Oracle Open World Europe – Don’t You Forget About Me

Oracle OpenWorld came to London for the first time this month and proved to be a great success, attended by an eclectic mix of visitors from the world of Oracle and a variety of speakers such as former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Lord Malloch-Brown, the Gadget Show’s Jason Bradbury and comedian Eddie Izzard.

There was also the opportunity to hear from the Oracle leadership including CEO Mark Hurd. However, through a mishap with his passport and the US federal government shutdown, Mark didn’t actually make it to London, instead giving his keynote address to Oracle devotees from Redwood Shores at 3.30am local time.

Another keenly anticipated member from Oracle’s inner circle of directors at the event was Cliff Godwin, Senior Vice President of Applications Development for Oracle’s E-Business Suite (EBS). And although the underlying premise of Oracle OpenWorld was about embracing Larry Ellison’s Cloud vision, Cliff was there to talk to on-premise EBS users about continuous product innovation on release12.2 through to at least 2030.

Despite the influence of Oracle’s Cloud at the event, it was the E-Business Suite product that caught the attention of many visitors on day two. So much so, that there was a clamber to gain access to Cliff’s presentation. Unfortunately, the show organisers underestimated the popularity for the session and booked poor old Cliff into a smaller room.

The room quickly filled and then the doors were unceremoniously closed to those waiting outside – a group that was actually larger than those on the inside. A number of those turned away that we spoke to were unhappy, and some even commented that Cliff’s presentation was the reason they attended Oracle Open World.

What does this tell us? Well for starters, Cliff definitely needed a bigger room. Secondly, users are still keen to hear about the latest developments on Oracle’s E-Business Suite. And thirdly, when one considers the time, energy and most importantly, the substantial investment made in such systems, for a variety of valid business reasons many EBS users are not planning to move anytime soon, regardless of what their software vendor might tell them.

Many are looking to make the most out of their existing Oracle investment in EBS. Whether it’s improving a business process or the users’ experience, optimising your current system to ensure it continues to meet the demands of your evolving business is a totally valid approach being undertaken by many organisations. Focusing attention on any of these can quickly lead to tangible benefits, most notably reduced costs and increased user adoption.

And here’s why:

• It will provide businesses with a sustainable operational blueprint, without a major upheaval for at least the next 12 years.
• Continuous innovation for applications is akin to the 12.2.x updates that have been made available annually in recent years, benefitting E-Business users with Oracle’s ongoing product development.
• The underlying technology stack is independent under the “continuous innovation” model, meaning that new versions of this can be deployed without having to upgrade Oracle E-Business applications code.

So there you have it. Cloud Applications is an option for users going forwards, but so is Oracle E-Business. In fact, considering that only a very small percentage of Oracle’s on-premise customers have moved to Cloud Applications at the present time, it’s no wonder that Oracle has made the commitment for continued support on EBS.

Here’s the important part: As an EBS user, if you’re currently on 12.1 (or lower), then you have until the end of 2021 to upgrade to 12.2 to continue to enjoy Premier Support. Significantly, you’re therefore one major upgrade (at most) away from never having to go through the time and expense of upgrading Oracle E-Business ever again!

And for those of you who may have been frustrated at having the doors shut on you whilst trying to gain entry to see Cliff Godwin at Oracle OpenWorld or for those who couldn’t make it to London, then rest assured as the major announcement regarding Oracle’s strategy roadmap for EBS 12.2 is available to watch here.

So sit back, grab yourself a drink and click the link below:

Oracle E-Business Strategy Roadmap Presentation by Cliff Godwin

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