OracleAppsBlog

A day in the life of an Oracle Applications Consultant

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.10 (11i10) release date

In a previous post I speculated when Oracle Apps R11.5.10 might be coming out, this post provides further clarity on the expected release date.

My previous post on an expected release date for Oracle 11i10 stated that it would be out in November 2004. It seems that this date was correct as an article I read in the UK Computing Magazine recently reported the following: -

Oracle’s new 11i.10 e-business suite will be available in 60 days and will feature over 2,100 enhancements, the company said today at its Oracle Openworld event in London.

Improvements include new industry-specific modules, and horizontal features such as the Daily Business Intelligence module for real-time reporting.

Since Oracle OpenWorld took place two weeks ago it seems reasonable to assume that this new release will be out in November 2004.

Oracle Web Conference (OWC) replaces Oracle Direct Connect (ODC) 

A couple of weeks ago I had to use Oracle Web Conference (OWC) to resolve a Severity Level 1 Technical Assistance Request (TAR). This post discusses this new feature Oracle is offering for Collaborative Support.

My first reaction when asked by Oracle Support if we could have an OWC session to help resolve a TAR was mmm…..they must have made a spelling mistake. I’ve used ODC (Oracle Direct Connect) to resolve TAR’s for the past couple of year’s and I soon found out that it has now been replaced by Oracle Web Conference (OWC) which is run from Oracle Collaboration Suite. I have to say that I was really impressed by this product and will try in the next few sentences and pictures to give you an idea of how it works and what it looks like. The Metalink Note 274430.1 entitled How to use OWC as a customer contains instructions on how to use OWC and states: -

Oracle Web Conference (OWC) is the next generation of collaborative support that allows us to engage in a one on one system relationship with dual party control of your system using the Internet. This allows the Support Engineer to observe your issue first hand within your specific environment. OWC works on the same principles as Oracle Direct Connect(ODC) but gives us a greater range of possibilities.

Typically, to use OWC you will be given a conference ID and login information by Oracle Support. After accessing Metalink and then clicking on the Oracle Collaborative Support picture you will be presented with a screen as illustrated below which will allow you to start your conferencing session.

Resolve problems online with Oracle Web Conferencing (OWC)

In your conference with Oracle Support they will most likely run through your problem on screen with you and via the phone. After logging out you can then access a recording of the conference via the archive as displayed in the screen shot below. I thought it was quite cool that you can download a copy of the conference session afterwards 😊

The Oracle Web Conferencing (OWC) Archive Screen

Tuesday, September 21, 2004

Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.10 Documentation

This post directs you to where some good documentation can be found on the new version of Oracle E-Business Suite which is to be released shortly, namely 11i10.

I have over the last week been involved in preparing a proposal for a customer who is planning to implement the new version of Oracle E-Business Suite, namely 11.5.10. I came across some really useful documentation which can be found on Metalink. To find the documentation, log on to the Metalink site, click on the E-Business 11i button then select

Release Content Documents, ‘About’ Documents and Features Summary Matrices

and choose to download 11.5.10 Release Content Documentation (18.56MB).

The documentation pack that you will download contains the information on the following modules: -

• Healthcare
• Advanced Planning
 
• Contracts
• Procurement
• Projects
• Sales
• Service
• Discrete Manufacturing
• Complex Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul
• Configure to Order
• Cost Management
• Enterprise Asset Management
• Flow Manufacturing
• Item Master and Manufacturing BOM management
• Project Manufacturing
• Quality
• Shop Floor Management
• Work in Process
• Financials
• HRMS
• Intelligence
• Balance Scorecard
• Business Intelligence System (BIS) Purchasing
• Business Intelligence System (BIS) Service
• Business Intelligence System (BIS) Service Contracts
• Enterprise Data Warehousing (EDW) Financials
• Enterprise Data Warehousing (EDW) Purchasing
• Intelligence
• Daily Business Intelligence (DBI) 6.0
• Daily Business Intelligence (DBI) 7.0
• Interaction
• Logistics
• Inventory
• Mobile Supply Chain Applications
• Transportation Execution
• Transportation Planning
• Warehouse Management
• Marketing and Sales
• iStore
• Marketing
• Sales Contracts
• Sales
• Order Management
• Advanced Pricing
• Configurator
• iStore
• Order Management
• Release Management
• Shipping Execution
• Process Manufacturing
• e-records
• Cost Management
• Execution
• Inventory Control
• Logistics
• Planning
• Product Development
• Quality Management
• System Administration
• Regulatory Management
• Procurement
• iProcurement
• iSupplier Portal
• Contracts
• Purchasing
• Services
• Sourcing
• Product Lifecycle Management
• Projects
• Grants Accounting
• Project Contracts
• Projects
• Service
• Advanced Scheduler
• Depot Repair
• Field Service
• Install Base, Enterprise Install Base, Counters
• Mobile Field Service
• Mobile Field Service: Wireless and Voice
• Service Contracts
• Service
• Spares Management
• Student System
• Technical
• Applications DBA
• Oracle Applications Technology

Monday, September 20, 2004

Oracle OpenWorld DEMOgrounds visit – Internal Controls Manager

On Tuesday 7th September 2004 I paid a visit to DemoGrounds at Oracle OpenWorld and took a look at Oracle Internal Controls Manager, here’s a summary of my findings.

I have to say I quite like this product as well as the idea and concept behind it. Internal Controls Manager (ICM) has been developed so that it can assist organisations that are trying to ensure they comply with the new requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 as well as increased adoption of International Accounting Standards (IAS). Internal Controls Manager comes standard with 11i10 but not 11i9 (you have to patch up a standard 11.5.9 install to get ICM working).

