Infosys-Oracle Blog : Fusion Middleware

We have always known a Middleware as a software program that integrates two or more disparate applications. Anyone having first encounters with Oracle Fusion Middleware (OFM) will tend to reckon it as a collection of middleware products. The fact is it is not just a middleware; it is much more than that.

Oracle Fusion, the next generation Oracle’s best of breed product is being built using OFM components. The products under OFM span across developer tools, business intelligence, integration services, rich user interfaces, collaboration, and content management which are offering wider solutions than just core integrations.

So why is it named as middleware if it is beyond that?

Apparently Oracle Fusion Middleware is a re-branding of Oracle's products placed collectively under a new umbrella to segregate them from Oracle’s core service offerings which are databases and enterprise applications. OFM offers a “hot pluggable architecture” that enables organizations to leverage current investments in their IT infrastructure by delivering unparalleled interoperability between varied systems. OFM is based on open standards such as BPEL, SOAP, XML and JMS and by and large it has been designed to support development, deployment, and management of Service-Oriented Architecture. Calling it a middleware pack does make sense but it is just one slice of a huge cake. There are many more pieces to it.

Look at the bevy of products that form part of Oracle Fusion Middleware family

Application Server	Business Integration	Business Intelligence	Business Process Management
Collaboration Suite	Content Management	Data Integrator	Coherence In-Memory Data Grid
Developer Tools	EDA Suite	Identity Management	Middleware for fast growing companies
Portal	SOA Suite	Web Center	Service Delivery Platform

Many organizations today having heterogeneous systems have adopted Fusion Middleware SOA Suite to integrate the systems seamlessly. But the capabilities of fusion middleware do not end here. Organizations today are using products of OFM family for their needs to

· Build Enterprise Portals for employees or for customers

· Make BI applications for business information analysis

· Move your applications to Web 2.0 standards like wikis and blogs

· Make Rich UI interfaces that are easy and quick to deploy

· Monitor your business process using real time dashboards

· Manage multi-site sophisticated web content

· Manage end to end lifecycle of user identities across all resources

It will not be inappropriate to acknowledge the fact that Fusion Middleware products can be used to take care of most of the IT needs of an enterprise to ensure its growth, insight and control on business. Organizations that are using Oracle as their core ERP can find a strong synergy with Fusion Middleware products.

So next time when someone talks to you about Oracle Fusion middleware, remember it is more than merely a middleware stack.

I would be glad to hear any views on this further.