RESOLVING THE ORACLE EBS R12 UPGRADE DILEMMA

Authors: Langbert Walker Mahesh N. Dixit Business Application Services Oracle and Cloud Applications

Table of contents
03 Introduction

04

Top reasons for you to switch to Oracle R12 right away

05

At Crossroads to upgrade to R12 or wait for Fusion Applications

06

Are you ready to upgrade to Oracle R12?

06

Simplifying the Transition with Wipro EasyU

09

Conclusion

Introduction

A fiercely competitive global market, characterized by economic fluctuations and rapid technological changes has made it imperative for the modern enterprise to constantly innovate and enhance operational efficiencies. Added to this, stringent compliance and regulatory requirements are further forcing enterprises to periodically reassess their enterprise systems and look for ways to maximize the value of their existing Oracle ERP investments. Staying up to date with the latest functionalities and performance improvements has never been as crucial for organizations as it is now.

that incorporate new functionalities and technologies that drive greater agility and productivity. While R12 is a significant upgrade version of the existing EBS suite, Fusion Applications is an entirely different solution combining the best attributes of Oracles various business software lines to deliver next-generation ERP applications that are service-enabled, easily integrated into a service-oriented architecture and made available through a SaaS model. This white paper from Wipro highlights the major points to consider in determining the transition to R12 or Fusion Applications for existing Oracle users on 11i or earlier software versions. It also

Todays businesses need systems that are flexible, scalable and open-standards based to adapt in a cut throat competitive marketplace. Oracle E-Business Suite R12 and the recently released Fusion Applications are the latest ERP solutions from Oracle

reviews the various challenges that organizations face in assessing their Oracle roadmap and discusses Wipros EasyU assessment tool as a decisive framework for determining the best upgrade strategy for your organization.

03

Top reasons for you to switch to Oracle R12 right away

As a global business, there is a constant pressure for you to quickly innovate, adapt and compete more effectively in a volatile marketplace characterized by intense competition, financial pressures and complex regulations. Can your current Oracle enterprise system keep up with these ever-increasing demands of a fast evolving economy?

2. Support for Oracle 11i coming to an end in November 2011 With premier support for EBS 11i having already ended back in November 2010 and the waiver for extended support fees valid till November 2011, companies will need to make a decision soon. If you still havent planned for an upgrade, you will have shell out hefty support fees soon. Moreover, this extended support is only available till

Here are the top reasons to migrate to Oracle E-Business Suite Release 12 (R12):

November 2013 and only applies for systems that meet the minimum patching baselines as set by Oracle.

1. Latest and most advanced version of the Oracle EBS Suite R12 is a significant upgrade over the previous version 11i, and comes with a host of rich features, new functionality, enhanced capabilities and security fixes. These include: Enhanced industry-specific functionalities Improved analytical and reporting capabilities Superior usability improvements and centralized life cycle management Ability to move towards shared services for back-office operations (Multi-org access control, etc) Minimal need for customizations owing to user tailorable folders, key data flexfields and high levels of customization in features such as Workflow, XML Publisher (BI Publsher), OA Framework and Forms Personalization, and Custom Library Open-standards based technology and SOA architecture that enables seamless integration with 3rd party products and other management frameworks

3. Alignment with Oracles Fusion Suite roadmap Considering that R12 is the latest and most advanced version of the EBS suite and running on Fusion Middleware, most of its technology components and new features will be carried over to Fusion.This means an upgrade or reimplementation to R12 will serve as the foundation for your possible future transition to the Fusion Suite in an incremental and controlled manner.

The major enhancements in Oracle E Business Suite Release 12 promise significant improvements in productivity and efficiency and customers would do well to consider an upgrade to R12 at the earliest.

