Because Oracle is one of the most widely used database management systems, most companies have some familiarity with Oracle database replication. Database replication is commonly used to create and synchronize data across multiple copies of an Oracle database for operational reporting, distributed data processing, disaster recovery, or testing purposes.

Oracle database replication can be employed to distribute data sets across multiple locations, consolidate data from remote offices or regions, share data with partners or suppliers, or eliminate analytics overhead on transactional databases through query offload. Through the use of Oracle replication software, firms can enhance the performance of their mission-critical databases and the applications that depend on them, improve data and application availability across the organization, and enable real-time reporting and analytics.

Finding the Best Oracle Database Replication Solution for Your Needs

Oracle users might be familiar with the built-in feature Oracle Streams, a Oracle database replication tool that was introduced in 2002 as a replacement for Oracle Advanced Integration. Although Streams provides powerful data propagation functionality in Oracle environments, many have found it to be difficult to set up and configure and not particularly geared toward heterogeneous database replication tasks. In 2015, Oracle introduced Oracle GoldenGate, a separate Oracle replication tool that also can serve heterogeneous environments.

Although GoldenGate is an excellent Oracle database replication solution, it is quite costly—particularly when you take into consideration additional plug-ins and optional packs—and complex to manage. GoldenGate lacks a comprehensive graphical interface, and in environments where other types of databases are in use, it might not offer the level of replication support needed for non-Oracle systems. GoldenGate doesn't support automated DDL replication for non-Oracle environments, or replication to AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud. GoldenGate also requires agents on mainstream end points, introducing administrative and performance overhead.

Fortunately, there are more affordable and flexible alternatives for database replication, and if you're in doubt about whether GoldenGate is the best solution for your company, we encourage you to consider Qlik Replicate® in your database replication tool comparison.

An Easier, More Affordable Way to Implement Oracle Database Replication

Featuring an intuitive, web-based graphical UI, Qlik Replicate is quick to set up, easy to use, and provides you with high-performance data replication and ingestion capabilities including Oracle database replication, SQL Server database replication, and DB2 SQL replication—at a cost far below that of GoldenGate.

Leveraging our unique CDC (change data capture) technology, Replicate offers both full load and real-time transactional replication capabilities—without requiring agents on any source or target system. Replicate automatically adjusts data types for any heterogeneous environment, for example between Oracle and SQL Server, eliminating the need for time-consuming manual coding. And to maximize flexibility, our data replication solution supports the widest range of source and destination endpoints, including all major relational databases, data warehouses, Hadoop distributions, and cloud and mainframe platforms.