Should I upgrade to R12 or should I wait for Fusion?

In the summer at the Volunteers Meeting Dave Bouskill who is deputy chair of the Financials SIG asked me to give an update on what we know (and can talk about) on Fusion Applications. It is an honour. I love sharing information and helping other people to understand. Dave was unable to attend but I was well looked after by Colin Terry the SIG Chairman.

At the SIG I was humbled by the audience of about 100 who voted for my session and that of Mark Rittman talking about BI Roadmap to be run separately, they had been scheduled to be run at the same time in parallel streams.

So I gave my presentation and I believe it went well but one question I had been asked beforehand I did not have an opportunity to address.

Should I upgrade to R12 or should I wait for Fusion?

If Fusion Applications were available today, if you don't use Public Sector functionality, if you like being an early adopter, if you are ready for perhaps a hardware refresh, a large project with a step learning curve then please sign up for Fusion Apps and ring me, I'd love to be your Implementer.

If you like Fusion Applications and although we will have them demonstrated at the Technical and E Business Suite Conference Series Event in December you still won't have seen everything. And if you want to wait for it then that is fine but it could be several years after it is released before YOU are ready to move to it.

If you are on 11.5.10, happy with extended support and would not benefit from any of the functionality available in R12, then yes you can wait.

Did I answer the question? Probably not. Oracle's Application strategy means you have choice. Choice is great but you need to know the options to make the right choice. Ask your Systems Integrator or Oracle Account Manager to help you, invest in the time and perhaps outside help to determine what is right for your organisation.

What would I do? I would look seriously at R12 and the technology available in Fusion Middleware and see what value they would give me today and then deciding you will wait is still a valid answer and as long as you can articulate why you have done it may be the right thing for your organisation. Doing nothing is criminal it is simply sticking your head in the sand.

UKOUG will strive to keep you updated and there are many sessions at our conference to assist you, so make sure you attend.