On The Eve Of OpenWorld

On the eve of OpenWorld, this article pretty much lays out what I'm expecting to see and hear next week.

OOW - One More Thing

So as Oracle OpenWorld approaches, I'd like to point out one more session that may be worthy of your consideration.

For the first time, we'll see a track at OpenWorld directly positioned to Oracle Applications customers interested in leveraging Fusion Middleware ("FMW"). If you're considering extending your applications functionality with FMW, I'd recommend one session in particular:

Hasan Rizvi's General Session: Maximize the Value of Your Oracle Applications with Oracle Fusion Middleware. It's Tuesday at 12:30 in Room 102 of Moscone South.

Why do I think this session could be special? First, we'll hear how Nextel and Hologic are using FMW components with their Oracle Applications. Second, we'll see a mobile app demo that uses ADF Mobile with the E-Business Suite (this alone makes it worth attending in my book).

You may want to put this session on your calendar…

On The Eve Of OpenWorld...Upgrade!

On the eve of OpenWorld, it seems like we'll hear lots of exciting news.

Most of us in the ERP world are excited about seeing more details on Fusion Apps (even though the general release may not happen before year end). It's understandable, as the Fusion Apps will be a game-changer in the Oracle ERP space.

We'll also likely hear some announcements about some new products as well as an acquisition or two. Larry's keynote will be fun as always…and it'll also be interesting if we hear from Mark Hurd.

But, getting back to the ERP space, a huge impending milestone for E-Business users should not be lost in the bright lights of OOW: Premier Support for the terminal release of 11i (11.5.10.2) ends in November. From that point forward through 2013, 11.5.10.2 customers are on Extended Support. While Extended Support ain't so bad in and of itself (unless you count on certifications with new product releases - and most of us do, given the rate of change in technology today), it may serve you well to keep a close eye on Oracle's Mandatory Minimum Patch Baseline.

The Minimum Patch Baseline consists of those patches that you must…repeat: must…apply in order to qualify for Extended Support. The baseline is also required in order to upgrade, either to R12.1.3 or Fusion Apps. You can keep an eye on Mandatory Minimum Patch Baseline, which is frequently updated, via My Oracle Support Note 883202.1. I suspect that the longer you stay on 11.5.10.2, the more patches you'll see in the Mandatory Minimum Patch Baseline.

So, with all that in mind, my opinion? If I were an 11i customer, I'd spend some serious time at OpenWorld focusing on gathering information for an upgrade to R12. It's time to get on with your upgrade if you haven't done so already. A few reasons for my opinion:

• The longer you wait to upgrade once Premier Support ends, the more complex the upgrade will become. Oracle will continue to produce new releases of R12, with new technology and new features…the further behind you fall, the tougher it gets to catch up.

• If you have your eye on upgrading to a later release of Fusion Apps, keep in mind an important point: 11.5.10.2 is a support "jump off point" for Fusion Apps version 1.0. No promise has been made regarding 11.5.10.2 and later versions of Fusion Apps.

• We're starting to see more and more Oracle middleware technology move from OC4J to WebLogic. Sooner or later, it will likely happen for the E-Business Suite as well. Do you really want to roll a move to WebCenter into your EBS upgrade?

• On the upside, R12 has introduced some valuable features. Subledger Accounting, more APIs for increased integration opportunities, and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) all come to mind. Having a few recent R12 projects under my belt, I can really see the business value…it's worth looking at.

So, yeah, on the eve of OpenWorld I'm suggesting you 11i customers spend your time at the conference checking out your upgrade options. It's time.

