In an era where artificial intelligence is reshaping industries, Oracle has once again positioned itself at the forefront of innovation with the release of Oracle Database 23ai.
This latest version of Oracle's flagship database software, the latest long-term support release, is more than just an update. The new release integrates robust AI capabilities directly into the core of its architecture, allowing businesses to unlock the full potential of their data using the same database systems they already trust with their most important data. You will be able to use it for However, AI is only part of the picture, as the new release includes over 300 new features.
Oracle recently held an event for industry analysts. Juan Loaiza, Oracle's executive vice president of mission-critical database technologies, briefed analysts on the new release's features. Larry Ellison, Oracle's founder, chairman and chief technology officer, also spoke at the event, amplifying the importance of the new features to Oracle's flagship database.
Advanced AI integration for smarter operations
Oracle Database 23ai brings deep integration of AI technologies to enhance the efficiency, intelligence, and security of enterprise applications.
AI Vector Search is one of the standout features, introducing a revolutionary approach to data querying and analysis. This feature supports a new generation of AI models, especially his LLM, which can generate and store vector embeddings of various data types such as text, documents, images, videos, and sounds.
AI Vector Search enables semantic search capabilities within databases, allowing users to perform searches based on the conceptual content of the data, not just keywords or data values. This significant enhancement revolutionizes the way businesses access and analyze information, delivering search results that are more accurate and relevant than ever before.
Bridging the gap with large language models
More integrated with today's AI environments, Oracle Database 23ai enhances its utility by providing seamless integration with large-scale language models. This integration enables the database to provide relevant data that enhances the LLM response, overcoming the limitations of traditional LLMs, such as the lack of specificity of context and organizational data.
Users can ask questions in natural language, which are processed by the LLM and generate SQL queries that are executed by the database. This simplifies interaction and makes advanced data analysis accessible to a wider range of users.
Developer-centric innovation
With the 23ai release, Oracle assumes the critical role played by application development and data management developers within the enterprise. We're introducing several tools and features designed to simplify and enhance the developer experience.
Among these are JSON Relational Duality Views, which allow developers to leverage both JSON and relational data modeling within the same application. These two approaches eliminate the need to choose between modeling techniques at the beginning of a project, saving significant development time and resources.
Oracle also offers SQL enhancements and Oracle APEX integration for rapid application development using JSON data. It complies with the latest web and mobile development standards and meets the growing demand for flexible, efficient and scalable application development frameworks.
Mission-critical data processing and security
Oracle Database 23ai introduces new mission-critical features to ensure high availability, robust performance, and enhanced security when working with sensitive data across industries.
One of the key features is Oracle Globally Distributed Database with RAFT. This improves database reliability and availability through replication between physical databases and enables automatic failover with zero data loss in single-digit seconds. This ensures continuous operations even in the event of regional disruption.
Additionally, Oracle True Cache is an in-memory, always consistent, application-transparent, high-performance middle-tier cache that significantly improves database performance for fast data access and real-time processing. All Oracle SQL, JSON, and Graph query functionality is available with True Cache.
For security, Oracle Database 23ai includes an in-database SQL firewall. This feature protects against malicious SQL commands and prevents SQL injection attacks, a common vector for data breaches, by monitoring and blocking potentially harmful activity.
And of course, there's Exadata System Software 24ai, which optimizes vector processing parallelism across multiple database servers to improve performance and availability for GenAI workloads in process.
Analyst's view
Oracle's recent deployment of Database 23ai represents a pivotal advancement in the convergence of databases and artificial intelligence. This release is particularly important because it encapsulates Oracle's ambition to streamline and enhance AI integration within enterprise data management systems and modern applications.
Oracle Database is difficult to compare to competing products in providing scalable, high-performance database services for mission-critical workloads, as there are generally no comparable products in the industry. Organizations may use open source PostgreSQL, IBM's Db2, or even Amazon's Aurora or Redshift for their database workloads, all of which offer built-in mission-critical capabilities and robust native AI integration. It does not have a suitable combination. This integrated approach is what continues to set Oracle apart.
The new Oracle Database 23ai release further strengthens Oracle's leadership in the enterprise database market and establishes a new standard for enterprise data management in the AI-driven era. By integrating advanced AI capabilities directly into the database core, businesses can operate more intelligently and efficiently, turning data into a vital asset for innovation and competitive advantage.
Oracle Database 23ai is a major step forward in making AI a fundamental component of database management. Give your organization tools to leverage AI to improve data insights and decision-making. As enterprises continue their digital transformation journey, Oracle Database 23ai is ready to give them the tools they need to succeed in an AI-driven future.