Removing the FUD, from Oracle E-Business Suite R12 upgrades

Part1. Be afraid, be very afraid?

The clearest link between all the SROAUG R12 upgrade presentations was an attempt to remove the fear, uncertainty and doubt which seems to have paralyzed many Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.x customers. R12 has been around since 2009 and is now at the 12.1.3 release level; did initial release issues slow the uptake of R12? That certainly did raise some very profound fears about upgrading to R12 for many, but now that is only of historical interest.

One thing is for sure the Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.10 installed base is facing a steep increase in support costs as 11.5.10 rolls into extended support in November 2011. So why are many E-Business Suite customers still holding tight at the 11.5.10 release level?

The number one fear seems to be around the nature of the upgrade, is it a technical upgrade to be implemented by IT, or is it a functional upgrade that will require the business units to implement? The reality is that R12 is both a technical and functional upgrade.

In order to implement E-Business Suite 12.1.3 the Oracle 11g database is needed, so for many E-Business Suite installs that will mean a database upgrade. If upgrading from 11.5.10 many other technical components will need to be upgraded in order to implement R12, so to that extent it is a technical upgrade.

However R12 is not only a technical upgrade, as many functional components have also changed. Changes to functionality in R12 vary in scope from the changing of form formats that generate the need for some user training, through to major revisions of modules in the finance area that require more extensive testing and verification before implementation.

“Don’t be afraid of the Dark” at this point the functional changes are well known and documented. In all organizations there is always some level of resistance to change, Jade Global can help by identifying the mandatory functional changes in R12. Then after the R12 upgrade is complete, assisting with the implementation of optional functional changes at a pace that your organization can absorb.

P.S. How did Robert Cray get Oracle CEO Larry Ellison to play on his band? Check out 1:04 of the “Don’t be afraid of the Dark” clip, same beard and black polo neck just younger in the face?

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