Certified Affiliate, Microsoft’s MCSE: Data Platform (multiple tests) and Cloudera’s Hadoop Developer Exam.



The large players in database certification at this time are: Oracle, noted for being wealthy, wait, that’s the dog owner Ray Ellison. Oracle is among the greatest database companies on the planet and sits the main thing on database technology. Oracle databases are object-relational, storing data in tables, hooked with other tables and getting an “instance” of the particular server/database itself.

If you are acquainted with databases as well as their traditional format, then you’ll know how Oracle platforms are organized. You are able to query instead of “mine,” and stored procedures are commonplace. Their transfer to “Big Data” included Real Application Clusters, or Oracle RAC, where one can have multiple instances (usually on several servers) mounted on a main storage array.

This offers advantages for example better performance, scalability and redundancy. Support gets to be more complex, however, and lots of sites don't use RAC. In version 10g, grid computing introduced shared sources where an incident may use, for instance, CPU sources from another node (computer) within the grid.

Oracle’s certifications are as vast his or her product choices. Navigating Oracle’s site for certifications is cumbersome and also the pathways aren't organized clearly, however the one you need to choose may be the Oracle Certified Affiliate (OCA).

The OCA requires you to definitely pass two exams, the Oracle Database 12c: SQL Fundamentals (1Z0-061), and also the Oracle Database 11g: Administration (1Z0-052). OCA will test out your understanding of administration on Oracle, light query selection along with a complete summary of the woking platform. I suggest taking version 12 or greater for just about any certification tracks. As well as practice, you ought to always go ahead and take greatest and newest version possible associated with a certification.

The all inclusive costs of taking both Oracle exams will cost you $500, and take nearly that lots of study hrs. Each exam includes 70 multiple-choice inquiries to be finished in 1 hour 30 minutes. Although passing scores of these exams are susceptible to change without warning, a 65 % will often complete the job. Be sure that you check Oracle’s site for just about any last second changes.

Microsoft’s flagship database product, SQL, that also means Structured Query Language, is comparable to Oracle in that it's a relational database, enables queries and stored procedures and it has similar plan. For me, it features a big following due to its simplicity of use and almost childishly simple interface. As the underlying mechanics are mature and also the scalability of Microsoft’s method is robust, the opportunity to recently walk into the merchandise is extremely easy.

Microsoft’s certification track is way simpler to navigate than Oracle’s. It’s clearly organized and, a minimum of in my opinion, comes with an overall greater history of passes.

Their database certification of preference may be the new MCSE: Data Platform. To do this cert you will have to pass five exams:

  • Querying Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2014
  • Administering Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2014 Databases
  • Applying an information Warehouse with Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2014
  • Developing Microsoft SQL Server Databases
  • Designing Database Solutions for SQL Server


Observe that by passing the very first three exams, candidates will earn an MCSA: SQL Server 2012/2014 certification. Microsoft’s does a fantastic job of lounging out the road to this certification, it’s very simple to follow. These group of tests cover the whole selection of the information product. There's perhaps no bit of understanding that has the capacity to be acquired outdoors of those test, these tests cover everything it's important to know.

Each qualifying exam includes multiple-choice questions and periodic scenarios to become completed inside a certain time period. Make certain you seek advice from Microsoft to discover the amount of questions, duration and passing scores prior to preparation. The MCSE certification track is around the costly side due to the quantity of exams needed. You are able to most likely escape from beneath your MCSE: Data Platform addiction for $1,500, and around 1,000 hrs of studying.

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Big Data, Security, Database Management: Oracle Offers IT All

Millennials thinking about beginning a job with database technology and database security have been in a powerful position. Many employers are trying to find youthful and gifted those who comprehend the Oracle Database and just how it ties in to the current marketplace demands.

Oracle has greater than 300,000 Oracle Database customers who've deployments across a multitude of industries, and using databases for a lot of different reasons. Oracle Database enables IT professionals to provide more details, having a greater service quality to create more effective utilization of their budgets and also to prevent alternation in datacenters. As companies still expand globally, they have to make sure that their datacenters will always be ready to go.

