Oracle finally set to release Fusion Middleware 11g

Oracle has confirmed it will release its long-awaited Fusion Middleware 11g portfolio at a launch event in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of July.

Company president Charles Phillips and senior VP Thomas Kurian will deliver keynotes, and sessions are scheduled for WebCenter Suite 11g, the company's portal platform; Identity Management 11g and SOA Suite 11g. Oracle is also planning to discuss WebLogic Suite 11g, its application server, as well as its application grid technology.

Oracle discussed Fusion Middleware 11g at its OpenWorld conference in November 2007 and since then released a number of developer previews, but the suite's general availability date has been in question as Oracle worked over the past year to integrate the array of middleware technologies it acquired by buying BEA Systems.

The 1 July event may shed light on how Oracle plans to reconcile overlaps between its middleware portfolio and software it would acquire if it successfully completes its pending deal to purchase Sun Microsystems. Sun has an application server, GlassFish, as well as identity management software.

Still to come, though, is an announcement of another anticipated product, Oracle Database 11g Release 2. During a recent conference call, Phillips said 11g R2 should be released in the first quarter of Oracle's fiscal year, which started in June.

Meanwhile, Oracle middleware users reacted quickly to the launch event news.

"For those of us that inhabit the Oracle ecosystem, the Fusion Middleware 11g release is an enormous shifting tectonic plate," said Jason Jones, who works for an Oracle systems integrator, in a blog post.

Jones is eagerly anticipating the release, but added that it poses a certain challenge: "As exciting as all the new shiny toys are, at what point do we put our relationships with our clients on the line by recommending 11g over 10.1.X? Such is the life of an Oracle SI."