News article received Friday, August 28, 1998 10:04:45 AM EST
EMERGENCY MIGRATION PROGRAM HELPS MICROSOFT ACCESS USERS MOVE DATA TO SAFE
Oracle(R) Databases
Free Oracle8(TM) Migration Assistant, Oracle Lite Developers' Licenses Address
Bug That Destroys Microsoft Database Records
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif., Aug. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Responding to
customer fears about a newly discovered software bug that destroys
information in Microsoft Access databases, Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL)
today announced an emergency migration program that helps developers
and customers move their data and applications to proven, safe
Oracle(R) databases. The program offers a secure, reliable solution
for small and medium business users to migrate their applications to
Oracle8(TM) workgroup databases. For developers, Oracle is offering a
migration tool and Oracle Lite software to convert business
applications for low-cost information management and broad mobile
access via PCs and PalmPilots.
As reported earlier this week by Internet newsgroups and C/NET's News.com, Microsoft Access users and
developers recently learned that their Access databases could lose valuable data without warning. The
Access bug causes edits made on one database record to be saved to another. For example, data
associated with a specific customer or medical patient would be attached to the wrong account. According
to C/NET's story August 25, "Developers fear that the bug could require reprogramming to applications
already in use and that existing databases could be corrupted. Even worse, the problem could result in
improper billing, diagnoses, or other potentially disastrous legal issues, according to developers."
Microsoft officials have confirmed that the bug affects the last three versions of their database: Access 2.0,
Access95 and Access97, the current version.
"The short story is that Oracle offers a safe place to store valuable data records, and Microsoft clearly does
not," said Mark Jarvis, senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing at Oracle. "Reliability is the top
requirement for database users and developers. It's something Oracle takes for granted based on our 20-plus
years of database experience. Unfortunately, Microsoft customers are learning they can't take reliability for
granted."
Oracle has posted a free Oracle Migration Assistant for Microsoft Access on its Web site. The migration
tools quickly migrate Access data and applications to Oracle8, the industry's leading database across all
operating systems including Windows NT and Unix. Developers can also receive developers' licenses for
Oracle Lite, the world's most powerful lightweight database for mobile employees, Windows CE and
PalmPilot users. For more information go to (URL) oracle.com or call
800-672-2531 extension 16800.
More than 100 developers have posted concerns about the Microsoft Access bug to the
comp.databases.ms-access Internet newsgroup since the bug was discovered by users last week.
Developer Allen Browne posted step-by-step instructions at (URL)
odyssey.apana.org.au, posing the question: "The fact that Access
displays one record but writes changes to another destroys any claim it has to be a credible database. Can
you afford to trust your data to it, if the wrong client gets your address, your donation, your invoice, your
order, your merge letter?"
For Microsoft SQL Server customers, Oracle also announced last week the beta releases of Oracle
Migration Workbench, which will enable quick migration of entire SQL Server databases to Oracle8, and
Oracle8 Wizards for Visual Studio, a suite of graphical tools that allow Windows NT developers to rapidly
build Oracle8 applications by generating reusable code frameworks for Web, Visual Basic and C++
applications.
Oracle Corporation is the world's leading supplier of software for information management, and the world's
second largest software company. With annual revenues of $7.1 billion, the company offers its database,
application server, tools and application products, along with related consulting, education and support
services, in more than 140 countries around the world.
For more information about Oracle, please call 650-506-7000. Oracle's World Wide Web address is (URL)
oracle.com.
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