2012 - Really Kind of Boring

So, as with most bloggers, I'm thinking about the year we just closed out and the year ahead.  Anyone familiar with this blog knows that putting money on my predictions would drive Donald Trump to the poor house, so let's not burn any calories on the drivel that comes out of my crystal ball.  Instead, let's take a little review of 2012.

My take on Enterprise Apps in 2012 can really be summed up in one word...boring.  Lots of incremental improvement on old ideas.  I can really count the really innovative stuff on the fingers of one hand.

Now before somebody gets all defensive on me, let's be clear about what I mean by innovation.  I'm talking heart-stopping, holy guacamole, this changes everything!  Like the iPhone release in 2007.  My initial touches of Oracle Fusion Apps were the last time I felt that in the Enterprise Apps world.  Now, with that in mind...

Yes, I do understand about the build-up in mobile in 2012.  And I agree.  When you hear ideas pitched that don't include mobile, smile nicely and thank the presenters for playing, then move on as quickly as possible...they just don't get it.  That being said, however, innovation for the enterprise in mobile was pretty scarce in 2012.  Being an Oracle geek (or should that be OracleNerd?) at heart, my focus was on mobile within the Oracle world.  The new UX for Fusion Apps, introduced on the iPad, was really creative.  Mobile Design Patterns...love the innovative thinking behind them, although design patterns themselves aren't anything new by any stretch.  Oracle Tap is also pretty cool.  So let's count three here...got two fingers left (yes, I'm including my thumb...what of it?).

SaaS.  While I'm very happy to see the emphasis on SaaS for Fusion Applications, I'd be hard-pressed to call it an innovation.  Oracle's arrived at the party just a bit too late to call this innovative.  Feels more like a "me too" play.  Not a bad play...no criticism intended here, because I do think it's a great move and hope to see it spread throughout the Apps Unlimited product lines as well...just don't think this falls in the category of innovation.

Endeca.  Definitely points for innovation here in the way Oracle is baking Endeca into the E-Business Suite.  While neither product by itself is all that innovative at this point in time, the way Oracle has combined the two products to change the game for information discovery in EBS is very creative.  Probably one of the biggest Oracle stories of 2012, but it has not gotten the attention it deserves.  One more finger used up, one left.

We could talk about the innovative credentials of ADF Essentials, Enterprise Manager, or other cool tools.  But we're discussing innovation in the Enterprise Apps space.

Unfortunately, after racking my brain for a bit, my last finger (or thumb) goes unused.  I can't think of much else in the Enterprise Apps space.  Which leaves me bored.  And hoping we see something in 2013 that gives us that "heart-stopping, holy guacamole, this changes everything" feeling.

Or maybe it just that my memory is fried?  Between my age and all the brain cells I burned in my youth, maybe I've forgotten or missed something?  Hit the comments if you've got an idea for using up that last finger (keeping in mind that any lewd finger jokes won't pass moderator review - let's keep our minds out of the gutter, shall we?), because I'd love to hear it.