OpenWorld 2009 - What Looks Good To Me

Oracle OpenWorld 2009 is almost upon us. As always, it looks to be a huge conference - it'll be much too large for anyone to take it all in. So the issue is one of how to best spend your time. I suggest that those attending OOW focus on specific areas of interest. My own areas of interest this year are Fusion Applications and E-Business Suite 12.1 - including extending the E-Business Suite with Fusion Middleware. I'll pick up a few miscellaneous sessions on the database and Oracle Support, but the two apps areas are my main focus. I'm also planning on spending a significant portion of my time both attending and presenting at the Unconference sponsored by the Oracle Technology Network. The Unconference really appeals to me due to the informal setting and the presentation method - not much fluff happening here, only really meaty stuff. So with that in mind, I'll share what looks good to me at OOW 2009. Of course, the sessions I facilitate or present will be "must attend" events (insert coughing and/or sarcastic laughter here). Consider these first four items as blatant self-promotion:

• The OAUG Fusion Council Meeting, Session S312243, Sunday, 2-3 p.m., Moscone West, Room 3001.

  Oracle’s Next-Generation Applications provide a substantial commitment to end-user productivity. By working in-depth with customers to observe how end users did their work and by leveraging the best practices of Applications Unlimited products, Oracle identified key “Next Generation User Experience Fundamentals” necessary to drive next-generation productivity. Join The OAUG Fusion Council and Oracle during Oracle OpenWorld 2009 to learn more about these exciting new user experience innovations built on Fusion Middleware 11gR1 technologies. Everyone is welcome.

  Presenters are Floyd Teter from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Jeremy Ashley, Vice President Applications User Experience, Oracle; and Katie Candland, Director Applications User Experience, Oracle.

• Unconference Presentation: Case Study - Roadmap to Fusion Applications. Monday, 10 - 11 a.m., Overlook II.

• Unconference Presentation: Aligning Fusion Technology with Enterprise Strategy - The Martini Glass Model. Tuesday, 11 - noon, Overlook II.

• Unconference Presentation: Why We Can't Wait For Fusion Apps. Co-presenting with Debra Lilley and Basheer Khan. Thursday, 10 - 11 a.m., Overlook II. (yeah, it's a Thursday session - just for the conference "die hards").

As for my focus areas, here are the sessions that look most interesting to me (I've only included the session name and session ID - you can get details through the OOW Content Catalog or, if you're registered, the OOW Schedule Builder):

E-Business Suite

• Upgrading to Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1: Technical and Functional Panel,S307961
• Oracle E-Business Suite 12.1 Standalone Applications for Release 11.5.10 Customers: How?,S309539
• Oracle E-Business Suite Applications Strategy and General Manager Update,S309787
• Oracle E-Business Suite Technology Road Map and Vision: Release 12.1 and Beyond,S309536
• Oracle E-Business Suite 12 Procure-to-Pay Process Flow,S309651
• Oracle E-Business Suite 12 Focus on Supply Chain Management,S309654
• From The Trenches: An Oracle E-Business Suite 12/Oracle Database 11g Implementation,S307635
• Oracle E-Business Suite 12 and 12.1: Technology Essentials,S307955
• Get Ready for Oracle E-Business Suite 12! Tasks to Complete Now to Ease the R12 Upgrade Process,S307740
• Oracle HRMS Applications Implementation at DENSO: Powered by Oracle Application Framework,S309498

Extending EBS with Fusion Middleware

• Create A Unified Worklist Using SOA, and Integrate with Oracle E-Business Suite,S307654
• Building A SOA Solution with Oracle Fusion Middleware for Oracle E-Business Suite,S309975
• Shared-Service Oracle E-Business Suite 12, Oracle Business Intelligence Applications, and SOA,S307747
• Energizing and Modernizing Oracle E-Business Suite with Oracle Fusion Middleware,S307959
• Enhanced Usability of Oracle Applications with Web 2.0: Technical Insight,S311588
• Smart Strategies: Prepare for Tomorrow, Leverage What You Have Today,S311178
• General Session: Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g--Foundation for Innovation,S311766
• Using Oracle Application Server 10g with Oracle E-Business Suite,S307958
• Advanced Configuration and Cloud Deployment of Oracle E-Business Suite,S307956
• Oracle E-Business Suite 12, SOA, and Oracle Application Integration Architecture,S312324
• Implementing an Advanced Architecture for Oracle E-Business Suite,S310395

