That wording suggests a potential for some distancing from Ellison's previous statements about the launch, which he said would occur either this December or January and February of next year.

It also wasn't clear Sunday whether Oracle will soon launch a beta program for 12c, although an announcement on that front could come Monday during a keynote from database chief Andy Mendelsohn.

Another key question raised by the multitenant features in 12c is how they may impact Oracle database licensing, a thorny topic for many customers. Answers to this question as well could come during OpenWorld.

In a related Ellison unveiled Exadata version X3, the newest version of Oracle's database machine, which will presumably run 12c when it becomes available.

The IDG News Service