OracleAppsBlog

A day in the life of an Oracle Applications Consultant

Other Enterprise Systems

Monday, April 25, 2005

JD Edwards and Peoplesoft Product Packs now downloadable via Oracle’s e-delivery site

Last week I mentioned that you can now download the latest Oracle Software and Updates via Oracle’s e-delivery web site. I was rather chuffed to discover today that JD Edwards World, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne and Peoplesoft Enterprise have been added to the list of available downloads on this site.

This post from last week outlines how to access Oracle’s e-delivery site. The following additional software and products can now be downloaded from this site:

JD Edwards World

According to the JD Edwards World Product Lines Page: -

JD Edwards World is the leading enterprise software solution for the IBM iSeries platform. The applications offer small businesses a reliable, functionality-rich, web-enabled environment for world-class management of plants, inventories, equipment, finances, and people as a synchronized, integrated whole and are tightly integrated and pre-bundled on a single database, reducing implementation cost and complexity.

The following CD/Media Packs are available for this product on the IBM iSeries OS/400 platform: -

• JD Edwards World Express V1.2
• JD Edwards World A73 Multi Language Documentation
• JD Edwards World A73SP15 MP2 Web Enablement
• Letter: Crystal Reports Install
• Crystal Reports for JD Edwards World
• Crystal Enterprise for J. D. Edwards World
• Crystal Reports ERP Direct 2032
• Crystal Enterprise Direct 2032

JD Edwards EnterpriseOne

According to the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Product Lines Page

JD Edwards EnterpriseOne is a complete suite of modular, pre-integrated industry-specific business applications designed for rapid deployment and ease of administration on a pure internet architecture. It is ideally suited for organizations that manufacture, construct, distribute, service, or manage products or physical assets.

The following CD/Media Packs are available for download via the Electronic Product Delivery (EPD) system: -

• Crystal Reports and Enterprise Applications
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 8.11 Applications
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 8.11 Application with Translations
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 8.10 Applications
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 8.10 Application with Translations
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 8.10 Application Localizations
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne User Productivity Kits Development Tool 2.5.4

These packs are available for the following platforms: -

• AIX5L Based Systems (64-bit)
• HP-UX PA-RISC (64-bit)
• IBM iSeries OS/400
• Linux x86
• Microsoft Windows (32-bit)
• Solaris Operating System (SPARC 64-Bit)

Peoplesoft Enterprise

According to the Peoplesoft Enterprise Product Lines Page: -

PeopleSoft Enterprise is a suite of best-in-class applications built on our Pure Internet Architecture and designed for the most complex business requirements. Ideally suited for large, company-wide functions across all industries, it provides industry-leading web services integration with multivendor and homegrown applications. PeopleSoft Enterprise can be easily configured and adapted to meet the most unique customer requirements. In addition, it supports the broadest choice of technology infrastructure in the industry.

The following CD/Media Packs are available for download via the EPD system: -

• Process Modeler Client 8.91
• Enterprise Learning Solution 8.81
• PeopleTools Enterprise Development 8.46
• Supply Chain Planning 8.11
• Customer Relationship Management 8.9
• Human Resources Management System and Campus Solutions 8.9
• Portal Solutions 8.9
• Revenue Management Solution 8.9
• Incentive Management 8.9
• Enterprise Performance Management 8.8
• Financial & Supply Chain Management 8.8
• Human Resources Management System and Campus Solutions 8.8
• Portal Solutions 8.8
• Staffing 8.8
• Enterprise Performance Management 8.8
• User Productivity Kits Development Tool 2.5.4

These packs are available for the following platforms: -

• AIX5L Based Systems (64-bit)
• HP Tru64 UNIX
• HP-UX Itanium
• HP-UX PA-RISC (32-bit)
• HP-UX PA-RISC (64-bit)
• IBM z/OS (OS/390)
• Linux x86
• Microsoft Windows (32-bit)
• Solaris Operating System (SPARC 64-Bit)

Looks like I’ve got some serious downloading to start tonight!!

Tags
Blog, JD Edwards, JD Edwards World, Peoplesoft, Peoplesoft Enterprise, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, Oracle, Metalink, EPD, Electronic Product Delivery, Media Packs, Software, Patches

Friday, March 18, 2005

Project Fusion - merging the Oracle, J.D. Edwards and Peoplesoft Software

In a press release in January 2005, John Wookey unveiled the combined Oracle and PeopleSoft product roadmap and support plans. This post contains the details of Project Fusion, the new effort to merge the JDE, Peoplesoft and Oracle Software.

According to the press release, Project Fusion is "revolutionary technology that will follow an evolutionary path."

