Floyd Teter

I've gotten quite a few questions lately about upgrading OBIEE from older versions to 11.1.1.7: how to get it done, what are the steps, etc. In other words, "Floyd, how are you getting it done?"

Well, the honest-to-goodness truth is...I follow the instructions of people who are smarter about it than I am. It's a practice I follow quite often. Albert Einstein used to say that he never memorized anything he could look up. As a lazy guy, that sounds really good to me; it's worked out well.

So, in terms of steps for upgrading OBIEE to 11.1.1.7 (or anything else regarding OBIEE, for that matter), I look to the very bright people at Rittman-Mead. You can find all you'll ever want to know about the upgrade here. That's it.

Google (or Bing or whatever your search engine of choice happens to be) is your friend.

It's been some time since I wrote much here about Oracle's E-Business Suite.  It's not that I don't like the EBS Suite, because I really do.  I've just been focused on other things.

Sometimes, when you're distracted, somebody will put out something so nifty that you're forced to refocus.  The Oracle EBS folks have done that to me with a new YouTube channel dedicated to EBS. Lots of good stuff here. The channel might even provide some tidbit you'll want to dig deeper into at Collaborate 13. So check it out and spend some time grooving on EBS.

With Collaborate 13 on the near horizon, I'm hearing quite a bit of "Hey Floyd, what's EiS doing at Collab 13?"...the short answer is that we have a pretty significant presence at the conference.  Here's the long answer:

Sessions
Da Booth
Hey, you can't be an Oracle Partner and not have a booth at a conference, right?  So, we have a booth.  I'll even be hanging out there a bit myself.  So, if you want to see some cool reporting and BI products to compliment Oracle products...including the new Splash BI...come by and see us in Booth #1121.  We'll have the well-known Treasure Chest going as well as a drawing for an iPad 3.  And, besides all that, we can talk at "da booth".  Speaking of having a conversation...if you mention @eistechnologies in a tweet, we'll give you a free two-day reporting assessment.

See ya'all in Denver.

Since I put up the Collaborate 13 Teaser post revealing the Welcome screen for the new EiS Technologies Reporting and BI product, I've been swamped by folks asking to see more.

Keep in mind that there are some limits on what I can say before Collaborate 13 (I may not work at Oracle, but it sure feels that way at the moment).  Still, one particular request seems like it won't get me in too much trouble:  "C'mon, Floyd.  You have 5 tabs in the screen you've shared.  Can't you at least show us the other 4 tabs?"  Yeah, I can do that...

Administrator  Domains  Reports  
 Dashboards 
Still some work left to do on the UX Design, especially with the Dashboards portion, but it's coming along.  Feedback, opinions, suggestions...all welcome.
And be sure to see EiS Technologies at Collaborate for a live drive after the new product announcement (Monday of Collaborate week, if all goes according to plan).
One more thing...I'll be need some charitable contributions until I find some work in the event I get fired for sharing this...just keep that in mind ;) 

Those of you who follow either this blog or my Twitter account (@fteter) know that I've been up to my eyeballs in new product development over the past three or four months.  You know that I've been using ADF Essentials in building that product.  You also know that my team at EiS Technologies is planning to roll out the new product on a Controlled Availability Release basis at Collaborate 13.

A few notes on the overall experience:

•  ADF Essentials has not only performed better than advertised, it's changed our development team's thinking about how applications are developed.
• Thanks to ADF Essentials, we've built this product from scratch in under four months.
• The ADF Design Patterns, the ADF Rich Client User Interface Guidelines and the UX Direct tools were huge enablers in increasing productivity and cutting development cycle time.

Time for me to shut up now and let the product speak for itself.  Here is a landing page screen shot from our latest iteration.


Take a look.  Zoom in. Blow up the screen shot.  Leave first impressions in the comments.

Since Oracle announced their SaaS offerings, I've watched the debate over the importance of multi-tenancy ping-pong between the pro and con teams.  Good points on both sides of this argument, which I won't recap in this space.  Check here and here for some background on both schools of thought.

What interests me are some of the new features in the upcoming Oracle 12c database.  In particular, the "pluggable database" features:

• Oracle-provided metadata and data is provided in the CDB (Container Database)
• User-specific metadata and data is kept in the PDB (Pluggable Database)
• Many PDBs may plug into a single CDB
• Public synonyms and database links reside in the PDBs rather than the CDB; no namespace clashes

So a single CDB may have multiple PDBs and the PDBs are user-specific and the CDB is more generic.  I'm thinkin'...I'm thinkin'...hmmm...multi-tenancy...PDBs...CDB...with a service-oriented middleware architecture.  Maybe we're seeing the start of something new?  What do you think?  Comments welcome.

