Dear All,
Pleased to share that Firefox 3.0 is being released tomorrow.
Participate in the Gusiness World Record attempt...
http://www.spreadfirefox.com/en-US/worldrecord/
Be the first to download .................
administrator June 16th, 2008 05:42:16 PM
Ten Ways of Using iSetup to Streamline E-Business Suite Implementations
Uma Prabhala • 05/22/2008
[Editor update: The iSetup Development team is eagerly monitoring the newly-created iSetup OTN Forum for your burning questions; direct email ID removed]
At the recent OAUG Collaborate conference at Denver, I had a session on "Setup Management for E-Business Suite using iSetup." This being the last session on the last day of the conference, I was really surprised to see more than 40 people attending the session, listening with rapt attention and asking a lot of questions! Interestingly enough, only a handful of the attendees were using iSetup in their EBS implementations, and a majority of the customers in the room were interested in knowing how and when to use iSetup.
iSetup in a Nutshell
The main focus of iSetup is to help migrate functional setups from one E-Business Suite instance to another. During migration, setups can be extracted selectively using filters on setup attributes. Extracted setup data can be optionally transformed before loading into target instance.
Another neat capability of iSetup is setup comparison, whereby a report can be generated on the exact differences of setup information between two instances or from the same instance across different timelines.
Ten Typical Uses for iSetup
1. A first time EBS implementation involves a manual setup using either Business Accelerators or a manual entry. iSetup can help jump-start such implementation scenarios by loading a CRP instance from an industry best practice configuration.
2. iSetup provides an enterprise wide repository to store business specific configuration snapshots. These Gold copies can be used to configure a new instance, thus avoiding re-configurations.
3. iSetup expedites implementations by providing out-of-the-box migration templates tailored to suit various implemenation phases.
4. iSetup can also help promote setups from CRP to multiple test, development and production environments. iSetup enforces business validations inherent in interfaces owned by Oracle product modules. iSetup abstracts the complex setup dependencies across functional modules by orchestrating the deployment of setups during migration.
5. iSetup can be used to copy all setups striped by an Operating Unit and move it to another EBS instance using Hierarchical selection set feature which cascades filter criteria to all related setups in the selection set template.
6. In a roll-out scenario, iSetup can be used to replicate the setups tied to an existing Operating Unit to a new Operating Unit; similarly replicate Payroll Element setups tied to existing Business Group to new Business Group using Transformation feature which cascade the changes to all related setups in the selection set template.
7. iSetup can be used to migrate incremental setups selectively across instances using filters on setup attributes.
8. Instead of cloning the entire EBS instance, iSetup can be used to move required setup data from a production instance to a testing instance. New setups can be added to the test instance and those specific setups can be selectively migrated to production instance while the instance is up and running. This minimizes the need to redo setups, and execute expensive clone activities.
9. iSetup provides standard and comparison reporting features. Standard reports help in documenting the setups in regular PDF/RTF/Excel that serve as a standard reference for implementation teams. Release 12.1 also supports BR100 styled reports. iSetup also generates detailed deployment reports for post implementation audits and sign-offs (coming soon in 12.1).
10. iSetup comparison reports can help in troubleshooting functional setups by enabling users to compare setups across instances or timelines.
Interested in collaborating with Oracle iSetup Development?
Here in Oracle iSetup Product Development we've created a dedicated customer forum for iSetup. The objective of the forum is to reach out to our Oracle iSetup users and establish a formal channel of communication and interaction. The forum will also hold regular meetings, webcasts and product update sessions. If you are an iSetup customer and interested in being a part of this forum, please post your questions.
For More Information
We've been investing heavily in enhancing iSetup in R12 and 12.1. For more details, see:
· iSetup FAQ
· iSetup Datasheet
· iSetup forum on OTN
· Oracle AppCast on iSetup
administrator June 16th, 2008 04:28:28 PM
I am pleased to share that SCL CMS is ready for launch and now I am working on the tutorials to help our readers understand how to navigate and post articles.
I have posted "Art of Living" audio CDs for your benefit, just in case you missed out this program.
I am also working on the concept of "The Chief Happiness Officer", more on this later...
