Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
(Turn and face the strain)
Ch-ch-Changes
Just gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me
But I can't trace time
- Changes, David Bowie

As Dennis Howlett pointed out earlier today, Gartner has released a "First Take" research note on the recent organizational changes at Oracle. The note provides information the recent changes at Oracle and also hints at some changes in my plans for JPL's move to Fusion Apps...maybe some changes for your plans too. Highlights from the note include:

• Chuck Rozwat will replace Wookey and manage all development for Oracle. Reporting to Rozwat will be Thomas Kurian, who remains responsible for Fusion Middleware. Steve Miranda, who has extensive applications experience, moves under Kurian and is responsible for Fusion Applications.
  

• There will be no delay in the release of Fusion Applications. Version 1 of Fusion Applications, which include financial, human resources, payroll, order management, core supply chain and core CRM functions, will be released in 2008.
  

• Rather than being a full-suite replacement, Fusion Applications will be a product line, co-existing with Oracle's other apps product lines. It will integrate with installed applications via the middleware.
  

The last highlight has me reconsidering JPL's roadmap, which was also posted here here in a series of articles earlier this year. The current roadmap assumed Fusion Apps would be a full-suite replacement with an upgrade path. According to Gartner's note, which is based on discussions with Oracle management, it sounds as though Fusion Apps will be a new co-existing product line. In that case, the path to Fusion Apps will be more of a migration path than an upgrade path. In addition, integration with installed apps (which may be necessary for those customers needing functionality outside the Fusion Apps functions, such as discrete manufacturing) will be accomplish through the middleware. If my observations here are correct, I'll need to reconsider two important points:

1. By it's very nature, a migration to a new product line is riskier, more difficult, and will require a greater investment than an upgrade.
   
2. I don't relish the idea of integrating Fusion Apps Financials (obviously running on Fusion Middleware) with EBS 11.5.10.2 Discrete Manufacturing, which definitely does not run on Fusion Middleware.
   

So, although I've been planning to hold JPL at 11.5.10.x until Fusion Apps come out, I'm now rethinking things. Moving to R12 as soon as possible may make more sense with the new information from this Garner note.

You can read the entire Gartner research note for yourself here.

And many thanks to James Hobbs, the Sr. Director of Global Programs at OAUG, for the idea leading to the title of this post...