Is the employment future uncertain after college? Understanding Oracle Database technology could place you in line for any promising career that targets industries experiencing real-world business challenges. A lot of companies which use the Oracle Database are wanting to employ more technologists who not just understand how to carry out the role of the DBA, but who're enthusiastic about finding out how to solve today’s critical business issues too.



There are a variety of interesting jobs open to a DBA, but three of the very most highly searched for after roles are individuals of Database Administer, Database Security Engineer, and Database Researcher. Here are descriptions which outline a few of the skills that folks seeking these roles should develop:

Database Administrator


Required a DBA typically include database Installation, configuration, upgrade, and migration. This involves understanding from the hardware prerequisites to have an efficient database server, in addition to being in a position to communicate individuals needs. The DBA installs database software and selects from various options within the product to configure it with the objective it's being deployed.

A DBA should also deploy new releases and patches because they are developed, in addition to have the ability to transfer data from legacy systems to brand new ones. DBAs are needed to do backup and recovery for that databases they manage. They have to comprehend the particular security model the database product uses and the way to utilize it effectively to manage accessibility data.

Furthermore, a DBA accounts for monitoring the database server and tuning it for optimal performance. When problems arise, a DBA must trobleshoot and fix the database server and proper any issues to prevent losing data.

Database Security Managers and Engineers


Evolving technologies have led to several new database security roles. Because databases centralize the storage of information, they're desirable targets for online hackers. The DBA must realize the specific security model the database product uses, in addition to using it effectively to manage accessibility data.

The 3 fundamental security jobs are authentication, authorization and auditing. Database security engineers are essential who are able to evaluate the threat potential at each degree of the database structure and suggest necessary security patches. This should be done at the start of the event cycle, as online hackers will target any security weaknesses, potentially accessing the system’s features and knowledge.

Other database security engineer tasks require these to communicate with DBA team people to make certain security standards are implemented across all company databases, stay current on guidelines which are highly relevant to business needs and recommend and implement security standards.

Database Researcher - Big Data


Entering the large Data realm requires an ambitious data researcher to achieve multidisciplinary skills, including Hadoop, MapReduce, database, data warehouse, and streaming. Data Scientists have the effect of designing, developing and applying data analysis, and applying data science approaches for data exploration.

A vital responsibility can include performing data analysis, research and knowledge modeling using structured and unstructured data. Data scientists will have to be in a position to verify the integrity from the data employed for analysis inside an organization and making use of the right database functionality can give them the best framework to get this done. They will have to communicate complex produces a obvious manner to assist business leaders determine the easiest method to make use of the data to aid company goals and business growth.

Monday, June 17, 2019

Oracle Certifications : Which Ones Are Right for You?

Oracle's certification program might entertain a brand new motto: "Not only for database pros any longer.

The organization offers certifications for various job roles, matching the wide-varying choices of the organization itself, from software to development tools. Founded on the idea of relational database technology, Oracle now bills itself as "the earth's largest enterprise software company." It offers data warehouse design and application servers, in addition to enterprise resource planning (ERP) and crm (CRM) solutions, helped by Oracle's recent merger with PeopleSoft.

For This professionals dealing with Oracle products, the business's multifaceted technology means an extensive spectrum of certifications for database managers, software developers, analysts, Web managers yet others.



Oracle Primary Certifications


  • Oracle Certified Affiliate (OCA): The affiliate credential is made for IT professionals beginning to utilize Oracle. Typically, OCAs will curently have acquired the building blocks of understanding for his or her act as Web managers, database managers and developers. Oracle views the OCA credential being an appropriate beginning point for techies at the start of their careers.
  • Oracle Certified Professional (OCP): OCPs have achieved a diploma of expertise and success within their careers. For instance, developers might have shown their expertise by building a large-scale Oracle database or developing applications used within a company. This credential is viewed in an effort to proceed to senior-level positions.
  • Oracle Certified Master (OCM): The OCM credential could be summarized in one word: Guru. OCMs, whether database pros or developers, are very important people from it departments who handle mission-critical projects and tasks. The OCM credential considerably sets the standard for certification using its hands-on testing, based on articles in Oracle Magazine, a business publication. The OCM is Oracle University's reaction to the industry's have to effectively test candidates on their own capability to perform inside a real-world, live application atmosphere and it is an evaluation of both understanding and experience, the content notes.


