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Understanding the Four Pillars of Oracle Fusion Middleware
Oracle Fusion Middleware is a pre-integrated portfolio of software that spans from portals and process managers to application infrastructure, developer tools, and business intelligence. Because of its modular nature, many users have come to view middleware products as separate, unrelated products. Nothing could be further from the truth. While middleware does offer a great deal of flexibility in product choice, a successful Fusion Middleware system depends on the structural base of Fusion Middleware – Application Server and Grid Computing, and four key components: Service Oriented Architecture, Business Intelligence, User Interaction, and Identity Management. The inclusion of all components in a middleware system helps maintain the balance between the database and applications, and helps users get the most out of Fusion Middleware.
The Base – Application Server and Grid Computing
Application Server
Oracle Application Server is the platform for developing, integrating, and deploying your enterprise's applications, portals, and Web services. Based on a scalable J2EE server, Oracle Application Server is the support system for the four pillars. Application Server is what makes it easy to use the rest of Fusion Middleware.
Grid Computing
Grid computing is another essential component of a successful middleware deployment. With grid computing, groups of independent, modular hardware and software components can be connected and rejoined on demand to meet the changing needs of business. Rather than dedicating a stack of software and hardware to a specific task, all resources are pooled and allocated on demand, which eliminates underutilized capacity and redundant capabilities. Grid computing also enables the use of smaller individual hardware components, which reduces the cost of each individual component and provides more flexibility to devote resources.
The Pillars
Service Oriented Architecture (SOA)
Service Oriented Architecture is a design system in which services spread across a system are combined, re-used and adapted for business processes. Rather than constantly constructing new, individual applications from scratch, SOA combines and adapts existing functions. This design style allows Oracle professionals to better manage the lifecycle of applications and improves the efficiency of the system. Some key features of SOA are: greater interoperability, increased reuse, improved visibility, and reduced maintenance costs.
Business Intelligence (BI)
Business Intelligence is a portfolio of technology and applications that provides the business user with a complete picture of the entire organization. Oracle's Business Intelligence Suite provides solutions for the four main purposes of BI: consolidation and integration of data sources; query and analysis; sharing data results; and the ability to grow the system in response to new needs. The ability to utilize and share data in a timely fashion across a business gives Oracle professionals the tools the need to make informed business decisions. Having one integrated BI solution keeps costs down, makes implementation and maintenance easier, and helps to ensure a seamless delivery of data.
Enterprise Performance Management (EPM)
While not an integral part of the BI Suite, Oracle's Enterprise Performance Management offering, Hyperion, can provide critical data for decision-making. An EPM system is a single, connected system that delivers an integrated set of performance metrics and an integrated management process. EPM systems are used to define strategy and objectives, coordinate planning to meet those objectives, consolidate and analyze enterprise-wide information, monitor performance against plans, and deliver the information to drive the best decisions, actions, and processes throughout their enterprise.
User Interaction
This component of Oracle Fusion Middleware combines a dynamic, personalized user interaction layer with a complete set of user-facing services for communication and collaboration. Teams that are geographically and organizationally distributed operate through this user interaction environment to access, search, and publish information, while collaborating in real time within the context of the business process. Information is consolidated and managed centrally, reliably, and securely. Portal and WebCenter provide integrated methods of designing, deploying and managing environments for accessing secure information. In addition, Oracle Communication and Mobility Server, Enterprise Search and support of desktop applications allow users to collaborate securely and effectively.
Enterprise Content Management (ECM)
Enterprise Content Management is a great way to improve the user experience. ECM makes it easier for users to store, find and share multiple formats of information quickly and efficiently. ECM technology manages the entire lifecycle of content, applies the appropriate amount of control, and adds additional support for users during each phase. This means your content is managed during creation, capture, and storage. An ECM system can efficiently reuse content and integrate hundreds of content services (such as checking in content, performing a search, returning search results, or approving an item in workflow) with other business applications.
Identity Management
Oracle Identity Management allows enterprises to manage the lifecycle of user identities across all enterprise resources both within and beyond the firewall. This includes web access control; identity administration; user provisioning; federated identity management; directory services, including virtual directory technologies; and enterprise-wide user provisioning. Rather than leaving Identity Management as a separate component, security features become a part of the applications they effect. The Oracle Identity and Access Management Suite i nteroperates with all major directories, application servers, portals, business applications, databases, and operating systems. Oracle works with standards bodies such as the Liberty Alliance and OASIS, and supports, SAML, SPML, WS-*, Kerberos, and many more.
Extra Features
While the next two items are not considered “pillars” of Fusion Middleware, their inclusion helps businesses get the most from their middleware components while still continuing to ensure the seamlessness of hot-pluggable applications.
Development Tools
Oracle offers a set of application development and business intelligence tools for use with Fusion Middleware. These tools, used in conjunction with SOA, allow businesses to customize their database application development, business intelligence and reporting, and Web 2.0 services to get the most out of their system. Development tools can be used across all four Fusion Middleware pillars.
Enterprise Management
Oracle Enterprise Manager is a system management tool that monitors the status of your infrastructure and applications, automates routine tasks, and reports on system history and trends. Oracle Enterprise Manager monitors all components of your IT infrastructure (Oracle and non-Oracle) as well as the applications and services that are running on them. Enterprise Manager automates routine administrative tasks such as backup, and provides a solid foundation for many of the IT process automation features such as patching and cloning.
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