As the new year starts, I thought I'd just review a few of the highlights (well, for me anyway) of 2012.
In March I was invited with 2 colleagues to go to Redwood Shores to learn all about Fusion HCM. The plan was that we could then return to the UK and begin to assist Oracle University with training students in some newly released Fusion courses. I wasn't sure what to expect, but came back inspired by the new application and eager to begin delivering training.
I didn't have to wait long as within a couple of weeks, we were straight out to Paris to train a large consulting firm which had won one of the first Fusion HCM implementation projects in Europe. We spent 3 long weeks covering all aspects of Fusion HCM and had tremendous help from Oracle product managers and developers. This was to be the first of an ever increasing number of courses to deliver.
In April, I went to Collaborate 2012 and was intrigued by the number of people talking about Fusion Applications but not really showing much understanding of the subject. As a consequence, my colleague Richard Atkins and I set up a LinkedIn group (Fusion HCM Interest Group) with the aim of promoting articles about actual facts on Fusion HCM! This turned out to be more successful than we anticipated and by the end of 2012 we had nearly 500 members.
In June I was back in Las Vegas at OHUG. By now, Fusion HCM was becoming a much hotter topic and there were many good presentations on the subject, particularly from Oracle.
Following the conference theme, I was back in the US for OpenWorld in October and followed the announcements about Fusion Applications with much interest.
All the time, we were delivering more frequent Fusion HCM courses, and by the end of the year we had more than 30 under our belts both in the UK and EU. It was interesting to see the course membership change over time, beginning with internal Oracle people (yes, they needed training too) on to big consultancies and now seeing more customers.
In November, I was at the Oracle European HCM Summit and learnt a lot about the progress of the project in PAris I referred to in an earlier paragraph. It was fun to see who the 'theory' we taught had been put into practice.
Finally, December brought the UKOUG conference where I spoke about Fusion Functional Setup Manager and attended many really useful presentations on Fusion HCM. It was good to see the numbers of people interested steadily growing.
Of course, I mustn't forget the UKOUG HCM SIGs which we run 3 times a year. During 2012, we began to see more Fusion topics coming forward and Taleo too. More to come in 2013.
So what might 2013 bring? Well, I'm already booked to go to Collaborate in Denver where I'll be delivering 2 presentations on Fusion HCM; OHUG in Dallas in June (presentations submitted) and OpenWorld (presentations being formulated in my head!). So, looks like another interesting year!
Happy New Year!
Wednesday, 2 January 2013
Monday, 10 December 2012
UKOUG 2012 Conference
I've just returned from the UKOUG 2012 conference in Birmingham where I managed to combine three different roles: Exhibitor, Presenter and SIG Chairman.
My company, Certus Solutions (UK) LLP, was exhibiting and showing the world that we are an experienced Fusion HCM implementation consultancy. There was a lot of interest in Fusion and I'd like to think we have demonstrated the application's capabilities to a number of potential customers. Oracle, please note!
As the Oracle HCM SIG Chairman, I volunteered to chair a number of sessions during the conference. Being interested in Fusion Applications, I chose my sessions carefully and included sessions from Debra Lilley on Fusion Middleware, Richard Bingham and Laurie Pattison on Fusion Applications Support and Jevgenijs Reuts from Attido who spoke about how they had installed a bare metal instance of Fusion Applications.
Because I concentrate on Fusion Applications and attend many of the international conferences, I don't always expect to find out new information but there is always something to learn. This year one of the hot topics was Fuse. Fuse is the internal name for the 'new face of Fusion', but appears to be rapidly being adopted as the working name. I have written about it before. But at UKOUG, not only was the simplified interface available for demonstartion, but also a number of the presentations covered the subject in some detail. I attended a session given by Jeremy Ashley (VP, UX Team) at which the user interface was demonstrated and explained. For 'casual' users, this will certainly simplify their experience of Fusion Applications.
Mobile is fast becoming the 'next big thing'. Watch out for a rationalisation of screen layouts making a desktop, iPhone, iPad etc. all have a common interface whilst utilising the built-in features that have made those products so successful.
