Oracle: Key Trends

Srenik Ravjiani Lead, Center of Excellence for Oracle Solutions Accenture

For long we associated Oracle only with relational database technology and offeringsnot surprising, given its dominance in that space for decades. With the acquisition of Sun Microsystems, PeopleSoft and Siebel Systems, Oracle strengthened its position as a provider of hardware and enterprise software. The most recent buzz is about the Oracle Fusion Application and Middleware productsaimed at not just connecting and integrating all levels of enterprise technology but also giving key decision makers the speed and agility they need in order to respond to market conditions. In keeping with the times, Oracle is offering technology solutions that are aligned to disruptive trends such as cloud computing, analytics, mobility, business process-driven development, service centric and datadriven architectures, social enterprise and convergence.

Oracle Business Solutions in the Cloud

Oracle Fusion Middleware comprises the industrys leading application server stack based on Oracle Weblogic suite and other technology stack components that give users the benefits of business intelligence (BI), identity management, content management and Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). Oracle Fusion Applications, which will eventually replace Oracle E-Business Suite, assimilate the best-of-breed features from E-Business Suite, JD Edwards, PeopleSoft and Siebel. Fusion Applications are built on top of the Oracle Fusion Middleware technology stack, using the standards-based and modeldriven architecture as blueprint. Oracle Fusion Applications offer a complete suite spanning seven critical business areas that include financial management, procurement, project portfolio management (PPM), customer relationship management (CRM), supply chain management (SCM), human capital management (HCM) and governance, risk, and compliance (GRC). The Oracle Fusion Applications platform is highly flexible; hence, companies can selectively add modules as per their business needs. What makes the Applications particularly attractive to the business community is the fact that the BI logic and collaborative as well as content management capabilities are embedded throughout the system.

Since Oracle has the ability to offer services in all three layers of the public, private or hybrid cloudSaaS, PaaS and IaaS Oracles Fusion offerings are most relevant in business environments where IT organizations are being asked to cut cost, significantly improve (system) responsiveness to business and drive innovative business solutions. ExaData and Exalogic are engineered systems from Oracle; they enable its PaaS offering Oracle Fusion Middleware, database and Weblogic Server Infrastructure. Since the Exa products are built specifically for running Oracle Fusion Middleware and other applications in a high performance environment, they constitute a great foundation for an organizations cloud strategy. Oracle Fusion Middleware provides an environment for rapidly enabling custom application development and acts as the foundation for future applications from Oracle. It includes: User experience platform BPM, BI and content management capabilities Integration with services, data, application, partners and other business entities Application foundation for building, running, managing and securing applications

Since Fusion Middleware is built using best-of-breed industry standard components, it gives clients time-to-market advantage, lowers risks and gives greater return on investments. Oracles cloud offerings also include products that enable organizations to accelerate enterprise-wide landscape monitoring and cloud provisioning. Oracles Fusion Applications are available with flexible deployment options and the recent acquisition of RightNowCRM SaaS provider is definitely more than a hint that Oracle has seriously started investing in developing a SaaS strategy that could challenge some of the leading SaaS vendors.

AFPO is designed to meet the needs of businesses and organizations looking to simplify and speed up implementation of SOA architecture based on Fusion Middleware 11g suite. AFPO also represents the cornerstone of Accentures Fusion Readiness Program, which is designed to help companies and organizations anticipate the architectural and business needs of Oracle Fusion Applications.

Compelling user experience

Oracles social enterprise offering is evolving from communication and channel integration into process-based platforms where the underlying collaboration technology is aware about business processes. For clients not adopting Fusion applications, Oracle also provides an option for building custom social enterprise solutions using the WebCenter product suite and Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) as a part of Oracle Fusion Middleware. To facilitate enterprise mobility, Oracle plans to offers synchronization across multiple devices, multiple services and multiple processes. With the proposed release of Oracle ADF for mobility in 2012, which uses the principle of author once-use everywhere Oracle plans to enable true enterprise mobility through its Fusion and BI applications that have the same code-set running on mobile devices and personal computers.

Building customer and business insight through analytics

Recognizing the fact that analytics is emerging as a major differentiator and value creator for businesses, Oracle has developed BI capability in all of its key offerings including ERP, CRM and EPM by introducing Exalytics on the marketanother engineered system. Exalytics serves as a development platform for Fusion as well as other applications, and provides functionality for enabling mobile analytics. Furthermore, Exalytics in-memory architecture provides business users with processing speed they need in order to make timely decisions.

Oracle Clients of the Future

On the basis of our research and work with existing clients to promote their innovation and growth agenda, Accenture has identified three demands that Oracle clients are making.

Accelerated solution, deployment and faster time-to-market

Accenture is committed to supporting Oracle Fusion Middleware clients. In fact, the Accenture Foundation Platform for Oracle (AFPO) together with reference application architecture, implementation accelerator and common services framework helps clients accelerate their business roadmap.

The most recent version of the AFPO from Accenture offers clients with a variety of new features, including the capability to access Accenture has more than 20+ Oracle applications on mobile accelerators and offerings to help devices. AFPO includes repeatable clients take advantage of Oracles designs along with the ability to BI capability. Accentures leading deploy to various mobile devices, Fusion Middleware assetAFPO and offers secure access so clients has an inbuilt reference application can mobilize their workforce with and architecture for Oracle BI and efficiency. Users of AFPO are it also enables clients to automate able to deliver either packaged business processes. or custom Oracle applications to tablets or smart phones across key mobile platforms such as Apples iOS, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Android.

In the Coming Years Accenture Career We are likely to see Oracle: Innovation Network Opportunities at Continue investing in Fusion for Oracle Accenture Applications, Fusion Middleware
and security offeringskey to its cloud strategy Extend Oracle Fusion Middleware as the development platform across all product stack, including Application Unlimited comprising E-Business suite, PeopleSoft, Siebel, JDE and industry applications Extend the ADF to support enterprise mobility by using its author once-use anywhere principle Extend cloud appliance hardware (similar to Exalogic and Exalytics offering) to cover Application Unlimited and Fusion Applications, thereby enabling faster time-to-market Enhance SaaS offerings by making Fusion Applications more comprehensive Develop compelling user experience by embedding knowledge management and analytics into the Applications Unlimited portfolio and Fusion Applications In September 2010 Accenture became the first Oracle partner to reach Diamond status, which is Oracles newest and highest partner ranking. For over two decades, Accenture has worked closely with Oracle on innumerable projects for nearly 1,000 customers worldwide including more than 400 Oracle application outsourcing engagements. These projects have been supported by hundreds of accelerators developed at the Accenture Innovation Centers for Oracle located across the globe and at the Accenture Center of Excellence for Oracle solutions in India. If you enjoyed reading this article and would like to explore career opportunities in India with Accenture, we encourage you to visit us and learn about vacancies, our work environment, benefits, career path and much more. About Accenture Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with 257,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the worlds most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com

The Accenture Center of Excellence for Oracle solutions in India focuses on the latest product releases and technology trends in application integration architecture, social enterprise, security, analytics and cloud computing. The Center develops architectures, frameworks, migration and upgrade strategies and accelerators as well as industry solutions for Oracle Fusion Middleware and for Accentures Oracle Fusion Readiness program. The Center also designs implementation methodologies to ensure that software engineering is measurable and predictable and aligned to faster time-to-market.

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