Optimize Your Oracle Cloud Developer Experience with SQL Connect
The transition from on-premise Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) to Oracle Cloud is usually driven by the promise of scalability, flexibility, and operational cost savings. While these are excellent reasons for businesses to switch, transitioning to the cloud has completely altered how databases are accessed, and reports are generated. This evolution has brought its own challenges, particularly for developers and IT support staff, who are now faced with new constraints within Oracle Cloud’s reporting environment.
Cloud Reporting: The Pain Points
In the on-premise world of Oracle EBS, developers enjoyed the freedom of direct database access, enabling them to write, test, and debug queries efficiently. This direct access facilitated report generation, which is crucial for maintaining operational agility. The shift to Oracle Cloud has introduced a more restricted access model, making these tasks more time-consuming and less adaptable to the fast-paced demands of modern business operations. Developers now spend more time navigating multiple steps and interfaces, leading to delays and frustration.
Business Intelligence Publisher: Enhancing Capabilities
Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher (BIP) is the primary tool for report generation in Oracle Cloud. Despite its capabilities, BIP presents a series of user interface and functional limitations. Navigating through Oracle Analytics to create Data Models and write SQL queries has become complex, often requiring a steep learning curve and increased developer effort.
Functional Limitations:
- Syntax Error Detection: BIP lacks Real-Time syntax error detection and highlighting, essential features for writing accurate and efficient SQL queries. Developers must manually identify errors, slowing down the development process.
- Output Display Options: BIP’s output display is limited to the first 200 rows, restricting visibility and making it difficult to work with large datasets.
- Data Export Options: The restrictive data export options, primarily in XML format, are not user-friendly and complicate data manipulation and analysis.
Slowdowns that Stack Up
These limitations of BIP compared to older on-premise implementations can significantly impact developer productivity. Ask anyone in production support about the most critical commodity in their line of work, and they will usually mention time. When troubleshooting an issue with a database, the ability to swiftly access and extract necessary information is crucial for maintaining the smooth operation of business processes. However, Oracle Cloud’s limitations in direct database access can lead to production delays. For instance, when scheduled jobs are completed with errors, the debug log often captures insufficient data to pinpoint the issue. This hinders the ability of developers working on the fix to identify the problem efficiently.
Similarly, in a scenario where users encounter errors while creating a sales order, being able to query the database quickly is essential a task that can take 15 steps in BIP. Such inefficiencies can rack up over time, consuming valuable developer time.
Enhancing Developer and Production Support Experience
Developers and production support teams are already feeling the impact of this change, particularly in the tools and features that are no longer available. Oracle EBS offered robust tools that are now conspicuously absent or limited in Oracle Cloud. Some of the main tools developers miss include:
- Direct Query Execution: The ability to run queries directly against the database.
- Error Detection and Highlighting:Features that help quickly identify and correct errors in SQL queries.
- Flexible Data Exports: Options to export data in various user-friendly formats like Excel and CSV.
These tools were not just convenient but essential for efficient and effective management of enterprise data and applications. The absence of these features in Oracle Cloud can lead to increased time spent on previously straightforward tasks.
The Ideal Solution Blueprint
An ideal solution would bridge these gaps in the cloud database implementation, providing a seamless experience that aligns with the expectations set by Oracle EBS. Such a solution would prioritize ease of use, ensuring developers can perform their tasks with minimal friction. It would offer comprehensive functionality, covering all aspects of data management, from query execution to error resolution. It would integrate intuitive user interfaces, robust error detection mechanisms, and versatile data export options to streamline the reporting process.
Enterprises can reliably enforce data-driven decision-making when they unlock the full potential of their data. While Oracle Cloud represents a forward step in many respects, solutions are clearly needed to fill the void left by the missing features of Oracle EBS.
Solution Spotlight: SQL Connect
Recognizing the challenges developers face with Oracle’s Cloud implementation, SplashBI has introduced SQL Connect, a tool designed to bridge the gaps inherent in Oracle Cloud’s architecture and offer a user-friendly experience for developers and IT support staff.
SQL Connect brings back the best features of EBS to simplify developer workflows while letting businesses enjoy the scalability benefits of cloud implementations. It also adheres to Oracle’s role-based security protocols enhancing it with optional table-level security for granular data access control. This feature helps protect sensitive data more effectively.
SQL Connect feature overview
Recognizing the challenges developers face with Oracle’s Cloud implementation, SplashBI has introduced SQL Connect, a tool designed to bridge the gaps inherent in Oracle Cloud’s architecture and offer a user-friendly experience for developers and IT support staff.
SQL Connect brings back the best features of EBS to simplify developer workflows while letting businesses enjoy the scalability benefits of cloud implementations. It also adheres to Oracle’s role-based security protocols enhancing it with optional table-level security for granular data access control. This feature helps protect sensitive data more effectively.
- Direct database access: SQL Connect offers direct database access to Oracle Cloud, bypassing the multi-step processes that can slow down data retrieval and analysis. This feature alone significantly streamlines workflows, as evidenced by the reduction from the 15 steps required with Oracle’s Business Intelligence Publisher (BIP) to a single step with SQL Connect.
- Better queries:SQL Connect’s enhanced query-building capabilities are a game-changer for developers. With syntax information, error highlighting, and simplified debugging, SQL Connect addresses the common pain points experienced with BIP’s limited interface. The tool’s intuitive features improve efficiency and reduce the margin for error, a critical factor in data management.
- Advanced exports: SQL Connect’s flexible data export options, including Excel and CSV, offer greater output flexibility than BIP’s XML-only format. This versatility ensures that data can be shared and analyzed in the most convenient formats for the user.
| Benefits | Oracle BIP | SQL Connect |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of Access | Requires 15 steps for querying. | Allows direct access to query in one step. |
| Enhanced Features | Lacks syntax information, formatting options, shortcuts, and error highlights. | Provides syntax information, formatting options, shortcuts, and error highlights. |
| Data Retrieval | Has a maximum limit of 200 rows. | Fetches complete data without limitations. |
| Output Flexibility | Only supports XML output. | Outputs can be exported in Excel or CSV formats. |
| User Interface | Limited screen space with no full screen option. | Can be expanded to full screen for writing queries. |
SQL Connect represents a significant advancement in cloud data solutions. It addresses Oracle Cloud’s limitations and sets a new standard for operational efficiency and developer satisfaction. As businesses continue to navigate the complexities of cloud environments, tools like SQL Connect are essential for adapting to developers’ needs and ensuring seamless data management.
If you want to streamline your Oracle reporting and support operations, SQL Connect is built as the one-stop solution for all your needs. Take a moment to analyze how it can help with your specific setup and reporting requirements.
To bridge the gap and enjoy a better cloud database experience
Sharath Marri
Solutions Architect
Sharath Marri serves as a Solutions Architect at SplashBI, where he champions advancements in Oracle solutions and data analytics. A holder of a Master’s degree in Computer Science and enriched with over 13 years of industry experience, Sharath specializes in Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle Cloud Finance, and Supply Chain Management. His journey from developer to senior manager across multiple companies underscores a rich tapestry of technical expertise. At SplashBI, he now helms SQL Connect, focusing on continual innovation and enhanced user experiences in the realm of data analytics.