Best regards,
Pankaj Sharma
administrator May 12th, 2008 08:09:25 AM
Dear Sir,
I am pleased to share that IT Helpdesk is now available for SCL CMS Users. All registered users can access the IT Helpdesk to log in their issues and concerns related to IT.
IT Helpdesk can be accessed through the menu as depicted below in the picture. (only after logged in users)
The status update of the issue shared by you shall be provided on the mail as well. You are requested to please use the above link at SCL CMS and provide their valuable feedback to improve the services..
Comments (2)administrator April 23rd, 2008 01:30:02 AM
Two Essential Tools for Diagnosing E-Business Suite Network Issues
03/29/2008
Network problems seem to be on the rise again, either due to the increase in service demands, integration of different technologies such as Voice Over IP (VoIP), and the inevitable increases in uptake of technologies at new locations. Not only do network administrators have to concern themselves with various WAN optimization techniques, but they also have to deal with ad-hoc problems as they occur. As we all know too well, intermittent problems are the most difficult and resource intensive to address.
Network Diagnostic Tools for Oracle E-Business Suite
There are two diagnostic tools available in the Oracle E-Business Suite:
· The Network test Form - available in all versions
· The Client Analyzer - introduced in 11.5.10
Commonly, many people have found it difficult to understand the output of these tools and how they can be used to troubleshoot network problems. The Oracle E-Business Suite Network Utilities white paper explains:
· How these two utilities work - they actually test a "form round trip"
· How to understand the figures and what they tell you
· How end-users can help narrow down the source of problems and even identify which part of the system is not performing
Getting Into the Details
This last point needs a little more explanation, as this previously underused form now becomes an additional tool in a holistic approach to system performance troubleshooting. The techniques in the paper show the following:
· How end users can gather diagnostic information saving the time and expense of deploying specialized personnel
· How to compare the E-Business Suite measurements with standard network utilities such as ping
· How to interpret the information to isolate a problem to the network, middle tier, or other system component.
The techniques do not require specialized skills and therefore much progress can be made towards identifying the root cause of the problem by junior system administration staff and suitably experienced end-users. Understanding the purpose of the tools and how to interpret their output enables end-users to collect the requisite diagnostic information and perform rudimentary diagnosis when performance problems occur. Inevitably, this means that this reduces the load on the support infrastructure as well as freeing up having to wait for hours for a problem to occur.
In addition to showing example usage of the tools, the paper presents sample output for users to compare with their own measurements, and thereby draw conclusions more quickly and effectively.
The chart below shows an example of how the Network Test form measurement maps to the network ping time.
By comparing the Network Test form measurement with the network ping time, you can identify:
· If there is a problem in the network
· If there is a problem in the middle tier
· If there is a problem in the network and middle tier
· Or Whether there is a problem in another system component
A couple of important points ......
· Understand the limitations of these tools
· Know which figures to use and how much they can be expected to fluctuate in a given scenario
· If ping (ICMP) traffic is blocked for security reasons, the paper describes two Linux utilities that could be used to measure the network ping time
References
· Oracle E-Business Suite Network Utilities: Best Practices White Paper (Metalink Note 556738.1) (Authors: Andy Tremayne and Robert Azzopardi)
administrator April 3rd, 2008 11:52:11 AM
I am please to share that SCL CMS is now almost ready for launch.
I am still trying to improve the comments logging system and speed up the Server.
Need more Videos and Audio to be added to the server. In case you have some good material please do let me know.
warm regards,
Pankaj
administrator March 31st, 2008 04:41:26 PM
I am pleased to share that SCL CMS is now at Beta 2.0 stage. I had a few issues with the blogging template but those have been sorted out. Now all users who have registered themselves can write their own blogs.
We shall be adding sections and categories in the blog once we have good number of articles.
Presently SCL CMS is available only on SCL intranet network, but once stabilized this could be made online as well.
So don’t wait, show us your communication skills and create your own blog…… Share, say all the things you always wanted to tell the world.
Pankaj Sharma
administrator March 24th, 2008 08:46:58 AM
Ever meet an enterprise software salesperson you could trust? While such paragons of virtue exist, they seem the exception rather than the rule. Here are 8 common lies used by some way too many enterprise solution providers during the sales process.
