Oracle Database 11g ready for launch

After nearly a nine-month beta, Oracle Database 11g is set to launch Wednesday morning.

Oracle's 11g is expected to offer a number of features that were included under its beta, such as data compression, "flashback" technology data recovery and online application upgrades.

But Oracle customers may be slow to dump their 10g database to upgrade to the company's latest 11g offering, despite a four-year stretch between upgrades, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Faced with growing competition from open-source database vendors, Oracle is expected to add its own open source to 11g. Last year, Oracle acquired open-source database company Sleepycat software, whose technology it planned to embed in its applications.

The database offering comes at a time when the market is maturing and Oracle is looking to leverage its core business into a software stack that includes its Fusion Middleware and a growing array of other applications.