Now back to work, where the end of the year looms rapidly. Already looking forward to 2013 which is definitely going to be an exciting year for those of us working in the Fusion Applications ecosystem. I've booked my trips to Collaborate (Denver), OHUG (Dallas) and OpenWorld (San Francisco) and have two Fusion Applications presentations accepted already for Collaborate.
In case I don't find time for another post before the year-end, have a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year!
My company, Certus Solutions (UK) LLP, was exhibiting and showing the world that we are an experienced Fusion HCM implementation consultancy. There was a lot of interest in Fusion and I'd like to think we have demonstrated the application's capabilities to a number of potential customers. Oracle, please note!
As the Oracle HCM SIG Chairman, I volunteered to chair a number of sessions during the conference. Being interested in Fusion Applications, I chose my sessions carefully and included sessions from Debra Lilley on Fusion Middleware, Richard Bingham and Laurie Pattison on Fusion Applications Support and Jevgenijs Reuts from Attido who spoke about how they had installed a bare metal instance of Fusion Applications.
Because I concentrate on Fusion Applications and attend many of the international conferences, I don't always expect to find out new information but there is always something to learn. This year one of the hot topics was Fuse. Fuse is the internal name for the 'new face of Fusion', but appears to be rapidly being adopted as the working name. I have written about it before. But at UKOUG, not only was the simplified interface available for demonstartion, but also a number of the presentations covered the subject in some detail. I attended a session given by Jeremy Ashley (VP, UX Team) at which the user interface was demonstrated and explained. For 'casual' users, this will certainly simplify their experience of Fusion Applications.
Mobile is fast becoming the 'next big thing'. Watch out for a rationalisation of screen layouts making a desktop, iPhone, iPad etc. all have a common interface whilst utilising the built-in features that have made those products so successful.
Now back to work, where the end of the year looms rapidly. Already looking forward to 2013 which is definitely going to be an exciting year for those of us working in the Fusion Applications ecosystem. I've booked my trips to Collaborate (Denver), OHUG (Dallas) and OpenWorld (San Francisco) and have two Fusion Applications presentations accepted already for Collaborate.
In case I don't find time for another post before the year-end, have a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year!
Friday, 16 November 2012
Oracle European HCM Summit Paris 15/11/12
Review of the Oracle European HCM Summit - Paris 15/11/12
I attended the Oracle European HCM Summit on 15/11/12
and wrote a small summary on the Oracle Fusion HCM Interest Group on LinkedIn. Here is a more detailed analysis.
Safe Harbour Statement! Everything here is my own opinion and does not reflect the opinions of anyone else. Oh no, I'm beginning to sound like Oracle!
Over 300 customers from all over Europe attended the conference at the famous George V Hotel in Paris.
The welcome remarks were deivered by Patrice Barbedette with Jean-Luc Santerre of the Club des Utilsateurs Francophones PeopleSoft, Vincent Arsenault of the Communauté Taleo France and Jean-Jacques Camps of the Association des Utilsateurs Francophones Oracle (AUFO).
Professeur Frank Bournois from the Sorbonne, gave an interesting insight into how HR might operate in the year 2020. The focus was on adapting to Generation Z and their aspirations and expectations (hang on, I've only just got used to Generation Y!). Anyway, why did someone begin naming these generations at X? That was a bit short-sighted as we've now run out of letters already. But, I digress...
Societé Genérale - Fusion HCM Implementation
Over 300 customers from all over Europe attended the conference at the famous George V Hotel in Paris.
The welcome remarks were deivered by Patrice Barbedette with Jean-Luc Santerre of the Club des Utilsateurs Francophones PeopleSoft, Vincent Arsenault of the Communauté Taleo France and Jean-Jacques Camps of the Association des Utilsateurs Francophones Oracle (AUFO).
Professeur Frank Bournois from the Sorbonne, gave an interesting insight into how HR might operate in the year 2020. The focus was on adapting to Generation Z and their aspirations and expectations (hang on, I've only just got used to Generation Y!). Anyway, why did someone begin naming these generations at X? That was a bit short-sighted as we've now run out of letters already. But, I digress...
Societé Genérale - Fusion HCM Implementation
One of the biggest Fusion HCM projects in France is being undertaken by
Societé Genérale with their SI Accenture. The SocGen HR Director
emphasised that in these days of austerity, it was easier to get the
business to adopt a SaaS model, in place of a highly bespoked
application, because the driver was to cut costs. Perhaps this model
would have been more difficult to sell in the days of free spending.
