There's Something In The Air

Call out the instigators
Because there's something in the air
We've got to get together sooner or later
Because the revolution's here, and you know it's right
And you know that it's right
- From "Something In The Air" by Thunderclap Newman

There is something in the air for the Oracle universe - Collaborate 08 is right around the corner. Collaborate is the annual Oracle user group conference jointly sponsored by OAUG, IOUG and Quest. The conference this year will be held in Denver, Colorado from April 13-17.

There are a few "must see" events and workshops at Collaborate 08 you'll want to register for while there are still seats.

Oracle will be directly hosting a series of free hands-on workshops for service-enabling their applications with the Oracle SOA Suite. The 2-hour workshops will focus on creating BPEL processes for integration with specific Oracle application suites. There will be different workshops for the E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, and Siebel. Oracle provides all the hardware, software, and expert instruction. No prior experience required. The only qualification, so far as I can tell, is the ability to fog up a mirror held under your nose. You can learn more about the agenda for each of these workshops here. This is good stuff...the stags will be showing the fawns what it's like in the woods. Seats will likely fill up quickly. You can reserve a space for yourself by registering here.

OAUG is sponsoring "Mapping Fusion Middleware Success: Case Studies That Lead The Way". This all-day workshop, hosted by RightSizing Inc.'s Jerry Ireland, will take place on Sunday, April 13. The workshop will concentrate on using Fusion Middleware to extend Oracle applications. Workshop structure will consist of a customer case study presentation, followed by technical sessions on the Fusion Middleware components discussed during the preceeding case study. You can learn more about the pre-conference and post-conference workshops here. You can also learn more about this specific workshop here.

You'll also have the opportunity to make faces and throw rotten fruit at me...I'll be presenting the Roadmap to Fusion Applications on Wednesday morning, April 16, at 9:45 a.m. in Room 207 of the Colorado Convention Center. I've learned new things about the path to Fusion Apps since my initial presentation of the Roadmap at Oracle OpenWorld 2007, so this latest version includes some pretty significant changes. If you're wondering how to navigate the waters of Fusion technology over the next five years, this will be an hour well-spent. Thanks for reading - this concludes my blatant plug for my own presentation.

So, there is something in the air...start making your plans for Collaborate 08 now!

Fusion Middleware - Get Your Feet Wet

2008 is a big year for the Oracle Fusion vision. We should see the first stand-alone Fusion Applications, as well as the first incremental release of an integrated Fusion Applications Suite. Most Oracle Applications customers are waiting on needles and pins to learn more about Fusion Applications. And it's the waiting that's the problem...

The move to Fusion Applications includes a transition to new applications technology and a new architecture. The basis for both is Fusion Middleware, which is available now. In fact, if you're running on the latest releases of the E-Business Suite or PeopleSoft, you're already running on Fusion Middleware! However, most customers have yet to leverage Fusion Middleware other than implementing the latest Oracle Application releases.

Getting your feet wet with Fusion Middleware provides your organization with two potential benefits: 1) doing so moves your organization towards a wide array of potential value available from the Fusion Middleware tech stack; 2) if your organization is considering a move to Fusion Applications, using Fusion Middleware today will help "set the table" in terms of mastering the necessary technology. It's the first item that leads me to believe that simply waiting is not a good strategy - each day we wait is a day when we could be using Fusion Middleware to provide more value to our respective organizations.

What type of value am I talking about? In general terms, Fusion Middleware's capabilities with business process analysis, process-based integration, and business intelligence look very compelling. However, value is a very specific thing to each organization. What's priceless to me may be worthless for you. You'll need to evaluate the capabilitis of Fusion Middleware to determine what will help your organization do things "better, faster, cheaper". Do you care about integrating up and down your supply chain, having a single process that facilitates coordination between your suppliers, your organization, and your cusomters? Would you be interested in reducing operating costs by automating your employee on-boarding process? How about providing the latest information on critical metrics to your "C-level" executives in real-time? Maybe you'd like to reduce the cost of providing information technology services by increasing reuse of in-house developed solutions? Are you facing challenges with building business processes across organization or technology "stovepipes" within your enterprise? As I write this article, all these issues and others have been successfully met by customers who, rather than waiting, have extended their Oracle Applications through the use of Fusion Middleware.

