"We've moved the multitenancy feature out of the application and down into the database layer, which gives people much better capability, much better security," Ellison said. "So we think it will greatly enhance our own cloud offering. It will help all of the cloud companies that depend on the Oracle database. And it will be very, very attractive to our enterprise customers."
However, while Oracle itself may move quickly to 12c for its cloud operations, history has shown that many Oracle database customers tend to wait until the second release within a given cycle, preferring to feel comfortable that all the kinks have been worked out. Typically, Oracle has issued those second database releases a couple of years after the initial launch.
What do Oracle's Q2 results mean for the global economy and other software vendors?: Oracle reported double-digit growth in all regions, with sales strong even in Europe, which has been racked by economic crisis for some time.
Hurd was asked about the seeming anomaly, but his answer didn't seem to bear good news for the software sector in general.
About a year ago, Oracle started hiring aggressively in Europe, and as a result, has simply generated more leads, according to Hurd. Deals may still be difficult to close, but Oracle is simply engaged in more of them, so the numbers went up, he said.
That said, the market will get another telling indicator of IT spending health in Europe next month, when Oracle rival SAP is expected to report its fourth-quarter and year-end results.
Will Oracle make a big acquisition?: Oracle is well known for its long history of acquisitions, both in terms of big-bang deals like the Sun purchase as well as an extensive string of smaller, niche buys.
If Oracle wants to make a Sun-level splash sometime soon, it certainly has the means, ending the second quarter with about $34 billion in cash and marketable securities.
Chris Kanaracus covers enterprise software and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Chris' email address is Chris_Kanaracus@idg.com