The SocGen project is using standard processes supported by 2 shared service centres. They plan to do a pilot in the spring of 2013 followed by a roll-out to 30 countries. Think about it... that's 30 countries all using standard processes. That's what SaaS is all about.
A key message that came out from many sessions I saw was 'keep it simple and standard'. SocGen was a good example of putting this into practice.
Once the initial release had gone live in all countries, they planned for a process of 'continual improvement' with small releases coming out 3 or 4 times per year. This emualtes the approach we have a Certus Soultions (UK) LLP with our Engage methodology.
Oracle also recogised the changes that 'The Cloud' is bringing. Oracle is having to adapt to being a service provider and not just a technology provider. SaaS is like an iceberg, where the functionality is the part you see but there is another 90% hidden away which is the technology and the underlying service availability etc.
Using Social Media in Recruitment
Daniel Richards from Sonru gave an intersting glimpse into what could be the future of recruiting. Sonru has a product which isa simple but effective tool for interviews.
The application allows recruiters to set questions and then invite candidates to record themselves ansering the questions. The candidates can do this in their own time and it saves considerable time and cost from the recruiting companies. Hundreds of interviews can be carried out and then reviewed by the recruiter. Best used for initial 'first interviews'. The application is built in to the Taleo Recruitment system and can be simply configured.
Watch out for this one because I think it could be a winner!
Pierre Polycarpe gave us some further insights into the journey to SaaS.
The reasons for moving to SaaS were frequently discussed at the conference. Key reasons cited were a) Ease of Use, b) Speed of Deployment, c) Improved UX and d) TCO
On the flip side, there are many risks and concerns in moving to SaaS. a) Integration capabilities, b) Inability to customise, c) security/privacy concerns.
Talent Management processes (e.g. recruitment, Learning Management, Performance Management, Competency Management and Compensation Management) are proving to have the biggest uptake in SaaS.
The SocGen project is using standard processes supported by 2 shared service centres. They plan to do a pilot in the spring of 2013 followed by a roll-out to 30 countries. Think about it... that's 30 countries all using standard processes. That's what SaaS is all about.
A key message that came out from many sessions I saw was 'keep it simple and standard'. SocGen was a good example of putting this into practice.
Once the initial release had gone live in all countries, they planned for a process of 'continual improvement' with small releases coming out 3 or 4 times per year. This emualtes the approach we have a Certus Soultions (UK) LLP with our Engage methodology.
Oracle also recogised the changes that 'The Cloud' is bringing. Oracle is having to adapt to being a service provider and not just a technology provider. SaaS is like an iceberg, where the functionality is the part you see but there is another 90% hidden away which is the technology and the underlying service availability etc.
Using Social Media in Recruitment
Daniel Richards from Sonru gave an intersting glimpse into what could be the future of recruiting. Sonru has a product which isa simple but effective tool for interviews.
The application allows recruiters to set questions and then invite candidates to record themselves ansering the questions. The candidates can do this in their own time and it saves considerable time and cost from the recruiting companies. Hundreds of interviews can be carried out and then reviewed by the recruiter. Best used for initial 'first interviews'. The application is built in to the Taleo Recruitment system and can be simply configured.
Watch out for this one because I think it could be a winner!
Moving to SaaS
Pierre Polycarpe gave us some further insights into the journey to SaaS.
The reasons for moving to SaaS were frequently discussed at the conference. Key reasons cited were a) Ease of Use, b) Speed of Deployment, c) Improved UX and d) TCO
On the flip side, there are many risks and concerns in moving to SaaS. a) Integration capabilities, b) Inability to customise, c) security/privacy concerns.
Talent Management processes (e.g. recruitment, Learning Management, Performance Management, Competency Management and Compensation Management) are proving to have the biggest uptake in SaaS.
Saturday, 3 November 2012
A New Look for Fusion Applications
I saw this when it was announced and also had a demo from the UX
Team while I was on a visit to the UX Labs at Redwood Shores. The general idea is to have a quick and intuitive way to access the underlying Fusion Application. This can
be useful for the casual user, but also for professional users who still
need a quick way to get to their more common tasks.
 |
| Courtesy of Oracle UX Team |
This simple User Interface does not replace Fusion Apps, it is simply a very straighforward portal into the underlying applications and it is designed to be used across all the access channels (i.e. Desktop, Mobile, Tablet etc.)