The lies are drawn from Confessions of an Ex-Enterprise Salesperson (free download), by Doug Mitchell, who founded RentalMetrics, a management consulting firm for the construction equipment rental sector, after working for years in the enterprise solutions business. Doug told me he wrote the book to “break through the hype” surrounding enterprise software sales.
Lie 1. My solution is the one that best meets your needs
When I said, “My solution is the one that best meets your needs,” what I meant was that I’m going to do my darnedest to shoe horn my product into your world so that you’ll buy my stuff versus the competitors.
You [shouldn’t] buy products because they have this or that. [B]uy them because of what they’ll do for you and the ecosystem you operate within.
Key questions to ask the sales person: What 3 companies are your fiercest competitors and what would they say they do better than you? The last time you lost a deal to your competition, what were the main reasons given?
Lie 2. My solution does not require much of your company’s IT resources
When I said, “My solution does not require much of your company’s IT resources,” what I meant was that with a 95% degree of certainty, your IT department will be the biggest roadblock to success that we’ll encounter in this project.
Key questions to ask the sales person: When (not if) you run into smoke screens, road blocks, and obstacles thrown up my IT department, are you prepared to deal with them and how? If we cut through all of the crap, how much time does it really take to deploy this solution, excluding training?
Lie 3. My solution is supported well
When I said that, “My solution is supported well and my company hangs its hat on the best service in the industry,” what I meant was that when you call, a human will pick up the phone and get on your problem right away, delaying someone else’s due date for customized solution delivery.
The bottom line with custom software in the enterprise is that it breaks. How many times have you rebooted today?
Key questions to ask the sales person: Do you have an automated system or a human system when I call your support line? What bug tracking or trouble ticket solution to you use? What your average time from call in to resolution? What is your process for escalation?
Lie 4. My solution will save you time and money
When I said, “My solution will save you time and money,” what I meant was that your company will probably achieve enough Return On Investment to pay for the solution…but you’ll end up using 10% of what the solution can do and end up frustrated after the honeymoon period.
Most enterprise solutions have evolved because complex businesses have insisted that new features be built as a condition of sale.
Key questions to ask the sales person: What percentage of features in this system do your clients typically use? If I want to reduce the training required by half to save money, will you let me?
Lie 5. That will take 2…maybe 3 weeks to develop
When I said, “That will take 2 maybe 3 weeks to develop”, what I meant was I really don’t know how long your customization will take so I’m throwing out a number that will get you to bite…not balk.”
If the delivery dates of complex customizations seems unrealistic…even to you, they probably are.
Key questions to ask the sales person: What is your process for documenting change requests? If your development efforts fall behind schedule, what’s my compensation?
Lie 6. Here are my prices
When I said, “Here are my prices”, what I meant was “My price is totally flexible and within reason I’ll probably say yes to lowering them because we need your upfront money and recurring revenue more than I need my pride.”
Pricing enterprise solutions is far more art than science. Often it’s more about discovering the target’s pain tolerance.
Key questions to ask the sales person: How much does the solution cost? What’s the typical payback or return on investment you’ve measured when companies like mine have deployed your solution and can you provide me case studies?
Lie 7. Here are my contract terms and conditions
When I said, “Here are my contract terms and conditions”, what I meant was “This is pretty much a boiler plate agreement that no one reads so if you challenge some terms…you’ll probably get what you want.”
[M]ost enterprise solution firms don’t even know what the terms in their own contract mean. If something appears strange to you or is unclear, challenge it. Don’t be afraid.
Key questions to ask the sales person: Is this agreement flexible and negotiable? What’s the one contract term that clients challenge the most?”
THE PROJECT FAILURES ANALYSIS
If you’re contemplating an enterprise solution, read Doug’s book to help protect your own hide from evil, miscreant, and wayward sales people. I really enjoy how his sardonic humor matches the subject matter. For example:
On lying:
Is lying requisite? No. Sales people are not lying, they are simply framing the truth in a way that closes the deal and provides a big payday [for the sales person].
On enterprise solution (ES) pricing:
The ES is often quite expensive to buy upfront. This upfront price loading is where the ES software company recovers the immense cost of sales associated with the ES including commissions, bonus payments to company officers, investor dividends, and really nice cars for the President.