Fusion Applications

• IOUC Product Development Committee Roundtable,S312188
• Ten Things You Can Do Today To Prepare for the Next Generation Applications,S307953
• Oracle Fusion Upgrade Road Map Planning: Defining Measurable Business Value,S308998
• General Session: Complete, Open and Integrated Applications for Your Business,S311860
• Oracle Fusion Development Experience: An Oracle Application Development Framework Overview,S309421
• Oracle Fusion Design Fundamentals,S307405
• The Next Generation of Human Capital Management,S308655

Miscellaneous (not related to my focus areas, but feeds my inner geek)

• Providing a Robust Data Archive Solution for the Largest Global Healthcare Payer,S311658
• Best Practices for Achieving Faster Problem Resolution with My Oracle Support,S311897

• Creating Quick and Powerful Web applications with Oracle, GlassFish and NetBeans/Eclipse, Unconference Overlook I, 11 a.m. Monday

• Rich Client Interfaces via Functional UI Patterns & Best Practices from Oracle, Unconference Overlook I, 9 a.m. Wednesday

• Extreme Faces Makeover - Inject ADF Faces Rich Client Components into your old wrinkled applications, Unconference Overlook I, 10 a.m. Wednesday

• Integrating ADF applications with SOA, Unconference Overlook I, 4 p.m. Wednesday

Well, hopefully this list is helpful to those of you with interests similar to mine. However, if your interests are different, don't despair. There is great info out there to help you get the most out of OOW, regardless of which Oracle products catch your interest. Oracle puts out special "Focus On" documents for each area of emphasis at OOW: the list includes keynotes, sessions, and other events of interest. You can find all the "Focus On" docs here. Now, if anybody knows a way to resolve all the scheduling conflicts so that I can get to all the events I want to attend, please drop a comment and let us all in on the secret...

Oracle Buying Sun - Speculative Fun

So the news is out about Oracle acquiring Sun. It's an interesting acquisition from several perspectives, even though I'm still surprised that Oracle and HP did not team up on this deal (with Oracle getting the software and HP getting the hardware). I usually try not to engage in too much speculation, but playing "what if" with this deal is just too good to pass up. So let's have some speculative fun, shall we?

IMHO, the highlights of this deal are Java and Solaris:

• Oracle has built Fusion Middleware on Java and, assuming this deal goes through, Oracle will own Java lock, stock and barrel. Although I suspect Oracle will still support the open community model, I expect they will attempt to drive the development of future Java standards rather than simply participating.
  

• So far as Solaris goes, Oracle can now engineer a widely-used operating system in conjunction with designing their database, middleware, tools and applications. This could lead to better synchronization between the various components in the software technology stack. I don't see much of a long-term future for "Unbreakable Linux" as Oracle's offering in the enterprise operating systems space now that Solaris is in the Oracle corral.

I'm speculating that MySQL is a non-starter here. One thing I don't anticipate is Oracle continuing to grow and support MySQL as a product. From my perspective, Oracle is first and foremost a database company with their own Oracle database product line. I think it's up to the MySQL community to keep it going...probably not a bad thing if you're a MySQL user.

Another consideration, so long as we're having fun here: Oracle's acquisition of Sun could really give some legs to OpenOffice. How many enterprises would consider OpenOffice as an alternative to MicroSoft Office if OpenOffice offered superior integration with their Oracle products? Hmmmmm...just a thought.

The hardware portion of Sun offers the most interesting opportunity for speculation (and make no mistake, this is all speculation...I have no inside scoop here). I can see it going any one of a number of ways:

• Sun's hardware business has recently evolved into a supply-chain based operation. Oracle could simply shut down that supply chain and let the hardware business fizzle out. Admittely not likely, but possible.

