Oracle ReportingStrategy

With the final completion of Oracle’s acquisition of Hyperion,the postioning of the reporting elements of their recent aquisitions is starting to emerge.

Oracle's go forward strategy is termed Enterprise Performance Management (EPM). This has has three elements, Performance Management Applications, Business Intelligence Applications and Transactional Systems.

Performance Management Applications will be based upon Hyperion System 9, and includes Financial Consolidation, and Planning and Budgeting. Performance Management Applications extend beyond Oracle EBS, and can sit over non-Oracle systems ( and includes certification for SAP). This continues Hyperions position as the market leader in reporting from disparate systems. Oracle Press Release

The Oracle BI financial analytical application is based upon Siebel reporting tools. This will supply analytical subject areas such as revenue analysis, working capital and profitability. The ad hoc reporting capability will be provided through a tool called Oracle Answers.

One of the key questions is what now happens to existing products such as Discoverer, Daily Business Intelligence, Enterprise Planning and Budgeting, Consolidation Hub, and other existing reporting products? Many of the products will now become part of Applications Unlimited (AU), though the investment in development may be low, which would steer users to the EPM framework. It has been indicated that Discoverer will essentially become part of AU, though investment would continue and workbooks can be included in various dashboards, though Oracle Answers looks to become the go forward ad hoc reporting tool of the future.

Oracle's reporting strategy has been confusing for users. Various reporting tools and intelligence products have been released over the last 10 years with no real continuity. Let us hope we will get stability and see tools develop and not have to contend with a new offering evey two or three years.

Oracle Lifetime Support

The announcement of a new release can raise concerns for organizations as to the level of support they will receive for older versions and when that version will be de-suported.


To meet these concerns Oracle have announced a Lifetime Support Policy.


The implementation of the oracle E-Business Suite is often a significant investment in terms of expenditure, time and organizational change. Whilst the announcement of a new release can be potentially good news to Organizations, the downside is that having made that investment, or reviewing the new functionality and no cost benefit accrues, upgrading may make to business sense.


The Oracle support mechanism of announcing de-support dates for versions can lead to upgrades that organizations feel

The policy outlines 3 levels of support for the Oracle E-Business Suite:

• Premier Support
• Extended Support
• Lifetime Support
  
  Whilst offering a Lifetime Support Policy, this looks to be an evolutionary process for customers on 11i7 onwards. Careful review of the ongoing support mechanism for your organization is recommended.
  

Information and Data sheet: Oracle Support Page

Oracle Applications Unlimited

Applications Unlimited is Oracle's commitment to existing users of JD Edwards, Oracle EBS, Peoplesoft and Siebel to maintain and improve current product lines. The protection of investment in current software packages is vital, many organizations being concerned they would need to switch to a new product or forced to upgrade as a result of Oracle's new acquisitions.


To protect investment Oracle has outlined:

• Brand new releases - commitment to existing product families
• No forced migrations - upgrade when it is right for the organisation
• Dedicated development teams - ongoing development and support

As part of the Applications Unlimited commitment to the E-Business Suite, Oracle announced the general availability of Release 12.

This is obviously a welcome step for all users within the new wider Oracle community. Fusion is still some way off, users of JD Edwards, Sieble and Peoplesoft find they are not been driven to use the Oracle EBS, with EBS users able to move ahead with release 12. In addition, Oracle's lifetime support policy potentially secures the investment for users EBS 11.5.7+, by providing sustained indefinite support. Release 12 focuses on global users, so unless there is specific functionality or technical enhancements which may benefit organisations, staying on 11i is a valid strategy.

Oracle seem to have all bases covered - let us hope with the diversity of products, applications and architecture that they can all be effectively supported.

Information: Oracle Applications Unlimited Program
Interview with John Wookey SVP Applications Development at Oracle

Oracle Release 12

Oracle's latest version Release 12 was made generally available in January 2007. The release aims to provide greater levels of control and transparency by use of a centralised financial architecture, whilst supporting local regulatory and cultural country specific requirements.

The key messages are:
· Think Globally - using business intelligence and analysis tools
· Work Globally - using the global capabilities of the applications
· Manage Globally - using the latest system architecture and middleware

The focus is on global operations and shared service efficiencies, as well as application specific improvements. One of the most fundamental changes occurs with the new Global Financial Architecture, which introduces 6 Major Initiatives.
· Ledger and Ledger Sets
· Multi-Org Access Control
· Sub-ledger Accounting
· Tax Engine
· Inter-company
· Bank Model

Ledger and Ledger Sets
Ledgers essentially replace Sets of Books, and introduce a 4th C to Calendar, Currency and Chart of Accounts, Accounting Method. The use of ledger sets replaces the Alternative Accounting Representation introduced in 11.5.7, and provides a rule-based mechanism for each ledger, overcoming some of the limitations of the current functionality.
The use of ledger sets streamlines the set up process; a single set of rules could be defined for all IFRS ledgers and attached to each ledger in turn. The local GAAP ledgers having the appropriate country specific rules.


Multi-Org Access Control (MOCA)
Very much aimed at shared service operations, access to operating units (OU) is role based, with a single responsibility able to access multiple OU.


Sub-Ledger Accounting
Sub-ledger accounting supports ledgers by generating the accounting entries for each ledger from a set of event based rules. A single transaction could therefore generate distribution lines for IFRS ledgers and local GAAP ledgers.


Tax Engine
The tax engine generates indirect tax entries based upon pre-defined rules - the 4 P's Parties / Places / Products / Processes. Tax entries are now held in a Tax Transactions repository to streamline reporting.


Inter-company
The Global Inter-company System (GIS), becomes Advanced GIS. The most significant feature being is the generation of invoices between companies, overcoming a major shortfall in existing functionality.


Bank Model
The biggest change to the bank model is that bank accounts are now attached at Legal Entity level rather than Operating Unit in current versions. The capability to pay across operating units is also been introduced. Banks accounts can be shared by applications and can be designed for use by Payables, Receivables and Payroll.