According to the demonstrator there are only about 160 people implementing it and most of those customers are in the USA. The various brochures, fact sheets and documentation I was given to read indicated that Oracle was one of the first ERP Vendors to come out with a product like this. A product flash leaflet I was given at the DEMOgrounds entitled An Ounce of Prevention - Oracle Internal Controls Manager by Scott Tiazkun of IDC had the following to say: -

The product of work with customers and design partners PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte and Touche to give it that user-tested and partner-approved feel, the Oracle application is aimed specifically at facilitating compliance with Sections 302 and 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley. Section 302 requires particular employees to state that their internal controls are effective. Section 404 requires them to attest that a company attains standards similar to those set by The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), a Congressional commission subcommittee on internal controls. This is in addition to the external auditors certification and review of the same issues.

Oracle ICM is used in conjunction with Oracle Workflow, a modelling tool already in the E-Business Suite that allows users to design internal business processes and store them in a repository. Oracle ICM monitors these processes to ensure they are performed as designed. If deviations occur, automatic alerts are sent to designated personnel. Oracle ICM allows users to catalog and track risk factors that might impact financial statements and includes Oracle Tutor to document policies and procedures. The product also uses iSurvey as a mechanism to conduct questionairre-based assessments and also to support anonymous feedback to provide "whistleblower" support. The application provides users with an auditing portal-type work screen, where users can submit audit findings and issue audit reports, manage process documentation, document business process variations, and review compliance status of financial statements, reconciliation status and overall enterprise compliance status.

The Oracle Internal Controls Manager Home Page

In a nutshell the Controls Manager allows you to take a look at the processes within your organisation, determine the risks at each point within a process and specify controls which should mitigate the risks. Oracle has integrated ICM very well into the E-Business Suite and this is the beauty of the product. Firstly ICM links with Oracle Projects so that if you are going to conduct an audit you can treat it as a project which is appropriately costed and allocated the right resources. Secondly it integrates with Tutor in a manner that allows you to import your Oracle Tutor process documentation into the module. Lastly, where you don’t have any process documentation prepared in Tutor, an interface is available with Web ADI that provides you with templates where you can capture process, risk and control information for subsequent import into ICM.

I’m hoping to have a chance to implement this product in the future and would certainly be interested in receiving contributions from readers or implementor’s relating to this module.

Some comments on Oracle OpenWorld London

This post contains some general comments on Oracle OpenWorld London recently held at the Excel Conference and Exhibition Centre.

I had the pleasure of attending Oracle OpenWorld London which took place on the 6th - 8th of September 2004. On this site over the next few days, I will be discussing some of the things I did and saw at the conference. One of the first things that always intrigues me when registering is the conference bag. It’s kind of like those lucky dip packets you get from Father Christmas when you’re a kid - lot’s of goodies in side. I’m amazed at the different types of goodies and gadgets they come up with every year (most of which serve no useful purpose) as well as the different designs and types of conference bags that are distributed. I’ve been attending these conferences for many years now and I have a collection of about 6 or 7 bags in my cupboard - not one of them is the same! These bags tend to be nice for carrying laptops but my existing laptop has a 17 inch monitor and won’t fit in any of them. Still I always manage to find some use for them.

The Oracle OpenWorld Conference Bag

The conference was held at the ExCel Conference and Exhibition Centre, which is in the heart of the London Docklands on the East side of London. The conference centre and the facilities were really good. This Conference centre is quite similar to the San Diego Convention Center where I have attended various Oracle Appsworld and OAUG conferences - the feel of these two centres is very much the same since the SCC is right on the San Diego Harbour and the Excel Conference Centre is right next to the Thames.

The entrance to the ExCel Exhibition and Conference Centre at the London Docklands

The Millenium Dome and London Docklands as seen from the Excel Exhibition and Conference Centre

The first thing that struck me about this conference was the sheer size of it as the attendance at the conference was very high. I’m not sure of the actual numbers but think I can safely say there were more than 5,000 people in attendance. I thought I would certainly bump into people I new, but finding people in the sea of faces proved to be very difficult. The speakers at the sessions I attended were really good (will be doing write-ups on these sessions in a day or two) and the DEMOgrounds and Exhibition Hall had some interesting stuff to take a look at. You can download conference presentations and white papers which are organised according to the following Focus Areas: -

• Industries
 
• Automotive
• Communications
• Financial Services
• Healthcare
• Pharmaceuticals
• Professional Services
• Public Sector
• Retail
• Trade and Wholesale
• Transportation Utilities
• Line of Business
• Business Intelligence
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Financials
• Human Resources
• Manufacturing
• Projects
• Supply Chain Management
• Oracle Services
• Small and Midsize Enterprises
• Technology
• Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing
• Oracle Application Development Tools 10g
• Oracle Application Server 10g
• Oracle Collaboration Suite
• Oracle Database 10g
• Oracle E-Business Suite Technology

If you missed the conference and are interested in seeing some snapshots of the event you can find them here. Keynotes can also be viewed online.

Room for improvement

It’s always useful to compare an event with other’s I’ve attended. Being an avid Internet surfer and having a laptop with in built wireless support means I like to use this feature as often as I get the chance. All the big conferences I have attended in the States had wireless hotpots and you could essentially access the Internet from anywhere within the conference building. This did not hold true for the London Conference - I could pick up a few wireless networks but access to them was restricted. To access the Internet you had to stand in a queue to have get on to a PC - hopefully it will be different next time. I also felt the DEMOgrounds were a bit small, it was really difficult to get to see anything as there were so many people wanting to take a look at the new stuff coming out (despite this I did get a chance to take a look at Internal Controls Manager which I will be doing a write-up on shortly).