On the subject of enterprise sales people:
Better enterprise solution selling organizations send two people on the tactical assault mission: One suit. One techie. The suit acts as translator when the techie…lays out something intelligent for your consumption. That back and forth tech translation orgy is meant to disarm the prospective buyer or baffle him sufficiently into writing a check for the panacea product that will make his boss happy with him…or close out the never ending 6-Sigma project from hell.
My take: Doug’s book will help you recognize and avoid common tactics frequently perpetrated by sales people on unsuspecting enterprise buyers.
Comments (0)administrator March 19th, 2008 08:52:03 AM
JInitiator 1.3 To Be Desupported for Apps 11i in July 2009
Mike Shaw • 02/27/2008
With the onward march of progress, I would like to draw your attention to the newly-published Obsolescence notice for JInitiator 1.3 for E-Business Suite 11i (Metalink Note 552692.1).
As of July 31, 2009 Error Correction Support for JInitiator 1.3 will end. In other words, the Oracle Forms group will no longer issue bug fixes via new versions of JInitiator 1.3.x as of July 31, 2009.
What Do You Do Now?
You need to start the upgrade process for your end-users' desktops to the native Sun Java plug-in as soon as possible. This extract from note 552692.1 sums it up well by stating :-
All E-Business Suite customers using Oracle Jinitiator 1.3.x need to upgrade to the Sun JRE (Native Plug-in). Oracle highly recommends that EBS customers upgrade to the latest certified version of the Sun plug-in by following Metalink document 290807.1, "Upgrading Sun JRE(Native Plug-in) with Oracle Applications 11i"
Why Choose the Native Sun JRE Over JInitiator?
Nearly every business desktop has multiple Java clients installed. These Java clients often clash; see this article for a more in-depth discussion about JRE conflicts. The main benefit of switching from JInitiator to the native Sun Java plug-in lies in reducing conflicts between these clients on your desktop.
In addition, Steven's previous blog article elegantly describes the reasons why Oracle is moving to using the native Sun Java plug-in in favour of JInitiator:
Oracle JInitiator was originally released as a licenced version of Sun's Java client back when specific features were required to support Oracle Forms. This was particularly necessary for E-Business Suite Forms-based functionality, since the E-Business Suite pushed the envelope of what Forms and Java could do collectively from a user interface perspective.
Sun has since incorporated all of the enhancements needed to support Oracle Forms into their native Sun Java plug-in. As a result, the Oracle JInitiator team is pleased that they can get out of the business of maintaining and repackaging Sun's Java client code.
Oracle's emphasis from this point forward will be to certify future versions of the Sun Java client with the E-Business Suite.
Comments (0)administrator March 9th, 2008 09:40:36 AM
Its really strange to see companies with so much resources & infrastructures letting their users down. I don't when did we have downtime for hours for the mail server last time.
Microsoft Hotmail Down for Some
7 hours ago
SEATTLE (AP) — Microsoft Corp.'s free Web-based e-mail service and other sites have been unavailable for hours to Internet users around the world Tuesday.
Web surfers were unable to log on to Hotmail, along with other services that require a Microsoft login, such as the Xbox Live video game community site and the Windows Live Messenger instant messaging program.
Microsoft confirmed the problem was international in scope, but did not say how many people were affected or when a resolution was expected.
"We are aware that some customers may be experiencing difficulty accessing their Windows Live accounts," said Microsoft spokeswoman Samantha McManus in a statement. "We're actively investigating the cause and are working to take the appropriate steps to remedy the situation as rapidly as possible."
Comments (0)
administrator February 27th, 2008 09:00:50 AM
Dear All,
I am pleased to share that we have launched the SCL CMS beta site on the following url http://192.168.1.8/
Please review the same and send me your valuable inputs.
administrator February 22nd, 2008 12:04:51 PM
My Mail server was not able to send the mails in an efficient manner to outside domains, since last 3-4 days.
Also there were some issues with the latest Network designed for the RF connectivity as RAS.
Today finally I was able to resolve the mail server issues performance issues to my satisfaction.
Now need to attend other issues like Network performance & Joomla...
administrator January 2nd, 2008 05:07:35 PM