Many of you will have seen some of the blog articles and forum posts about the UX team. Well, this is a shining example of their work! If you want to see more from the UX team, and are going to the UKOUG conference in December, look them up.
For more details on the 'New Face of Fusion', take a look at the UX Team's own blog: https://blogs.oracle.com/VOX/entry/introducing_the_new_face_of
There are two other blogs I know of with useful insights into 'Fuse' as it was called internally at Oracle. So, if you want a second or third opinion, take a look at my esteemed Oracle ACE Director colleagues blogs:
Floyd Teter : http://orclville.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/oow-2012-not-so-brief-recap.html
Debra Lilley : http://debrasoracle.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/fusion-apps-go-mobile.html
Wednesday, 3 October 2012
Oracle OpenWorld 2012 - Tuesday Report
The Cloud
But, Oracle have come up with an intriguing idea - 'Java in the Cloud' or 'Platform as a Service'. Here you can create your own 'custom' applications in Java which you can then integrate with Fusion Apps which is also in the same cloud.
Mobility
The 4 composers will all affect the cloud based apps:
The Application Composer: To add objects, fields, filters
The Reports Composer: To add or amend seeded BI
The Process Composer: To tailor the seeded process to reflect your own versions
The Page Composer: To change the way your screen looks
UI Changes
There are also signigficant user interface changes being made to Fusion HCM to make the 'casual user' have abetter and simplifed self service experience. Cleaner, neater, simpler screens with 'just enough' information for the user to do the ad-hoc transaction.
There are also signigficant user interface changes being made to Fusion HCM to make the 'casual user' have abetter and simplifed self service experience. Cleaner, neater, simpler screens with 'just enough' information for the user to do the ad-hoc transaction.
I'm finding out more about how the Cloud will work for customers. I've heard many concerns about the perceived limitations of using SaaS because customers won't be able to 'customise' their applications. I'm not a great supporter of this idea, because SaaS is a Service you are buying, not an application you install yourself and then can do what you like with it. After all, if you buy a car on a contract hire basis you wouldn't expect to be allowed to add custom components because you don't own the car it's just provided to you as a service - so why should software be any different?
But, Oracle have come up with an intriguing idea - 'Java in the Cloud' or 'Platform as a Service'. Here you can create your own 'custom' applications in Java which you can then integrate with Fusion Apps which is also in the same cloud.
Mobility
Mobility is a big theme here this week. Fusion Tap is now available from the Apple iStore. Download it and be surprised by the functionality and user experience. It's really good, and is going to be extended as new functionality comes on stream in Fusion Apps.
Oracle's approach to mobility is to use ADF and to write 'native' apps, using HTML 5 and consuming iPad device side components like GPS, FaceTime etc. to enhance the user experience. Anything available in the desktop version of the application, will be inherited by the Cloud app. So, if you make a change using the Page Composer in the application, your iPad app will inherit it.
Oracle's approach to mobility is to use ADF and to write 'native' apps, using HTML 5 and consuming iPad device side components like GPS, FaceTime etc. to enhance the user experience. Anything available in the desktop version of the application, will be inherited by the Cloud app. So, if you make a change using the Page Composer in the application, your iPad app will inherit it.
The 4 composers will all affect the cloud based apps:
The Application Composer: To add objects, fields, filters
The Reports Composer: To add or amend seeded BI
The Process Composer: To tailor the seeded process to reflect your own versions
The Page Composer: To change the way your screen looks
UI Changes
There are also signigficant user interface changes being made to Fusion HCM to make the 'casual user' have abetter and simplifed self service experience. Cleaner, neater, simpler screens with 'just enough' information for the user to do the ad-hoc transaction.
There are also signigficant user interface changes being made to Fusion HCM to make the 'casual user' have abetter and simplifed self service experience. Cleaner, neater, simpler screens with 'just enough' information for the user to do the ad-hoc transaction.