Credentials for particular Oracle Products and Releases


Oracle's certifications are usually associated with specific products and releases. Deciding which certification road to choose depends largely upon what Oracle technology you'll be dealing with, whether Oracle Database 10g, Oracle9i Forms Developer, Oracle Application Server 10g, Oracle9i Database, Oracle Forms 6i Developer or Oracle9i Application Server. An Oracle-created guide offers suggestions about the steps to becoming certified by Oracle.

Oracle Certification Sources


  • These training and knowledge sources are helpful for techies thinking about Oracle certification:
  • Oracle College offers instructor-brought, self-paced learning courses.
  • Self Test Software provides practice tests endorsed by Oracle. The tests are made to help individuals going after certification target places that they require practice and extra understanding.
  • Oracle Magazine regularly includes articles aimed at IT pros seeking Oracle certification.
  • DBAzine.com is definitely an network for database issues.
  • SearchOracle.com is really a clearinghouse for Oracle articles.
  • Oracle FAQ is perfect for Oracle products and includes links to books, discussion boards along with other sources.
  • Oracle Headline News offers the latest in the Oracle world.
  • Database Journal includes a special Oracle section.

Friday, May 31, 2019

Utilities Test Drive Analytics from Oracle to Manage Influx of Electric Vehicles

The use of electric vehicles (EVs) is growing at a record rate, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicting that the number of electric cars on the road will rise from 3.1 million in 2017 to 125 million in 2030. Enabling utilities to intelligently manage this new energy demand on the power grid, Oracle Utilities has unveiled a breakthrough in EV detection.

Tapping deep machine learning, Oracle Utilities Analytics Insights is able to identify the presence of an EV, show the time and frequency of charging and disaggregate the energy being consumed by the vehicle with advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) data. With this intelligence, utilities can reliably plan for the energy infusion needed to power EVs at scale and engage customers to charge at the times that are the least expensive for them and best for the health of the energy grid. The new EV detection capabilities from Oracle Utilities Analytics Insights are currently being piloted by a number of utilities.



“With solar, wind and storage technologies now constituting 90 percent of investment interest, the road is paved for deeper decarbonization of the electricity sector,” said Ben Kellison, director grid research, Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables. “The case for transport electrification has never been stronger and the rapid growth in investment interest from car manufacturers is a confirmation of the future consumer demand for EVs. Utilities are now faced with an increasingly clean and decentralized system and they need new data and analytic packages to support a new planning paradigm.” 

Impact of the EV Explosion on the Energy Grid


The influx of EVs could represent an average additional growth of 1-4 percent in peak load on the grid over the next few decades, according to a report by McKinsey. While this may seem modest, the impact will be highly volatile and cause unpredictable spikes at the local sub-station and feeder levels in residential areas. This load is projected to reach as high as 30 percent peak growth in certain urban areas that are hotspots for EV adoption.

While this transportation development represents an important step forward in reducing carbon emissions, most electricity grids were created long before EVs were a commercially viable consumer product. As transportation continues to evolve from gas to the grid, utilities must plan for an uptick in energy demand that will vary dramatically by area. 

“With almost every major auto manufacturer releasing new EV models in the coming years, the window of time for utilities to act is closing,” said Dan Byrnes, SVP of product development, Oracle Utilities. “The intelligence our analytics provide is essential for utilities to make needed assessments on grid investments and in tandem, work as trusted advisors to customers who may be in the dark as to how owning an EV is impacting their energy footprint and bill. From utility optimization to proven customer engagement, only Oracle offers a complete package to manage the explosion of EVs.”

Powering Better EV Planning and Engagement


The Oracle EV detection capabilities are powered by more than a decade of research and experience disaggregating household energy data from billions of data points collected from 60 million households across 100 utilities. Oracle’s trained data models can be deployed for each specific household’s usage to understand whether a customer has an EV, how they interact with their EV chargers, and where EVs are clustering on the distribution grid. As such, utilities will be able to better plan for and manage the operational impact of EVs as a new distributed energy resource (DER) on the grid.

From a customer perspective, charging an EV can increase a typical household’s energy usage by 15 percent or more and potentially double usage during peak demand times. With the offering, utilities will have the tools to roll-out intuitive, user-friendly EV adoption customer journeys and time-of-use (TOU) plans to engage, educate and reward owners for charging during non-peak times. In the future, these same kinds of engagement programs can also be used for utilities to buy-back unused energy from their customers’ EV batteries to help balance energy supply and demand in times of need.