• Oracle could spin the hardware business off to another buyer (HP? Dell?) or as a separate entity.
  

• Oracle could jump in and compete in the hardware marketplace.
  

• Oracle could take the Apple integrated design and sales approach; offering integrated enterprise systems. Offering server, storage, operating system, middleware, development tools and business apps in several levels of integrated, "turn-key" enterprise systems may be a compelling product line for many customers. The value proposition would be ease of use. Imagine taking the iPhone-Touch-iPod-Shuffle approach to the design and sale of enterprise systems.

Whether any of my speculation is accurate or not, one thing is for certain: as I write this, we're in the early hours of a change that will significantly alter the landscape of enterprise software. Oracle can now truely offer products throughout the enterprise technology stack, with the exception of a web browser for thin client presentation. Gosh, I wonder how much the Mozilla team would want for Firefox?

OK, I was just kiddin' about the Firefox comment...don't anybody start a rumor here. In fact, all this speculation has been more in the spirit of fun than anything else. I'm not at all tapped into what Oracle's leadership is thinking here; those folks are proving to be much smarter than I am. In fact, I'll be many of you have a better perspective about this deal than the thoughts I've laid out here. Why don't you hit the comments and share with the rest of us?

The News Just Keeps On Comin'

OpenWorld 2008 may be over, but the news out of the Oracle community just keeps on comin'...

Fusion Middleware Webcasts

The Oracle Fusion Middleware Product Management team, the folks who sponsor the Best Practice Centers dedicated to extending Oracle Applications functionality with Fusion Middleware, is conducting a series of webcasts in October and November (links are to session invitations):

• Leveraging the Enterprise Service Bus with the E-Business Suite: October 7, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. PDT

• Consuming PeopleSoft Pages Using WSRP in WebCenter: October 14, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. PDT
  

• Building a Complex Web Application Using ADF and Siebel: October 21, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. PDT
  

• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne and Fusion Middleware: November 4, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. PDT

I think the last session will be especially interesting for JDE users. Oracle just launched the JD Edwards Best Practice Center during OpenWorld last week, so most of the information in this particular webcast should be new stuff.

So save the dates for the sessions that interest you...and be sure to let me know how the sessions go for you.

Meru Networks Live On R12

Meru Networks announced today that they've standardized on E-Business Suite R12 (thanks to Maggie Sims at Blanc & Otus for bringing this news to my attention). Partnering with NaviSite, they implemented and went live in four months. So add wireless infrastructure solutions provider Meru Networks to the growing list of companies live on R12. Like I said in an earlier post, R12 is starting to build up some momentum.

Notes From TFSOTW - Final Thoughts

Some final random thoughts on Oracle OpenWorld 2008...

• The absolutely coolest thing about OOW was the number of great compliments I received about ORCLville. I never ceased to be amazed by the number of people that read this blog on a regular basis and the positive response I get from those readers. Thanks to all of you who said the wonderful things you said during OOW08. That's what keeps me writing this stuff.
  

• My iPhone was absolutely irreplaceable this week: keeping in touch, managing my schedule, and providing directions around the city, all in one piece of hardware. The iPhone has exceeded all the hopes I had for it when I bought it.

• I did not act on my "halo effect" infection and buy a MacBook Pro at OOW, but only because I've decided to wait for the highly-anticipated new model release (rumored to be around Oct. 14).
  

• The most important news for Oracle customers from OOW08 was the announcement of My Oracle Support. It's the one tool each and every Oracle customer will use on a consistent basis, and it now offers the opportunity to really implement proactive support (addressing issues before they happen).

• The innovation through acquisition strategy seems to be working. It's just a gut feel on my part, but OOW08 left me with an impression that Oracle is about make some more acquisitions. Just a feeling or a hunch, nothing more. Time will tell if I'm right on this one.
  

