The problem with Choice

I have been at Oracle all week at the annual IOUC Summit, a lot to take in but a lot learnt and the chance to speak to peers. There were many conversations around Fusion (still under NDA but we can speak to each other) and we have also had the opportunity to speak with people within Oracle, and I think we in the users groups have been able to articulate our current frustration.

Fusion Applications are coming, but if we only talk about that are we doing a dis-service to Applications Unlimited? I hope not, we also had the chance to talk about what we will see in Release 12.1 and as a user of E Business Suite I want to look at that in more detail. But then if we just talk about Applications Unlimited then the temptation is to just wait till we see what is in that. Oracle is giving us choice but there is the temptation not to make a decision until we have all the facts.

However let us think about this more. I am not saying wait till we see Fusion before you decide what to do next. In fact don’t be driven by Oracle release strategy at all, look at what your business needs, then look at the Oracle options there are today and not just the actual applications but the middleware options, can Oracle meet your business needs better today? If yes then you have your answer. What we need to hear more about is the message that the Fusion technology is in the Applications Unlimited portfolio and any invested made in these areas now will not only give us the benefits today but will be protected investments because they are part of Fusion Roadmap.

I am a long time Applications user and consultant, on the functional and BI side. Under the ACE Director Program I this week also took part in their Fusion Middleware Initiative, where I learnt about SOA suite, not only did I learn how it works, I learnt to present it and left with everything I need to teach it to others. Two things I learnt:

• It is not difficult but are we training our technical resources in these Fusion skills?
• Not only is it firmly embedded in Fusion Applications but more and more used in Applications Unlimited

Listen to the Oracle messages, all sides and look at how it might help your organization. Best place to hear this, at your local user group of course. (Actually THE best place is UKOUG).