The Next Database Story

The headline for each Oracle Database release starts a conversation, but there’s always more to say.

By Tom Haunert

March/April 2019

Database articles have always filled the pages of Oracle Magazine, but how we look at new database releases has changed in the last couple of years. Cloud and autonomous have been the focus of recent Oracle Database articles, and rightly so. In this issue, however, we’re reminding readers that there’s much more to learn in every release, particularly as it pertains to the future of their business.

In our “Database Innovation” cover feature, Oracle Content Central Editor-at-Large Jeff Erickson describes the top new features of the latest release, Oracle Database 19c. Among them: automatic indexing, which improves database performance by making sure queries use the best and most up-to-date indexes; Active Data Guard DML Redirect, which makes your standby database more active and a better value for your business; Hybrid Partitioned Tables, a feature that enables partitions to reside in Oracle Database segments as well as in external files; partial updates for JSON documents in the database; and updated Simple Oracle Document Access (SODA) APIs.

Continuing Innovation and Securing the Future

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Beyond the catalog of new features, Oracle Database 19c offers customers a commitment to more-regular, continuous innovation, now that Oracle has moved from major database releases every two to three years to annual releases (thus the 19, for 2019, in the product name). For those planning to upgrade from on-premises Oracle Database 11g and 12c to Oracle Database 19c, the most important news may be this: 19c is a long-term-support release, with premier support planned through March 2023 and extended support through March 2026.