A friend recently made a request for some info on Fusion Applications.  After I finished providing some info and answering some basic questions, the idea came up that I should just lay this stuff out for everybody…so, in the words of Hannibal Lechter: "Okey dokey, here we go."

Installation Options
A few thoughts on installation options

• Unless you have a really, really, really compelling business reason, you won't want to take the "Bring Your Own Hardware" installation approach.  Fusion Applications requires loads of hardware investment.  It's a big footprint.
• Personally, I would not recommend running a Private Cloud on your own.  In addition to the hardware required, you'll also need a devops team with a wide and varied set of skills.  Oracle, HP, AT&T, and many others will happily set up and maintain a private cloud for you.  Explore the vendor option before you set off down this path.
• For those requiring integration with 3rd-party or home-grown applications, I like the Hosted option best.  No maintenance headaches with the hosted applications and integration is very easy.  However, I do worry about maintenance response times from Oracle OnDemand and other hosting providers - significant improvement needed here.
• I like the SaaS option due to lower entry and maintenance costs, especially if your customization and integration demands are very light.  However, SaaS does struggle if you need significant levels of data integration or complex customizations.

Deployment Options
This is a very simple perspective on deployment options.  There are nuances and options within options and all sorts of things to consider, but this simple table has served me well.  Helps me keep things in perspective.  Hope it helps you too.

So, in very simple and brief terms, I've laid it out.  Hope you get something out of this.  Questions? Criticism? Additional thoughts or experiences?  Comments encouraged.

Forrester Research recently wrote a report entitled "Oracle's Dilemma: Applications Unlimited Versus Oracle Fusion Applications."    The upshot of the article is that Fusion Applications is not gaining traction with customers already using other Oracle applications under the Applications Unlimited program.  Having surveyed 139 Oracle applications customers, the report states 65 percent of Oracle clients have no plans to move to Fusion Applications and another 24 percent are "on the fence."  Adding fuel to the fire, Forrester found that 29 percent of the Oracle customers polled were planning to move to another vendor's SaaS or packaged applications.  You can check out full summaries of the report…it's all over the web.  It all sounds pretty grim for Oracle's Fusion Applications.  I even saw an opinion stating that Oracle is at a "make-or-break" point with their enterprise applications approach.

Now, I like Forrester.  Know some of the folks there and greatly respect their opinions.  In fact, my own employer (EiS Technologies) is a Forrester customer.  So no Forrester bashing happening here - I like their work.  Still, I must respectfully disagree with the report and the conclusions drawn therein.

First, there is the issue of statistical significance.  When you consider the full realm of Oracle Applications customers (over 26,000 last time I checked), a sample size of 139 seems a bit thin.  But, just for argument's sake, let's disregard the statistical significance issue and assume the report reflects the current perception of Oracle's entire customer base.  Because the second shoe to drop here lands with a much louder thud.

That second shoe dropping?  Historical patterns of acceptance for Oracle's applications customers.  Granted, my thinking here is based strictly on my own observations over the history of Oracle E-Business releases (which probably does not have much statistical significance itself) , but it's still worth considering.  Seems like the typical customer acceptance lifecycle is around four to five years after general availability.  EBS 10, 11, 11i, and R12:  customer acceptance on each seemed to turn the corner between four and five years after GA.  During that four to five year cycle, Oracle listens and adjusts…then listens and adjusts…then listens and adjusts…  We're seeing the same cycle play out with Fusion Applications.  But we're not even two years into that cycle.

I'm sure you're thinking "c'mon, Floyd, four to five years?  How can Oracle do that?"  Well, take a look at the past sales cycles for EBS.  The uptick in customer upgrades and net new sales picks up right around that fourth or fifth year.  Oracle knows it, and I suspect they plan around it to a certain extent.  Essentially using paying customers as field testers?  Maybe a good thing, maybe a bad thing…but it's definitely a thing that exists in the Oracle world.  But wait…how can Oracle afford an uptake cycle of four to five years?  Have you checked their balance sheet?  Looked at their cash reserves?  Oracle can afford to buy the freakin' galaxy if they really want it.  Yes, they can afford five-year uptake cycles.

Consider the cycle with R12.  As recently as 18 months ago, polling any group of EBS customers would have shown that there were far more customers on 11i than on 12.  So much so that Oracle extended the 11.5.10.2 support lifecycle more times than I can remember.  Today, I suspect there are many, many more customers on R12 than 11i.  And how many years are we out from GA on R12?  Hmmm….

Now let's drop a third shoe.  The big play in Fusion Applications is Co-Existence.  Utilizing Fusion Applications does not require an upgrade, nor a "rip and replace" approach.  Customers who stick with their Applications Unlimited products can still deploy and utilize Fusion Applications in co-existence with those products.  This same strategy can also hold even for those Oracle clients who…gasp…move to products from other application vendors.  Deciding to avoid upgrading, migrating, or continuing…none of those decisions necessarily eliminates the value customers can get from Fusion Applications.

