Oracle Fusion Applications

In September, 2010 Oracle announced that it completes the work on creation of a unified environment of Fusion Applications, the product should appear already in the first quarter 2011. Oracle Fusion Applications will be offered in the form of seven product families, including areas of financial management, project management and portfolio and supply chain management. Are constructed by Oracle Fusion applications based on architecture of SOA.

The key principle of a new product are open standards. Fusion Applications has different modules which can be purchased as a packet. In total 100 models in 7 product families are developed. Fusion also has the built-in functionality for the business analysis.

Fusion Applications in itself represent middleware software, a set of services which allow to integrate together various software applications on one computer or even on several which can be controlled different operating systems.

Fusion Applications will include Web servers, application servers and other special opportunities. In particular, Oracle Fusion middleware includes Oracle Web Logic Server, Oracle Application Server, the JRockit Java virtual machine, the Tuxedo application, business rules, the application for the analysis business of processes. Besides, Oracle Enterprise Service Bus, Oracle Web Services Manager, Oracle Application Development Framework, Oracle Forms Services and Oracle Discoverer.

Fusion middleware will become base for implementation of plans of Oracle for development and providing the integrated applications for data storage which will save clients from need of their independent integration. It will allow clients of the company to save time and money as system integration is one of the most labor-consuming and expensive areas in IT.

In April, 2012 the representative office of Oracle CIS provided new generation of business applications of the Oracle Fusion Applications family. Business applications use all advantages of the integrated hardware-software stack of Oracle. The full range of solutions and complete freedom of choice for customers define the principles of development of applications and industry solutions of corporation, says Oracle.

In general new generation of Oracle Fusion Applications more than 100 modules from the different fields of management offer broad functionality. Are completely integrated, convenient to Oracle Fusion Applications in use, also security have a uniform data model. They are developed so that customers could select modules and models of deployment according to corporate requirements and business processes without prejudice to security, productivities and convenience of using, developers claim.

The flagman Oracle Fusion Middleware platform which is completely constructed on open industry standards is the cornerstone of business applications of new generation. The user does not need to address to IT department to configure necessary business processes, they are created in business logic of a system thanks to what the problem of changes in business processes is solved and, respectively, investments of customers are protected.

The optimized user interface requires a minimum of time for carrying out business operations. Its advanced opportunities include also integrated analytics and support of mobile devices. At the choice of the customer of the business application can be unrolled in "cloud", directly at the enterprise or using hybrid model and with ease to migrate from one method of implementation on another. Such approach allows to use effectively investments in IT infrastructure, emphasized in corporation.

The Oracle Fusion Applications family not only gives broad functionality, but also is seamlessly integrated with the existing systems without considerable costs or projects of deployment. Oracle Fusion Applications use SOA architecture for easy integration and ensure the safety which is built in binding software, DBMS and OS.

As it was already mentioned above, the new generation of business applications supplements the existing lines of Oracle. Clients do not need to replace or refuse the implemented systems, they can be shared, gradually adding required functionality by integration. Business processes of "sharing" support by Oracle Fusion Applications all main complexes, including Oracle Siebel CRM, Oracle PeopleSoft, Oracle JD Edwards and Oracle E-Business Suite.

In general the strategy of Oracle in the field of business applications is directed to providing completeness of solutions and completeness of the choice. The innovation offer of Oracle in the field of business applications includes: industry complexes for crucial business challenges for all leading industries; advanced analytical and functional tools; the full-function horizontal systems for bek-(ERP) and the front office (CRM); a technology platform for business applications of Oracle Fusion Middleware.

As noted, business applications of Oracle are completely optimized for the hardware and software systems Oracle Exadata Database Machine and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud. According to Oracle, the strengthened integration gives necessary performance for business applications of Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle PeopleSoft, Oracle JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, Oracle Siebel CRM, Oracle ATG Commerce Suite and Oracle Supply Chain Management that opens new opportunities for the enterprises using Oracle on Oracle, such as high readiness, scalability, energy efficiency and low total cost of ownership.

O problems of implementation of the Fusion Applications platform

Analysts of Forrester polled 140 clients of Oracle company in 2012 and found out that 65% from them are not going to implement Oracle Fusion Applications, and another 24% did not make the decision on this occasion yet. Respondents consider the main obstacles lack of a fair idea of the strategy of Oracle in the field of applications and immaturity of the Fusion platform.^[1]

Analysts believe that Oracle it is necessary or to increase the interest of clients in the Fusion platform, or, on the contrary, to position it as one of applications of the Applications Unlimited platform. Most likely, analysts consider, Oracle will follow on the first way. The company already enclosed a lot of time and means in Fusion promotion.

Oracle is faced by a problem of a strategic choice, analysts of Forrester conclude. Present clients of Oracle do not implement Fusion Applications, in particular, because the policy of the company in the field of Applications Unlimited does not give them cogent reasons for transition. Natural growth of sales volumes of Oracle for the last few years slowed down because of obsolescence of its own developments and the companies for raising of income from applications were required to be bought the leading developers SaaS systems: RightNow Technologies and Taleo.

Oracle called outputs of analysts "the speculative reasonings based on incorrect hypotheses and representations". Contrary to the statements of analysts, clients do not need to select between Oracle Applications Unlimited and Oracle Fusion Applications, emphasize in the company. They can coexist and clients can use the separate modules Fusion in parallel with the set packets of E-Business Suite or PeopleSoft. Though such option was mentioned in the report of Forrester, in Oracle consider that analysts did not pay it due attention. Analysts did not consider also plans of further development of Applications Unlimited, and the outputs based on data of the survey conducted in June, 2012 and which is not reflecting a present situation in the market, said in the statement of Oracle. Forrester insists on correctness of the report.

Notes