“EVs will have an impact on every part of a utility’s operations—from grid stability and regulatory affairs to customer billing and engagement,” added Byrnes. “With Oracle, our customers have the tools and intelligence they need to make better decisions, maximize outcomes, and increase customer satisfaction every step of the journey.”

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Oracle Applies Cutting-Edge Tech to Enhance Fan Experiences

Applying cloud computing, analytics, and machine learning to reams of data can modernize age-old activities like taking in a baseball game, watching a sailboat race,—or tracking product inventories—Oracle executives say.

Oracle execs and officials from the SailGP yacht race series gathered at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Yacht Club for Oracle Media Days to talk about how technology can make work and leisure activities better

Inside Oracle’s AI and Emerging Tech Strategy and Innovations


The Palma, Majorca-based Melia resort chain is rolling out a waterproof bracelet embedded with an NFC chip that lets guests unlock their rooms, order cocktails, book massages within the resort and buy things outside the property without a wallet or credit card.

Working with Melia, Oracle engineers came up with nearly two dozen possible uses for such a device in days. A first test of the bracelet, run in Majorca, went well and now the system is going live elsewhere, said Neil Sholay, vice president, Digital Innovation, Oracle.



Sholay’s “co-innovation teams”—comprised of developers, digital designers, business modelers, and consultants—work with customers on a real business problem that they have struggled to solve. “In 10 weeks, we’ll take that challenge, find ideas, build prototypes, validate it with client data, and then get it into execution,” Sholay said.

The idea of a smart “wearable” is to give consumers what they want without hassle and for the business to gain access—with customer opt-in—to useful information.

The availability of data and great ways to use it are obviously valuable in less exotic workplaces as well. Smart companies want to wring more out of their own “first-party” data, and relish the idea of making better use of that data to cut costs and grow revenue.

“We are focused on embedding machine learning in our business applications,” said Melissa Boxer, vice president of Adaptive Intelligence Applications for Oracle. 

These applications come “ready to go, with pre-tuned data models, what you need to feed the business requirement whether it’s next-best-action for a salesperson or expense auditing,” Boxer said.

By integrating machine learning into commonly used business applications customers can take advantage of the technology in a familiar context with the data they already have. They don’t necessarily need to know that machine learning is even in there.

In addition to helping organizations get the most out of their own data, Oracle provides “third party data” from other sources that can enrich their customer’s applications with context from the real world.

The combination of internal data with contextual “signals” about what’s happening at a company—credit rating changes or new product launches—can help businesses “better categorize suppliers and understand which might be the best to work with,” Boxer said.

Oracle’s Commitment to Sports, Fan Experience and Technology Innovation


Most people go to sporting events to see what’s happening on the field. Any time they spend standing in line trying to buy food or drinks, detracts from that goal.

This is not a trivial problem. A ticket holder who doesn’t buy food equates to lost revenue for the venue, and less fun for the fan.

A recent survey found that most sports enthusiasts will embrace things that make it easier to get food and drinks although they don’t want to be distracted by the technology.

“Fans want convenience of mobile payments and kiosks but they don’t want tech for tech’s sake,” said Simon de Montfort Walker, senior vice president and general manager of Oracle’s Food and Beverage Global Business Unit

Collecting data about stadium traffic flow helps alleviate soul-sapping congestion. A computer vision system that sees where lines are shortest can push alerts to redirect people thus alleviating long waits at food stands and restrooms.

SailGP: Powered by technology Innovation


Racing space-age yachts in San Francisco Bay (or anywhere) presents its own set of technological and athletic hurdles. SailGP catamarans are the fastest boats in the world, capable of reaching speeds of up to 50 knots (or 60 mph on land), said Sir Russell Coutts, CEO of SailGP and five-time Americas Cup Winner.

Hans Henken, flight controller for the USA SailGP Team, described the experience for those who’ve never raced:

“It’s like driving your car down the freeway with the top down in the pouring rain. The exit is coming up fast, you change lanes and find your traction controls are off, you slam on the brakes and the brakes are out. You have to make quick decisions in a lot of spray, and it’s very, very noisy.”

