When Oracle announced that it would be continuing support for E-Business Suite through the next decade, it helped satisfy immediate concerns about sunsetting the platform. However, this fact remains true: Oracle’s focus on innovation will remain on NetSuite and Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP.
In this article, we examine the future of Oracle E-Business Suite and provide guidance to existing customers on how to proceed with their use of Oracle E-Business Suite modules, whether that be to stay the course, consider an upgrade, or evaluate new options for ERP systems.
Oracle EBS has been an ERP stalwart from the beginning. The ERP industry as a whole is familiar with Oracle, and its products have maintained a reputation of dependability by satisfying the needs of multiple industries, including manufacturing, financial services, nonprofits, and government agencies.
Despite its undeniable success, E-Business Suite is a legacy product that will no longer benefit from new development, and questions abound regarding the end-of-life for Oracle EBS.
Those individuals and companies who grew up using Oracle EBS can be sentimental when it comes to parting from their original loyalty to this software. Long-time users have become familiar with the way the application looks and feels, making it difficult to migrate to a new platform.
Thus, company leadership can find itself asking the following question: if EBS is working now, why upgrade to a cloud ERP?
The answer: there are four significant issues to consider regarding Oracle legacy software that can make a significant impact on your organization’s bottom line.
When using a legacy application, especially one that has been customized, it is necessary to consider what might happen if a disaster affected your information technology systems. There are many issues that could unexpectedly present themselves, such as a power outage, a system crash — or even a fire that destroys the building which houses the server and its backup drives. Either way, it is inevitable that risks will present themselves, so be prepared to respond accordingly.
There is an opportunity cost associated with not having modern software. Such simple and fundamental tasks as mobile receipt scanning and real-time expense management are beyond the scope of legacy software, which often requires the use of manual processes and the assistance (and expense) of an in-person accountant. As for more sophisticated processes, there is no comparison in terms of how much time and money a cloud ERP can save by providing up-to-the-minute feature functionality.
When considering Oracle E-Business Suite financials it is important to remember that sometimes what is even more expensive than opportunity cost is the monetary cost of maintaining legacy software. Such systems require the support of highly specialized software experts — which becomes challenging and pricey as time goes on. Simply put, the older an application is, the fewer people will be experts on that application. The technology of Oracle E-Business Suite is no longer being taught, and it is rapidly outdating, with an unfamiliar look and feel that users are no longer comfortable with using.
Despite Oracle continuing support to certain versions of E-Business Suite, a business that procrastinates on updating it will soon be unable to complete updates altogether. We have seen it happen where an application is far enough behind on software updates that its owners will have no other option but to complete an entirely new implementation. Organizations that are unable to keep up with maintenance risk missing out on legislative updates, regulatory updates, security patches, and bug fixes.
Oracle is discouraging their reps from further sale of EBS, persuading companies to move onto more recent cloud software. And so, while Oracle E-Business Suite is rapidly becoming a thing of the past, there is a hopeful future for those who want to stay on the Oracle platform to take advance of its newer Cloud ERP applications.
Every situation is different, but these three considerations are universally helpful in determining the right time to transition to the cloud.
Depending on your answers to these questions, you may or may not conclude that now is the time to move to the cloud. If the organization is not growing, or your business processes are highly complex, you may want to hold off for now. But, if you’re planning a lot of growth, your team is savvy, or your processes are simple, it may be time to consider a move.
The transition from EBS often occurs when there is a material shift taking place in the organization. Perhaps the business model is changing, or there are newer, younger people coming into the organization that have no experience with Oracle EBS. Commonly, a move to a new ERP occurs after a change of leadership within an organization. Take a look at your own company: is there a new CFO, Director of IT, or other upper-level executive? If yes, change may be in the air.
If you are still trying to determine if moving to a cloud ERP is right for you, consider these benefits:
Oracle E-Business Suite has earned a respectable reputation for itself, but all good things come to an end, and now may be the right time for your company to step into the future.
For advice on whether your organization should upgrade from Oracle E-Business Suite, schedule a free consultation with an expert member of our team.