Getting Ready, Part II

A recent post here, "Getting Ready", was all about getting ready for the Oracle Cloud Applications upgrade from R12 to R13.  Now that the upgrading is underway, I thought it might be a good time to add a bit to the info passed along in that prior post.  I'm thinking a basic bullet list is the best way to get this done, so here we go.

• Upgrade Readiness  Checklist:  You can find a pretty nifty upgrade readiness checklist in My Oracle Support Doc ID 2354604.1.  
• Upgrade White Paper:  There is a great white paper on the recommended approach to upgrading here.
• When Will I Get My Upgrade?: Upgrades are in full swing now.  If you don't have an upgrade date yet, work with your Oracle Customer Success Manager to get that scheduled.
• What Is The Opt In Feature?:  Oracle is sensitive to change management issues when we roll out new features, so we're expanding the time window for customers to uptake new features with the option to opt in.  You can read about how to opt in for new features here.
• Learn About The New User Experience Features in HCM Cloud: You can get the straight scoop from the man himself (@chrismleone) right here.

So there ya go.  Between the two posts, you're getting a bucketload of information on R13.  But my little pea brain obviously can't think of everything.  So if there is something more you need to know, hit me up in the comments.  I'll answer if I can.

Getting Ready

I don't think it's any big secret that we're getting close to R13 of Oracle Cloud Applications.  We've been talking about it publicly since Oracle OpenWorld 2017.  Having seen R13 up close, I'm very excited to see it come to market.

But, my excitement notwithstanding, I also know that existing customers get a bit antsy in the face of an impending upgrade.  Because preparation for an upgrade is important, and that preparation requires information.  What new features come with the upgrade?  What is the impact to the way my enterprise does business?  What should I be doing to help get my enterprise ready?

Having been part of the Oracle ecosystem for more years than I care to count as a consultant, a customer, and now a member of the Oracle team, I can recall the days when it was very difficult to learn about new features and perform impact assessments.  The information was tough to come by.  And, by the time we got the information, the timeline to upgrade was too tight to perform an in-depth impact assessment.  Which lead to encountering some fairly significant surprises during the actual upgrade.

Fortunately, those days have over and done with.  Because now we have Cloud Readiness sharing the information customer and partners need to prepare for an upgrade.  You'll find that Cloud Readiness offers quite a bit of information:

• Spotlights: videos that highlight top level messages and product themes
• New Feature Summary:  summary description of each new feature

• What's New:  Learn what's new in this release and how to plan your upgrade by reviewing expanded discussions of new features, including capability overviews, business benefits, setup considerations and usage tips

• Release Training:  online sessions providing an in-depth view of the release enhancements.

• Product Documentation:  Provides detailed product guides and training tutorials to ensure successful implementation and use of Oracle Cloud Applications.

All the information you need.  Even better, it's all in one place.  You can check it out for yourself here.  And once you've looked over our Cloud Readiness information, please let me know what you think by leaving a comment.