Wookey stated: -

The new “Project Fusion” is a new information age architecture based on industry standards that will be modularized for flexible deployment, optimal performance and easy maintenance. New information-driven applications will incorporate key strengths of all product lines and focus on business process automation, industry-specific capabilities, superior usability, real-time information access and reporting, and a shared data model to provide customers with a single source of truth. The “Project Fusion” architecture will leverage the latest Oracle technology for scalability, availability, security and performance. The new architecture and the results companies will achieve will be truly revolutionary, but the path to the new successor product line will be evolutionary.

What was most interesting to see that there is already a timeline for the rollout of the upcoming releases of the software under discussion as well as an estimated release date for Project Fusion which is as follows: -

• PeopleSoft Enterprise 8.9 (2005)
• Oracle E-Business Suite 12 (2006)
• PeopleSoft Enterprise 9 (2006)
• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 8.12 (2006)
• Ongoing JD Edwards World enhancements planned to be delivered continuously
• First Project Fusion components, specifically data hubs and transaction bases, (beginning in 2006)
• Initial "Project Fusion" applications (2007)
• "Project Fusion" applications (2008)

The press release also contains support milestones and other useful links. There’s also an interesting page on the Oracle site entitled Strategic Direction and Vision that has more information on Project Fusion. It states that Oracle will continue to support Peoplesoft until 2013 and has the following to say about Project Fusion:

Project Fusion: The Successor Product
In addition to continuing development of the three existing lines, we plan to develop a successor suite of products—which is called ‘Project Fusion’—where we hope to merge the features and functions of the J.D. Edwards products and the PeopleSoft products and the Oracle products together. We’ll build, if you will, a super-set application suite using modern technology.

Monday, March 07, 2005

Open Invitation to J.D. Edwards (JDE) and Peoplesoft Blogger’s

In line with the recent take over of J.D. Edwards by Peoplesoft and the subsequent take over of Peoplesoft by Oracle I wanted to invite any persons with Functional Skills in Peoplesoft and J.D. Edwards to become members of this Oracle Apps Web Log and make any contributions you feel may benefit the Oracle, Peoplesoft and J.D. Edwards Communities.

I have two levels of membership available: -

• Level 1 - gives you the ability to post comments to existing posts and e-mail other members via the profile e-mail console.
• Level 2 - in addition to level 1 capabilities allows you to post, edit and delete your own comments (i.e. be a blog author).

Ideally, I’m looking for Level 2 members i.e. persons who would actually be willing to post their implementation experiences on the blog. In particular I’m interested in receiving contributions which discuss how all of these three systems will eventually become one i.e. will J.D. Edwards or Peoplesoft merely be killed or will certain elements of these applications be ported to the Oracle Applications environment? What technologies or applications components will stay and which ones will be binned? A good discussion point is also the impact of these mergers/take overs on all of the customers of these applications.

If you don’t necessarily want to join or are not comfortable with the blogging concept but would still like to submit your articles and papers, please send me your work and I can always upload it for you. If you are a good writer and have plenty of good content to submit but don’t necessarily know how to blog, it is my intention to teach you, so sign up today!! If you know of someone who is interested, e-mail them this post today.

Sunday, March 06, 2005

SAP versus Oracle Blogs

Let’s face it, with Oracle managing to swallow up Peoplesoft and J.D. Edwards(JDE) it seems that when organisations are choosing an ERP system these days they only really have two choices, Oracle or SAP. Of course, there are other players around but if you want systems that offer you Enterprise wide applications that are integrated these are probably your two best choices if you decide not to go for a “best of breed” solution for each area/unit/function of your business. Oracle has the added benefit that even if there is a SAP sale made it’s quite likely the organisation might choose to run it off an Oracle Database. In an effort to see how our competitors in the ERP arena are performing from a blogging perspective, I did some googling and browsing the other day to see what SAP has to offer in the blog arena. I came up with some interesting results…...

SAP Executive Blogs

The first thing I noticed is that there are actually blogs maintained on the SAP site by some of their Executive Board Members. The stated intention of these blogs is to Share Executives’ Vision and Strategy with the SAP Community. According to the SAP Communities blog page: -

These blogs are a platform that facilitate learning and the sharing of best practices. Occasionally, Shai Agassi, Léo Apotheker, Claus E. Heinrich, Peter Zencke and Peter J. Kirschbauer post new entries on topics of interest. And they encourage you to submit comments so you and other members can share thoughts. An e-mail subscription service can notify you that a new topic has been posted. These blogs are only available to SAP Community members.

