The Fusion Applications User Interface = Oracle WebCenter

As we get close to the end of the calendar year (at least here in the U.S.), I like to reflect on significant developments from the past year. From this past year, there is no question in my mind that one of the most significant developments from Oracle is the Oracle WebCenter Suite.

In simple terms, WebCenter is a combination of JavaServer Faces development, the best features from various portal products, and a collection of horizontal web services. However, we need to dig a bit deeper to really obtain a feel for the power of WebCenter.

According to Oracle, the WebCenter Suite architecture looks something like the following:

Keep in mind that this could change before the product release, which is scheduled for late 2006. Nevertheless, this should be fairly close to the delivered product.

So...why should we care about WebCenter? First, it is a progressive step in fulfilling the promise of using a single user interface to access business applications, enterprise content, business intelligence, web-centric applications, and your digital pictures of Uncle Fredo's dog. Second, because WebCenter will be the default user environment for Fusion Applications; we now have an idea of how Oracle expects users to interface with the next generation of apps...and it's very different from what any of us are doing today. In fact, if you've seen John Wookey's keynote address from OpenWorld 2006, you have some flavor of WebCenter and the change it will mean to the way we use applications.

You can learn more about the Oracle WebCenter Suite here. Regardless of whether you'll be moving to Fusion Applications from the Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, Siebel, or JDE, this will be your user interface. It might be worthwhile to take check it out.

Fusion Applications - The More You Know, The Better You'll Feel

Every morning, I check my favorite Oracle-related news sources and blogs for the latest buzz. Today, I stumbled across a great piece of research at The Register. The article, "Oracle's Fusion Applications Strategy: What The Customers Think", is based on 321 responses to a survey of Oracle Applications Users who are members of The Register's Technology Panel. This is pretty similar to the Fusion Applications Customer Profiling initiative recently completed by the International Oracle User Council (IOUC), but The Register's sample size is much larger.

The IOUC survey results were recently presented during Oracle OpenWorld (OOW). You can find the presentation and review the results for yourself at the OOW presentation download site.

The Register survey results indicated that Oracle Application customers were concerned about:

1. Oracle's lack of clarity and consistency in dealing with the future management of its multiple product lines.

2. The possibility that Oracle will delivery an immature and inelegantly integrated set of applications in order to meet self-imposed schedule milestones.

3. Fear about costs, disruption and protection of investments, mostly rooted in a concern that a migration to Oracle Fusion Applications will be forced upon them at some time in the future.

After sharing these concerns and concluding that only 15% of customers were completely sold on the Oracle Fusion Application strategy, The Register survey disclosed another very interesting result: there is a clear correlation between the level of customer confidence and the customer's depth of Fusion knowledge. For example, customers stating that the Fusion story is well understood in their organizations are also very confident of their investment being protected. These same customers are also very confident that they will obtain benefits in application flexibility through Oracle Fusion Applications. In other words, the more customers understand about Fusion Applications, the more confident they become in Oracle's Fusion Applications strategy...the more you know, the better you'll feel.

I share this timely information from The Register survey because the Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG) is teaming with Solution Beacon to provide Oracle Applications customers with a wonderful opportunity to feel better with The Road To Las Vegas workshops. The overriding theme of the workshops is "Demystifying Fusion - OAUG's Three Step Fusion Program". The presentations will include some recommendations on getting your organization to Fusion Applications, as well as some hands-on workshops (BPEL and RAC are just a few of the workshop subjects). The overall intent of The Road to Las Vegas is to educate Oracle Applications customers about Fusion Applications - including Release 12, which is an interation on the way to Fusion Applications.

So, the bottom line: you'll feel better about Oracle Fusion Applications if you attend The Road to Las Vegas workshops ;)

OAUG Board Elections

So I ran for a position on the OAUG Board of Directors, but it seems I came up short...although I wonder if I could try to wiggle in through the back door with the equivalent of a "hanging chad" argument for electronic voting...hmmm, maybe an allegation of "bit rot" ? (insert sigh of resignation here) Well, maybe I just should live with the idea that you win some and you lose some.

In all seriousness, I congratulate and promise to support those who won. The Board has my best wishes for guiding the OAUG through what is shaping up to be a turbulent time in the Oracle Apps universe.

R12 Tech Stack Info

Ivo Dujmovic’s "Deep Dive: Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 New Technology Stack" presentation from OOW was a pretty informative session. As R12 is really iteration on the road to Fusion Applications, Ivo’s presentation also provides quite a few clues on future direction.

Some of the information highlights include:

• The apps server is 10.1.3
• The Jserv servlet container is replaced by OC4J
• The Apache version is upgraded to 1.3.34
• Oracle Forms and Reports is version 10
• The certified database will be Oracle 10.2
• R12 will now have an Instance Top, for configuration and run-time generated files, in addition to Appl Top and Common Top

The presentation also made some recommendations you can starting working on today:

• Upgrading to R12 from 11i will increase your dbf’s, so increase the storage available for your database
• Upgrade your database to 10gR2, which is certified with 11i and is mandatory for R12
• R12 disables mod_plsql; if your custom apps use it, start planning a migration
• Oracle Graphics is no longer a component of the apps server; reports relying on it should be modified to run on XML Publisher

The elimination of mod_plsql from R12 is causing a few ripples of dismay in my shop; some of the developer-types are in full denial (isn’t that the first stage of grief?) over the news. If Oracle sticks to the plan, we have some significant work to do in migrating several of our "bolt-on" apps in preparation for leaving 11i.

There are quite a few pearls of information in Ivo’s presentation. The OOW session number is S281383. If you’re interested in more details from the presentation, download the PowerPoint deck from the OOW presentation download site I’ve posted elsewhere on this blog.