As Oracle Corp. readies for the next release of its E-Business Suite -- 11i.10 -- due out this summer, those who have not yet invested in the suite are wondering if it's better to wait, or implement now and upgrade later. Nord Samuelson, SearchOracle.com's business processes and strategies expert, offers three reasons why it's better to implement now, and shares his suggestion for getting prepared.
Nord Samuelson: I would certainly recommend implementing now and upgrading later for the following reasons.
Reason 1: the current release of the Oracle E-Business Suite (11.5.9) is quite robust and has recently introduced a number of very valuable features. It is being used by many organizations but it has not been out a terribly long time. Therefore, by the time you implement you are going to be working on a widely used version that is not about to go obsolete.
Reason 2: I would caution waiting and becoming an early adopter on the next release unless there is a critical feature that you cannot implement without. It is easier for organizations that have a wealth of experience with the technology to be more leading edge than it is for new organizations.
Reason 3: The latest release has many value-added features that will likely benefit your organization. Assuming this is the case, you will gain by implementing sooner rather than later.
To prepare for your implementation, I think the best answer is to get assistance from an organization that has successfully implemented the Oracle E-Business Suite many times before. This organization should have both necessary functional and technical expertise, and be experienced with organizations similar to your own.
If you know of such organizations that is great. If not, please feel free to contact me for a list of such organizations.
For more information
Learn more about Oracle versioning with this tip:
Understand Oracle versioning: 8i through 11i.10
Get a handle on your 11i terminology with this tip:
Terms to know before implementing Oracle E-Business Suite 11i
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