Oracle's Abbo and the "killer app"

You've heard of the "killer app."

But have you really seen one?

Ed Abbo, Oracle's senior vice president of applications development, thinks he has--several times over. But then again, what else would you expect an apps guy to say?

Keenly aware that a number of attendees at Oracle OpenWorld were interested in the company's applications strategy, Abbo set out to deliver some answers--with varying degrees of the "wow" factor.

Oracle is looking to add a taste of social networking structure into its apps and, like a number of companies, a pinch of Web 2.0.

For example, Oracle wants to deliver a "social CRM" solution. Basically, it would be customer relationship management (CRM) software that brings information in from the Internet into the application, with the help of iGoogle, Google's personal home page creator.

Sales reps, for example, could pull in information on prospective customers and potential references and leads.

On the less surprising front, Abbo reassured apps customers--yes, that's, PeopleSoft, Siebel, J.D. Edwards and other customers acquired by Oracle--that you can still evolve your business by staying in the same vein of software applications, without having to jump into Oracle's latest-greatest-next-generation Fusion Middleware and apps.

Oracle is adding some of its Fusion Middleware into the apps, as each enhancement is made to the next version of PeopleSoft, Siebel, J.D. Edwards, and the like. Customers, however, can expect to receive support, maintenance, and enhancements on these non-Fusion versions of Oracle's software indefinitely, Abbo noted.

"The center of our (apps) strategy is around offering customers choice," said Abbo.

How's that for a killer concept?