• My participation in OAUG has provided a great professional and personal network, all full of very sharp minds. I'm glad they let me hang out with them, because I always learn so much when I do.

• Partnering with Amazon and leveraging the Elastic Cloud Computing (EC2) service is an interesting way for Oracle to enter the cloud computing space. It'll be even more interesting to see if and how Oracle becomes a significant player in providing cloud computing services. Ditto for Oracle's first foray into selling hardware: the partnership with HP to sell the HP Oracle Exdata Storage Server and the HP Oracle Database Machine is a creative way for Oracle to enter the hardware marketplace...it should be interesting to see how this development plays out, especially of Oracle opts to expand its role in this space at some time in the future.
  

• The attendee demographics and behavior were a little different this year from years past. More sales people and managers, fewer people with technical or functional "chops"; might be a sign of the economic times. Also, more people with single-day registrations, exhibit hall only passes, and "GuestPlus" passes (exhibit hall, keynotes, and one session)...not nearly so many folks with registration for the full week. The crowd also thinned out a bit after Monday (which was very crowded)...attendance seemed thinner than years past on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (the last day's attendance is usually pretty thin, but this year it seemed pretty thin from Tuesday and on).

• My big, bright-orange, glow-in-the-dark, blogger badge holder was really cool. The free passes to the front of the lines and the reserved seating were also really nice. Thanks to Justin at the Oracle Technology Network for setting up special credentials for Oracle ACEs who blog.

• Kudos to Dan Norris, who came up with the custom badge-holder ribbons that drew great comments all week. I'll happily contribute to a repeat at the next conference.
  

• Lots of EBS users are planning to upgrade from 11i to R12 sometime in 2009. Some of the swell in momentum has to do with the useability engineering in R12 (one example: try doing an AP three-way match in 11i and then repeating the process in R12...you quickly see the difference).

• Actually got to say hello to Tim Dexter face-to-face, if only for a moment or so. Maybe we'll actually get to hang out for a bit sometime soon...
  

• My biggest disappointment was my inability to get in a session with the Oracle Useability team. I was really interested in getting with them for a comparison of my experience with the team at Collaborate 08. I have to do a much better job of managing my schedule, because not getting with this crew at OOW08 was my loss.
  

• I wrote earlier about seeing some "nervous water" regarding the EBS R12.1 release. I still see that nervous water, but I'm more convinced than ever that it's a poor wager to bet on a release anytime in 2008. That being said, the 12.1 previews this week have me believing that 12.1 is a substantially enhanced product in comparison to the 12.0x versions.

• As always, I was honored to be a judge for the Oracle Excellence Awards this year. However, next year I hope to be a winner rather than a judge.
  

• The guys at OracleAppsLab are having a substantial influence on the development of Oracle products. Read the stuff on their blog for a bit and then check out those admittedly poor pictures of Fusion Apps I posted earlier this week. There are AppsLab fingerprints all over Fusion Apps.
  

• I come away from OOW08 convinced that all EBS users, 11i and R12 alike, should plan on upgrading to the 11g database as soon as possible. I'll write more on this in a later post.

• Nobody...and I mean nobody...talked about the big elephant in the room. That big elephant is the current economic downturn (exacerbated by the recent tailspin in the financial markets), which leads to consideration of how to leverage the software already owned to keep your enterprise moving forward in tough times.
  

• Presentations heavy on PowerPoint put me to sleep. The more engaging presentations involved some creativity or some "live drive" stuff.
  

• Really dug the OTN-sponsored Unconference this year. It's the one place you can hang with people who really know their stuff without feeling any sales pressure whatsoever. I suspect I'll be focusing a good deal of my energy on the Unconference, both as an attendee and a presenter, during OOW09.
  

• When I hang out with Oracle ACEs, I really have to stretch my brain to keep up and contribute to the conversation. Most of what I learn and discover, especially on technical subjects, at OOW comes up when I'm hanging with the ACEs. I feel very fortunate to be a part of this group.
  