The opera is not over until the fat lady sings.  With all due respect to Forrester, it's a bit early to make predictions on the outcome of the Fusion Applications products.  The fat lady is not even warming up yet, much less singing.

We all want 'em
We all got 'em
Well what do we do with 'em
                    -- From Jimmy Buffett's "Fruitcakes"

Ok, admit it.  In the heat of all the enterprise business intelligence hype, your enterprise has purchased and installed multiple BI platforms. Oracle, Jaspersoft, Microsoft, Indicee, Actuate, Microstrategy, WebFocus, Cognos, Tablue, QlickView, Tibco...the list of players and products goes on ad naseum.  And, despite the multiple tools, you're still having trouble keeping up with the BI workload.

Hey, don't get flustered.  We're all in the some boat.  And with good reason.  See, the BI industry has a secret.  I'll let you in on it. Shhhh, keep it down, we don't want this to get out.  The deal is....the perfect BI platform has yet to be built.  Each BI platform has strengths and weaknesses in both approach and features.  Odds are that you're dealing with multiple BI platforms because because your end users have needs that a single BI platform can't meet, at least not in a way that makes consolidation of BI platforms a solid value-add.

But what about standardization?  Doesn't that make the argument for consolidating by reducing maintenance costs and add value?  Well, it does...so long as all those user needs still get met in a relatively painless manner.  Yeah, I agree...not gonna happen.  Great for textbook theory, but it seems all those textbook authors never dealt with multiple business user personas.

So, what to do in this Frankenstein monster of multiple BI platforms?  Well, consolidation is still a good idea.  But do it at the BI level rather than ripping and replacing your existing BI platforms.  Yup, I'm suggesting the BI equivalent of web application "mash ups":  combining disparate content in new and creative ways.  I've seen a few very forward-thinking enterprises do some great work mashing up content from Oracle's OBIEE and Microstrategy.  I've also seen good work done mashing up Jaspersoft and Cognos.  So don't dismiss this idea too quickly...just give it some time to percolate in your brain.

Oh, and about that workload you're struggling to keep up with?  Keep in mind that good BI, well used, generates questions.  Answers are delivered through BI analytics.  Now think about using those BI "mash ups" with a focus on analytics.  Hey...that idea has some potential, doesn't it?

Multiple BI platforms will be around for some time yet; BI nirvana has yet to be found.  We'll all have to learn to live with multiple BI tools for some time to come.  In the meantime, think about BI "mash ups" focused on analytics.  It may be the best thing to do with 'em.

Thoughts?  The comments are at your service.

Like everyone else involved in this business, I watch the job market.  It's good to stay on top of things from both a hiring perspective and as a guy who sells my services.  And it's a funny market right now…one of the oddest markets I've seen in quite a while.

My company has been in the market for sales people with some experience in selling Oracle E-Business and Oracle Business Intelligence.  It's a tough slog, especially on the U.S. West Coast.  Lots of competition for sales people.

On the other hand, two of the best solution architects I know have been looking for months with no success.  Ditto for people specializing in support or post-sale customer care.  Serious talent and few opportunities.

Apps DBAs are holding their own, but there's not as much of a rush for their services these days. But traditional DBAs appear to be doing quite well.  And applications developers, especially those using Fusion Middleware tools, seem to be finding a glut in the market place.  The latter seems especially true for those who specialize in SOA, although the ADF developers are holding their own.  And while mobile apps are a hot ticket with users, the rates and salaries for mobile developers are typically at the lower end of the pay scale.

Functional folks:  good market for folks with EBS upgrades, but a bit sparse for PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, and Fusion Applications.  I suspect the EBS market will also shrivel a bit as customers finish off the move from 11i to R12.1.x later this year.

Lots of Hyperion opportunities, but the Essbase market itself seems a bit dry...weird.

In short, it's a highly segmented job market in the Oracle space at this particular moment.  Some areas are up, while others are down.  As Oracle continues their evolution from a database company into a "complete stack" technology company, it's definitely causing ripples in the Oracle-related job market that we've not really seen before.  We're on uncharted ground…which makes it a funny market.

I like design patterns.  Actually, I love design patterns.  I'd much rather leverage the experiences of others than burn my calories reinventing the wheel.

Oracle's UX Design patterns have really saved my bacon lately.  I've been working with building some very cool stuff with ADF Essentials.  Design patterns have not only made my work product better, they've also saved me time and prevented me from doing some really stupid things (all of which would have needed unwinding and rewinding prior to release).  It's really true:

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. - George Santayana, The Life of Reason, Vol. I - Reason In Common Sense.

So, if you're building your own apps...especially if you're building them with Oracle tools or on Oracle technology...save your own bacon here.