Oracle has announced the 18th generation of its database technologies. The new Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud includes a revolutionary new machine learning engine and has a focus on cybersecurity use cases.

“Now, I don't use the word revolutionary new technology every year here at Oracle OpenWorld. We don't -- you know, because there aren't that many revolutionary new technologies. But this one is. “ says Oracle, Chairman and CTO, Larry Ellison

Ellison introduced Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud, the world's first 100 percent self-driving autonomous database, and new automated cyber defence applications that detect and remediate attacks in real time.

With total automation based on machine learning, Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud eliminates the human labor required to manage a database by enabling a database to automatically upgrade, patch and tune itself while running. With no more scope for human error or requirements for human performance testing, Oracle is able to minimise costly planned and unplanned downtime to less than 30 minutes a year and guarantee that organizations can cut their costs in half compared to Amazon.

“This is the most important thing we've done in a long, long time,” said Ellison. “The automation does everything. We can guarantee availability of 99.995 percent, less than 30 minutes of planned or unplanned downtime.

The Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud eliminates the human labour associated with tuning, patching, updating and maintaining the database and includes the following capabilities:

Self-Driving: Provides continuous adaptive performance tuning based on machine learning. Automatically upgrades and patches itself while running. Automatically applies security updates while running to protect against cyberattacks.

Self-Scaling: Instantly resizes compute and storage without downtime. Cost savings are multiplied because Oracle Autonomous Database Cloud consumes less compute and storage than Amazon, with lower manual administration costs.

Self-Repairing: Provides automated protection from downtime. SLA guarantees 99.995 percent reliability and availability, which reduces costly planned and unplanned downtime to less than 30-minutes per year.

“You'll see a migration, an evolution of database skills, where you're focused more on database design, schema design, different kinds of data analytics including machine learning, setting the policies as to what is mission critical, what requires disaster recovery, figuring out those policies.

The new database software is also available a next-generation cloud service built on the self-driving Oracle Autonomous Database technology using machine learning to deliver unprecedented performance, reliability and ease of deployment for data warehouses. As an autonomous cloud service, it eliminates error-prone manual management tasks and frees up DBA resources, which can now be applied to implementing more strategic business projects.

“Every organization is trying to leverage the overwhelming amount of data generated in our digital economy,” said Carl Olofson, research vice president, IDC. “With a history of established leadership in the database software market segment, it is no surprise that Oracle is pioneering a next-generation data management platform. Oracle Autonomous Data Warehouse Cloud is designed to deliver industry-leading database technology performance with unmatched flexibility, enterprise scale and simplicity. The intent is to ensure that businesses get more value from their data and modernize how data is managed.