So now OOW08 is over. It's with more than a little sadness that I say goodbye to dear friends, sharp minds, and the energy of the conference to return to, in the words of Jimmy Buffett, the routine of "jobs and chores and questions, and plates I need to twirl". Already looking forward to OOW09...

Notes From TFSOTW - Thursday

So it's about noon on Thursday as I write this post. Things are winding down at OOW and many people have left to begin their journey home (including me in another three hours). Many friends have already said their farewells and we've all promised to meet up again at Collaborate 09 next May.

I did get in a good session this morning: the R12 Upgrade Panel. Learned a few things about the upgrade and got some validation of my feeling that the upgrade to EBS R12 is really beginning to build up some momentum. Also spent some time in the OTN Lounge, working through a few last-minute technical issues with some of the best minds in the Oracle domain.

So now it's time to hit the road for home. From my perspective, it's been a very different OOW from years past. Very good but also very different. More on that when I post my final thoughts in the next day or so.

Sorry no pics from today...I slacked off again.

Notes from TFSOTW - Wednesday

Saw this morning what has to be my favorite session from OOW08: "Build Composite Applications Your End Users Will Actually Use." The upshot of the session was about building composite apps in JDeveloper and presenting them in WebCenter. One of the cool elements in this session was the demonstration of the "Human Workflow" component in building a BPEL process...nice to see those nifty BEA things working their way into the Oracle mainstream so quickly. The other aspect that made this presentation absolutely rock...the presenters took the risk of "driving live", building the BPEL process and the apps itself on the fly even though they admitted they were still working with a "Frankenbuild". They hit a few hiccups along the way, but nothing that detracted from a great session. Wonderful to see this type of thing rather than a PowerPoint deck with screen shots; the session almost had an "Unconference" quality to it. I hope more presenters follow their lead. My hat is off to Oracle's George Maggessy and Maiko Rocha for what has to be my favorite session of OOW08. Sure hope they update their progress at Collaborate 09 or OOW09.

I did have a chance to hang out for a few minutes with new pal Karen Tillman in the real brain-center for OOW08. That's right, I was invited into the inner sanctum of the PR Operations Room. Karen's been a real godsend over the past few weeks, advising me as I navigate the treacherous waters of dealing with literary license and misquotes as folks interpret and spin the posts from this humble little blog (got no problem with being quoted, so long as the person quoting is accurate about it). While I was there, I also got to meet Twitter pal Joan Levy face-to-face...a real treat for me.

Also attended the double-session on "Oracle Fusion Applications: Applications For The Next Generation", conducted by Oracle's Steve Miranda and Chris Leone. It was sure nice for the public to finally get a good flavor of what I've been so excited about for so long. I took lots of really bad shots of the presentation and live demo that you can look at here. Yup, they're red-tinted, at an angle, and somewhat blurry (hey, what do you expect from an iPhone camera at 20 feet?), but I hope it's enough of a taste of the Fusion Apps UI that you'll see what all the fuss is about. You can see the bevy of shots (told you I'd make up for yesterday's photographic slacking) here (the pics look a little better blown up to full size).

Watched the Larry Ellison keynote from a very posh, exclusive and private location (sorry, I'll never tell). Larry's big announcement on "X" turned out to be the HP Oracle Database Machine: a data warehouse appliciance, based on the Exadata Storage Server, that's intended to shift the data-intensive part of query processing away from the database layer and put it on the storage layer.

I'm off to the OAUG Appreciation Event, but I'm bugging out on the Oracle Customer Appreciation shindig. I'm a little tired of the crowds and would like to roam downtown San Francisco without fighting through a stampede of OOW attendees. Dinner with a buddy and a little shopping (maybe at the Apple store) on tap for the evening. I'm looking forward to slowing down a bit...

Late Update: Karen and I actually worked through a brief, light-hearted video interview that she's posted on YouTube. You can watch for yourself here.