I found myself promptly signing up to the SAP Community as I was really quite interested to see what these guys had to say. What a traitor I am - I have to admit though, I’m a bit of SAP consultant wanabee as I believe it’s important to be multi-skilled and process focused rather than having all your eggs in one basket. Although the blogs are not updated frequently the concept of Senior Executives maintaining blogs really appeals to me and I think this is an excellent way for management to communicate their vision and ideas with the public and at the same time obtain feedback. It’s a perfect example of a concept I firmly believe in and which I’m certain all organisations should implement, namely 360 degree or multi source feedback. Examples of some of the blog titles are: -

• Customers need Flexibility and Agility to Grow and Survive
• Strengthening One Face to the Customer
• How Real-World Awareness Creates Business Value
• The Real Value of Mobility as an Offering in the Value Chain
• The Business Process Platform: Enabler of Innovation

Notice the words value and customer appear quite often so it gives some insights as to what SAP’s strategies are. I actually wondered whether these SAP Exec blogs were actually penned by them or whether it was a marketing ploy. As far as I am aware there are no blogs maintained by Oracle Executives. In fact a search for the word blog on the Oracle site returned no results whilst on the SAP site the same search returned 56 results, seems like Oracle’s internal search engine is ailing. I did a site specific search on Google for both Oracle and SAP to get a fair comparison - Oracle turned up 56 results whilst SAP returned 76 - SAP’s the obvious winner here.

SAP Developer Network Weblogs

This is a pretty cool site such which is updated frequently with contributions by SAP developers. It seems quite similar to the Microsoft Developer Network Blog but is obviously a bit smaller. I guess the Oracle Equivalent is the Technical Articles for Developers page, however, it’s not updated that frequently and doesn’t come near to what SAP has to offer - no doubt, SAP wins in this blog category.

Blogs and Feeds by Customers, Consultants, Partners, ISV’s and Individuals

A Google search for "SAP Blog" returned 319 results whilst a search for "oracle blog" returned 1,790 results. These results when interpreted and compared with the results from the previous search tell me that SAP doesn’t have a lot of blogging activity taking place outside of it’s organisation. I’ve listed a couple of the SAP Blogs I found here but I have to say there’s a surprisingly small number.

Hans@SAP weblog - the blog of Hans Senden a SAP developer in Wijlre, The Netherlands.

Venture Chronicles by Jeff Nolan

Kishore Balakrishnan’s Blog

Apolemia - SAP APO and Development Blog

A SAP Blog by Dennyx of Romania

SAP Specialist - seems to be in a mixture of Chinese and English.

ITtoolbox SAP Blogs - here you will find a few SAP blogs and a number of other blogs relating to the implementation and management of IT and Technology Solutions, all of which make very good reading (I’ve added most of them to my RSS feed reader).

The number of search results returned for the "oracle blog" key phrase, on the other hand,  indicates what I believe to be true and that is that there is a much larger amount of blogging activity outside of Oracle than there is outside of SAP. By outside I mean, not sponsored or promoted by, but rather it is the effort of various consultants, partners, ISV’s, customers and individuals which is causing this activity to take place. Oracle itself lists a number of RSS Newsfeeds and Blogs on their site which you can read, but none of these is actually part and parcel of an Oracle Strategy to add value to it’s services. In addition to this listing, you can also find various feeds of Oracle Blogs at Orablogs.com or vsbabu.org - I haven’t come across any such feeds for SAP, probably because there’s not enough SAP blogs out there to support this kind of activity. Certainly outside of Oracle Corporation itself there is much ongoing blogging activity, although there is plenty of room for improvement - hence, Oracle wins in this category.

Summary

I’ve compared blogging at various levels within the SAP and Oracle businesses, from strategic to development to partner/ISV/consulting/individual or customer blogs. It seems that Oracle should do a lot more to encourage blogging activity within it’s own organisation and also to promote blogging activity outside of their organisation, that is, if they don’t mind giving away an secrets. Essentially they need to be more strategic in their approach to blogging. There’s definitely been some movement in the right direction here, for example, at their last OpenWorld conference in San Francisco attendees were able to write blogs covering the conference - I discuss this here. Certainly for the upcoming SAP Sapphire Conferences in Copenhagen and Boston, as well as for past conferences there doesn’t seem to have been much blog coverage. Despite this, SAP has strong blogging strategy within their own organisation and would appear to be taking a more strategic approach, however, the blog offerings outside of their organisation are some what non existent.

I’ve tried to be as objective as possible when writing this post, it’s not my intention to be destructive in my criticism of SAP or Oracle but rather to provide both parties and readers with constructive criticism that can allow them to make decisions that would benefit both communities. Feel free to add any remarks and if you know of any SAP blogs that I haven’t mentioned here, update this post with your comments.

Friday, February 11, 2005

Connect Peoplesoft Conference to merge with Oracle OpenWorld

This post contains details of the merger between the Connect Peoplesoft Conference and Oracle OpenWorld Conference.

Having just merged the Oracle AppsWorld Conference into the Oracle OpenWorld event held in San Francisco in December 2004, Oracle now has another merger to deal with. In line with the Peoplesoft take over, Oracle has recently announced it is going to merge OpenWorld with Connect, Peoplesoft’s annual conference. The event will be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco from September 18-22nd September, 2005 - I expect this will result in the mother of all conferences.

Of course, this begs the question will the various User Groups and Special Interest Groups (SIG’s) in existence merge as well? I guess it’s something that should be on their agendas.