04

At Crossroads to upgrade to R12 or wait for Fusion Applications

It can be tempting for customers to risk staying on 11i, but it also should be kept in mind that the extended support is only available till 2013, and at high costs. Moreover, since Fusion Applications is being rolled out in an incremental manner (it can take years for a full-functionality version at one go) it requires integration with the applications the customer already has on hand. Seeing that 11i does not run on a Fusion Middleware technology stack, it will be a high-stakes transition that involves a rip and replace approach along with extensive changes unlike in the case of a R12 upgrade. R12 is in any case a pre-requisite to move to Fusion. With the above considerations, it also means that the longer 11i customers wait, the higher the probability that they will eventually face a complicated upgrade or re-implementation process to R12 on the road to Fusion Applications. Why even wait to reach this point of no return? As the latest release for Oracle EBS, an upgrade to R12 can result in significant benefits in terms of security, stability, increased functionality and performance. The most important, and indeed, clinching factor is that R12 runs on the same technology stack - Fusion Middleware as does Fusion Applications. Simply put, this means you will not be forced to do a full-scale upgrade to Fusion - rather R12s standardbased technologies enables you to adopt a co-existence strategy wherein you can either add select Fusion Applications modules to your existing application environment or implement entire pillars as per your business requirements. This approach helps customers leverage the opportunities that Fusion brings to address their critical needs while minimizing the risks associated with their Oracle investments and paves the way for a possible transition to Fusion Applications in an incremental and controlled manner. The diagram here showcases the Oracle co-existence strategy and highlights the three main pillars along
COEXISTENCE STRATEGY
FUSION CO-EXIST PILLARS FUSION CO-EXIST MODULES

with some key modules currently available to Oracle customers.

Going ahead, the simplest and most ideal path forward for Oracle customers plotting the future of their enterprise applications would

Human Capital Management

Customer Relationship Management

Financials & Supply Chain Management

Talent Management Project Portfolio Management Workforce directory Distributed Order Orchestration (DOO) Spend, Sourcing & Contracts Procure-to-Pay Accounting Hub (GL+Hyperion) Incentive Compensation Customer Data Hub Sales Performance Management Temitory Management Quota Management Incentive Compensation Workforce Lifecycle Mgmt Product Data Hub Governance, Risk & Compliance

as be follows:

Upgrade to the latest Oracle Application release - R12

Adopt a co-existence strategy with Fusio Applications

Embrace the complete Fusion Applications suite if and when appropriate

The message is loud and clear the upgrade to R12 either as a standalone strategy, or as a roadmap to Fusion, is no longer a question of if, but rather when and how.

05

Are you ready to upgrade to Oracle R12?

The road to R12 is inevitable, but not an easy journey. While some Oracle customers have already made this transition to obtain the maximum business from the newly available functionality and Fusion Applications modules, others have been slow to jump the bandwagon. Some have instead opted to wait for Fusion and for others the main reasons for delaying their Oracle upgrades are primarily due to assumed high costs and the potential disruptions associated with the extensive structural changes that entail more efforts than the earlier upgrades. Many customers infact have several pertinent concerns regarding their readiness to upgrade to R12 such as Is moving to R12 right for my organization? Can I get sponsorship for my business case? What are the key factors to consider? Will my customization be impacted? and so on. Whatever the case may be, and with the support deadline fast approaching, it is time for you to seriously contemplate the move to Oracle R12 if you havent already.

Is moving to R12 right for my organization? What about Fusion? What does it take to move to R12?

Should I upgrade to R12 or is it better to reimplement?

?
What are the key factors to consider?

What are the major constraints involved?

Simplifying the Transition with Wipro EasyU

Wipros proprietary Easy-Upgrade solution for Oracle E-Business Suite helps customers assess their current Oracle landscape, manage their environment and implement upgrades in a timely and cost effective manner. Considering the ongoing upgrade dilemma, Wipro has developed a rapid assessment tool, EasyU, specifically designed to provide customers a quick and comprehensive impact analysis of the current Oracle landscape and help them determine the best way forward.