Tuesday, 2 October 2012
Oracle OpenWorld 2012 - Monday Report
Here's a brief round-up of the news I've got from some of the Fusion Apps sessions I've been attending here at OOW 12.
Acquisitions
Recent acquisitions have increased the Fusion footprint. Taleo recruiting is going to be the Fusion recriuitment module and Taleo Learning will become the Learning Management module. It will take some time to assimilate these into the prodcut set, and in particular into the user interface, but this is now definitely the strategy.
Social Awareness
Social Awareness is being built in to Fusion Apps. Objects are being made socially aware and exposed to RSS feeds, chats, activity streams etc. This will become apparent in a further article I will publish on Workforce Reputation Management.
Adoption
Most customers are opting for a SaaS model, and within those customers most are doing some sort of co-existence.
We all know (or I hope you do by now if you've been reading my posts) that Fusion HCM as SaaS means you can't 'customise' the application, particularly from the back-end. But now Oracle are promoting Platform as a Service whereby you can develop in the cloud. Now, you will be able to develop extensions in your Platform as a Service cloud and integrate them with your SaaS service.
Fusion Tap
Oracle has announced that you can download Fusion Tap from the Apple App Store. I can't find it, buit I'm sure it's there somewhere! It can be operated in two modes, a) demo mode whereby you can use if with some seeded data or b) connected to your Fsuion Apps system (if you have one). So, get downloading now!
Release Strategy
Now that Oracle has real live customers on Fusion Apps, it needs to ensure some stability for them. So, in future, new releases of Fusion are likely to occur 3 times a year rather than every quarter as now.
Acquisitions
Recent acquisitions have increased the Fusion footprint. Taleo recruiting is going to be the Fusion recriuitment module and Taleo Learning will become the Learning Management module. It will take some time to assimilate these into the prodcut set, and in particular into the user interface, but this is now definitely the strategy.
Social Awareness
Social Awareness is being built in to Fusion Apps. Objects are being made socially aware and exposed to RSS feeds, chats, activity streams etc. This will become apparent in a further article I will publish on Workforce Reputation Management.
Adoption
Most customers are opting for a SaaS model, and within those customers most are doing some sort of co-existence.
We all know (or I hope you do by now if you've been reading my posts) that Fusion HCM as SaaS means you can't 'customise' the application, particularly from the back-end. But now Oracle are promoting Platform as a Service whereby you can develop in the cloud. Now, you will be able to develop extensions in your Platform as a Service cloud and integrate them with your SaaS service.
Fusion Tap
Oracle has announced that you can download Fusion Tap from the Apple App Store. I can't find it, buit I'm sure it's there somewhere! It can be operated in two modes, a) demo mode whereby you can use if with some seeded data or b) connected to your Fsuion Apps system (if you have one). So, get downloading now!
Release Strategy
Now that Oracle has real live customers on Fusion Apps, it needs to ensure some stability for them. So, in future, new releases of Fusion are likely to occur 3 times a year rather than every quarter as now.
Friday, 28 September 2012
OpenWorld 2012 T-2
So, there are 2 days to go before Oracle OpenWorld 2012 begins! I'm making my final preparations and have built my schedule for the week.
I'm focuesed on Fusion HCM and Taleo, so highlights for me will include:
I'll also be attending the Oracle EMEA Partner Appreciation Reception as part of the Oracle Partner Network Exchange @ Openworld
Not forgetting, of course, the Annual Oracle ACE Dinner at the St. Francis Yacht Club!
I will be posting daily update.
I'm focuesed on Fusion HCM and Taleo, so highlights for me will include:
- Fusion Human Capital Management: Overview, Strategy, Customer Experiences, and Roadmap presented by Gretchen Alarcon
- Talent Management in an Oracle E-Business Suite Coexistence Model
- Oracle Fusion Functional Setup Manager Deep Dive - presented by Mandar and Chitra
- An Introduction to Oracle Taleo Talent Management Solutions for Small Businesses
- An Introduction to Oracle Taleo Recruiting Solutions
I'll also be attending the Oracle EMEA Partner Appreciation Reception as part of the Oracle Partner Network Exchange @ Openworld
Not forgetting, of course, the Annual Oracle ACE Dinner at the St. Francis Yacht Club!
I will be posting daily update.
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