Waiting means you're missing out on value you could add right now. So, don't wait...dip your toes in...get your feet wet now...The water is fine. Pick a challenge for your organization, match it up with a component of Fusion Middleware, and get going with it. It sure beats waiting.

Next post, we'll talk about how to get started.

Workflow On The Weekend

It's a beautiful weekend in here Southern California. As I write this, I'm sitting on the deck in my backyard: shorts, t-shirt, barefoot, clear blue skies, 80 degrees with a light breeze from the West, some trop-rock playing on the iPod (just discoverd Jimmy Parrish and the Ocean Waves Band...good stuff). It just doesn't get any better than this, especially in February - this is why I live here. There just one thing I need to get off my chest before I can fire up the BBQ and cap off a perfect afternoon, so let's get to it...

Ever hear the phrase "no pain, no gain"? I'm convinced that Oracle Apps customers will realize some significant gain with the uptake of Fusion Applications: integration based on industry-standards, a richer user experience, more flexible reporting and business intelligence all come to mind. However, make no mistake, we'll need to experience some pain to get that gain. A good chunk of that pain involves Oracle Workflow.

It seems like everyone in the Oracle world is aware of the upcoming demise of Oracle Workflow. The 11g database does not ship with the Workflow engine. Workflow has been desupported, with one big whopping exception for E-Business users. Even the EBS folks will have to adjust to life without Workflow after Release 12.

Conventional wisdom says that BPEL Orchestration will replace Workflow. While that's partially true, it's really a bit more complex than that. The lastest knowledge I have indicates that numerous Fusion technololgy components will replace Workflow in more of a piecemeal fashion:

• Process Navigator Flows and Page Flows will migrate to Applications Development Framework ("ADF") Task Flows
• Simple Deferred Activities will be handled as database events
• Business Processes will be implemented through BPEL Orchestration of system services and human-based tasks.
  

It's not a straight-forward migration from Workflow to BPEL, as the two technologies are very different. While the standard Workflow processes provided with EBS will be upgraded to BPEL as part of the upgrade process, most Oracle Workflow customers (EBS users or not) will need to manually recreate their Workflow processes as orchestrated business processes. There will be some guidelines for this effort, but those guidelines are still in the works within Oracle.

So, here is the upshot: the move forward from Workflow is not a simple, straight-forward task. It's complex. Nothing to be afraid of, but like most complex tasks, the key is good preparation. To get started:

• Identify your Workflow processes, especially your custom Workflow processes
• Consider replacing those customizations with "vanilla" functionality where possible
• Where you absolutely must stick with your custom Workflow processes, start working out a strategy for moving forward with those processes after Workflow's demise.
  

Well, there you have it. Got the Workflow thing off my chest. The sun is setting in the west and the BBQ is calling my name - chicken thighs marinated in lemon juice and olive oil with a few seasonings, smoked over apple wood. The perfect end to a beautiful day...later folks.

The Third Time's The Charm

This is a little off-topic but still worth noting...

A couple of guys I know and respect have started a new company. Rob McMillen and John Stouffer (a recently minted Oracle Applications ACE) recently started up Triora Group, specializing in providing mission-critical services for clients who rely on Oracle Applications, Fusion Middleware and the Oracle Database. This is the third time together for these two, having worked together before at both Computer System Authority and Solution Beacon. I had the opportunity to be a client of Computer System Authority and continue to be a Solution Beacon customer: having both those companies in their pedigrees says a lot for the quality of the company Rob and John are forming. I wish them all the best and look forward to the good things they'll accomplish as Triora Group.

You can learn much more by checking the Triora Group website here and reading their blog here.

This concludes this special commercial message...we now return you to your regular programming.