In SailGP races, all of the boats are built to the same specifications, meaning that any edge the crew can get from 1,200 embedded sensors could be the difference between victory and defeat.

Sensor data is sent to the Oracle cloud in 200 msec, less time than the time it takes to blink, said Edwin Upson, Oracle group vice president of Enterprise Cloud Architects. Then it is returned to the crew for analysis in near-real-time.

Sailors on the boat and off-boat crews parse the data, plus audio and video from shipboard cameras, to adjust to changing conditions.

The same technology will help spectators track action on their tablets with a live TV feed and information about boat location and performance. “You can customize your view, zoom in and out, change which boat you’re tracking and change the camera view on a given boat,” Upson said.

Oracle sees opportunity in the intersection of technology and sports, an area Judy Sim, chief of staff and senior vice president of marketing calls “fast entertainment.”

Monday, March 11, 2019

Cloud Company NetSuite Helps UAE Organizations Scale - Oracle Certifications


To support growing customer demand in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oracle NetSuite has expanded its partner ecosystem in the region and introduced new innovations to help organizations gain the visibility and control needed to navigate change and accelerate growth. The new partnerships and innovations are designed to help UAE organizations drive growth, reduce costs and quickly and easily achieve the benefits of cloud computing.

“The UAE is putting a huge focus on business growth and economic development and this is creating a unique opportunity for innovation,” said Nicky Tozer, VP of EMEA, Oracle NetSuite. “With our new innovations and expanded partner ecosystem, we are strongly placed to help UAE customers capitalize on this opportunity.”

Growing Customer Base


NetSuite is helping UAE organizations and international subsidiaries operating in-region gain the visibility and control needed to navigate change and accelerate growth.

Dubai-based smartphone manufacturer Condor Middle East has reduced the time spent on business processes by 75 percent since adopting NetSuite. “We wanted to increase visibility into our operations and improve the outputs we get from our system. With NetSuite, we’ve streamlined operations and now have a unified and flexible business platform that can support our objectives,” said Ayman Samy, General Manager, Condor Middle East.

UAE healthy snack company Munchbox credits NetSuite with enabling it to meet its triple digit growth goals. “We found NetSuite best suited to our needs—minimal upfront investment, positive testimonials from customers and passionate customer care from the team,” said Mahmoud Adham, CEO, Munchbox.

UAE-based retail distributor Denaster General Trading LLC, which helps international brands reach consumers across the Middle East, selected NetSuite to support its international expansion into India and the UK. “To support our international expansion, we need a flexible business platform that can give us a real-time view into our business. NetSuite meets this need and its proven track record of helping companies like ours scale internationally will be a huge advantage,” said Deep Bhogal, Managing Director, Denaster General Trading LLC.

New SuiteSuccess Industry Cloud Solution


The latest innovations within the NetSuite platform include new SuiteSuccess Financials First capabilities that help organizations operating in the UAE automate financial processes, improve reporting and gain real-time visibility into key business metrics. Built on industry-leading practices and deep domain knowledge, SuiteSuccess includes pre-defined roles, KPIs, dashboards and workflows for finance departments.

The functionality allows for VAT support, enabling organizations to comply with tax rules from the Unified Value Added Tax (VAT) agreement signed by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The highly flexible tax engine supports over 110 countries for VAT—including rules and reporting—creating a solid foundation for GCC VAT functionality.

Bolstered Partner Ecosystem


To meet growing customer demand for cloud business management solutions in the UAE, NetSuite has expanded the NetSuite Alliance Partner Program with the addition of seven new partners to help customers across industries adapt to change and achieve faster time to value.

“We’ve partnered with NetSuite on over 400 implementations. We view NetSuite as the number one cloud ERP company in the UAE as it enables organizations of all sizes to adapt to this fast-changing market,” said Amit Prabhu, General Manager of Aarialife Technologies.

“We’re delighted to join forces with NetSuite. This investment will allow us to apply our advanced ERP implementation capabilities to NetSuite’s world-leading business management software skills so we can support customers across the region to achieve greater efficiency in their organization,” Farhan Al Bastaki, CEO, Sharaf HQ Investment.

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