As the first step you need to consider a number of complex and interrelated factors before determining your upgrade strategy. There are also some hard questions to be answered are you getting everything you need from your existing Oracle software? Can your business keep up with compliance pressures and competitors? Are you looking to revamp your organization structure and business processes? Do you have the necessary resources and infrastructure and for an upgrade? What is the best way to implement this in the shortest possible time-frame? And most importantly how will the transition to R12 benefit your organization and will it help you move to Fusion Applications when you want? Customers typically face a combination of IT drivers and business While this sounds pretty straightforward, most customers actually end up spending a lot of time, effort and resources in determining the roadmap for the transition to Oracle R12 or Fusion Applications as the case may be. Moreover, with traditional and cumbersome manual upgrade assessments often fail to provide a quick impact analysis and insights on the perceived benefits of migrating. What you need is a solution that can expedite assessments and minimize the risk involved in an upgrade and Wipros EasyU does just that. drivers that combine to impact their decision on whether to upgrade or re-implement R12. Some of the key decision points revolve around the extent of customization carried out, existing business processes functionality, availability of resources, future business plans for growth, extent of changes required, etc. EasyU takes these unique factors into consideration in its assessment, consolidates the data, defines the project/migration plan and eases your entire upgrade process with a detailed roadmap.

06

In evaluating the ERP portfolio EasyU conducts a situational analysis and impact assessment of the customers strategic alignment, business requirements, application and database details as well as infrastructure. Following this, EasyU delivers simple and clear assessment reports with a clear upgrade/re-implement point of view along with upgrade/project plan, possible impacts on upgrade, and an estimated time frame for Sample EasyU Reports:

the upgrade. EasyU also delivers reports on new features highlights for R12 and Fusion Applications along with the process information and modules in use that can potentially play a significant role in the upgrade. Customers can then decide between three possible scenarios as the way ahead for their Oracle migration plan standard upgrade, Re-implementation or Hybrid.

07

EasyU eliminates all inefficiencies in the manual assessment process and provides you with the requisite information and easy to understand reports on a business Intelligence dashboard in a timely manner. The assessment tool itself runs for less than a day to 3-5 hours depending on your IT landscape and database size and is instrumental in reducing the time taken to assess your ERP landscape and readiness for Oracle R12 by up to 40%. A unique aspect of this solution is that it can be deployed on

your system directly without the need for a sandbox or dedicated R12 environment enabling you to make quick decisions on the upgrade v/s re-implement approach by analyzing accurate information directly from the system. EasyU not only ensures quality assessments, but also assists in the entire upgrade process right from analysis and solution design to building and testing the upgrade. An illustration of Easy U capabilities across the different phases is outlined as follows.

In a nutshell, EasyU delivers the following advantages to customers: Speeds up the upgrade decision Delivers real-time delivery of precise information Significant time and cost savings Instant access to R12 and Fusion Applications new features and process templates Consultation on future roadmap upgrade to R12 or adopt Fusion Ensures a safe and error-free upgrade

The ultimate goal of EasyU is to help you answer the what, why, and how of migrating to R12 efficiently, resulting in more informed decisions and thereby laying the foundations for a seamless transition.

08

Conclusion
Oracle R12 has been widely adopted by enterprises worldwide and has been recognized as the most stable and reliable version from the EBS suite. However as with any other major changes to business applications, this must be planned and carried out carefully to ensure a seamless transition and guarantee business continuity. It is thus crucial for existing Oracle users on 11i or older software versions to leverage the right assessments tools that take into consideration scalability, maximum business process alignment, and lowest TCO while mapping their road to Oracle R12 and eventually Fusion Applications.

About Wipro Technologies

Wipro Technologies, the global IT business of Wipro Limited (NYSE:WIT) is a leading Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing company, that delivers solutions to enable its clients do business better. Wipro Technologies delivers winning business outcomes through its deep industry experience and a 360 view of Business through Technology helping clients create successful and adaptive businesses. A company recognised globally for its comprehensive portfolio of services, a practitioners approach to delivering innovation and an organization wide commitment to sustainability, Wipro Technologies has 120,000 employees and clients across 54 countries. For information visit www.wipro.com or mail [email protected]

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DO BUSINESS BETTER
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