Oracle Fusion Applications

Understanding Oracle’s Future ERP  

Objective:   

The purpose of this document is to make reader understand what exactly Fusion Applications is all about, various component of Fusion application and its architecture at broader level and key business benefits to enterprises with brief details on Fusion Accounting Hub.

Introduction to Oracle Fusion Applications:

Oracle Fusion applications offers next-generation enterprise technologies, applications, and services, including Oracle Fusion Applications with Oracle Fusion Middleware which uses latest technologies and best practices from oracle’s customers. Oracle Fusion Applications uses Oracle Database to store and retrieve all transactional and reference data and to store design-time data in repositories. Oracle Fusion Applications offers industry standards and technologies to transform organizations into next-generation enterprises and is a complete suite of modular, service-enabled enterprise applications and is highly adaptable.

Fusion Applications offers a low cost of ownership and results in a faster return on investment by using standard architecture tools for setup and flexible deployment models. Fusion applications incorporates best practices of business processes from oracle products as well as from Oracle's acquisition of PeopleSoft, Oracle on Demand, JD Edwards and Siebel. These all together provides enhanced user experience and productivity. Fusion applications uses a unified datamodel of E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, and Siebel entities.  

Fusion Accounting Hub:

Oracle Fusion Accounting Hub (FAH) is a single source for managing all financial requirement as well as Reporting requirements against transaction and provides complete set of accounting tools and access to financial data. FAH receives data from multiple third party transactional system and also from the various Fusion Applications Products [ Subledgers ] and applies accounting rules to meet the regulatory reporting and business reporting requirements.

Oracle Fusion Accounting Hub is integrated with Oracle Hyperion Financial Management (HFM) as the latter is a powerful consolidation solution to collect other non-financial information. Oracle acquired Hyperion and started using benefits of Hyperion for consolidation, allocation and reporting in Fusion. Hyperion has been leader in financial domain for years together.

Fusion Accounting Hub (FAH) acts as integration platform for centralized accounting and its ability to generate multiple accounting representations (e.g., IFRS, local GAAP, industry, regulatory) for a single subledger transaction. FAH is a Next-Generation Financial Analysis for Centralized Reporting. Configurable accounting rules helps to capture transaction information used to create accounting. This feature of Fusion is highly configurable to satisfy capturing of transactions and to create different representation requirement for a company. Fusion Accounting Hub deals with transactional details and is intended for day-to-day operational reporting and analytics. Hyperion Financial Management (HFM) deals with period-end balances, not transactional details, and is generally not used as an intra-period reporting system.

Components of Fusion Accounting Hub includes-

·   Oracle Fusion Subledger Accounting to perform accounting transformations on external system data

·   Oracle Fusion General Ledger

·   Oracle Fusion Financial Reporting Center

·   Integration with Oracle Hyperion Data Management, Fusion Edition for chart of accounts and hierarchy maintenance

·   Applications coexistence integration with the Oracle E-Business Suite and Oracle PeopleSoft General Ledgers

·   Integration with Oracle Hyperion Planning, Fusion Edition and Oracle Hyperion Financial Management, Fusion Edition 

How It Works:

The Oracle Fusion Accounting Hub process uses financial data from any or all of the following:

·       Non-Oracle external applications including transaction and reference information

·       Oracle Fusion subledgers including subledger journals

·       Oracle E-Business Suite, Oracle PeopleSoft, and Oracle JD Edwards General Ledgers including account balances

The Accounting Hub process ends with complete reporting and analysis solutions. 

Technology Stack of Fusion Application:

Following table showcase different component which varies from Oracle e-Business Suite to Oracle Fusion applications. 

Diagram to show technology difference between Oracle e-Business suite and Oracle Fusion Applications.

Oracle Fusion Middleware Components: 

Its technology framework includes the following Oracle Fusion Middleware components -

1.Oracle WebLogic Server- Java application server that helps to deploy multiple applications in a robust and scalable environment.

2.Oracle WebLogic Communication Services- provides click-to-dial functionality through contextual Actions which further helps users with information and actions.

3.Oracle Identity Management- automatically manages user access and provides services and interfaces for third party application developments.

4.Oracle WebCenter- combines user interface technologies for building social applications.

5.Oracle Business Intelligence-offers a complete to generates and delivers analyses for fusion application.

6.Oracle SOA Suite-a comprehensive software for building and deploying service-oriented architecture.

7.Oracle Application Development Framework- a java framework to simplify application development by minimizing code writing

8.Oracle JDeveloper- for building service-oriented applications using industry standards 

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA): 

Oracle Fusion Application are based on SOA-Services oriented Architecture. This is a significant technology change adapted by Oracle. SOA Suite, a middleware component of Oracle Fusion Middleware, provides infrastructure component for designing, deploying and managing SOA composite applications. Various services can be created, managed and helps to put together multiple technology components into one SOA composite application.

Early Adopter of Fusion Applications: 

Some of the Fusion customers who have either implemented or are in the process of implementing one or the other modules of Fusion applications are-

• Green Mountain Coffee

• Acorn Papers

• Barcode Networks

• Elizabeth Arden

• Zillow

• Principal Financials

• PGA

• Shellpoint Partners

• Keppel Energy

• Red Robbin

• ING

• CWT - Carlson Wagonlit

• British Telecom

Oracle itself has deployed Oracle Fusion Application internally and uses CRM and financial functionality plus some other modules. There has not been much talks on Fusion from Oracle in 2012 as Oracle has been busy in setting up examples by implementing Fusion Applications to show how it works. This step by Oracle will get them credibility in the market for Fusion Applications. Going forward this will further helps to create success stories for Fusion application and a motivation/need for prospective customers to adopt Fusion application as a new generation ERP.

• Existing technology stack of R12 version consist of Client, application and database tier.12.2 version replaces the middleware server to the Oracle WebLogic server.

• Fusion Application tech stack is based on new different set of technology.

• Oracle no longer is using oracle forms for user interface technology.

User interface consist of ADF, webcenter etc. Various technologies in Fusion Middleware are -SOA, ADF, ODI, OBIEE, security etc. These all are stored in the middleware product of Fusion Application. This part consists of significant technology changes in Fusion Applications compare to EBS. Using Oracle WebLogic sever as application server in Fusion will be the foundation of all Fusion middleware products in future.

In Oracle 12.2 use of WebLogic server is a technology shift (major changes) and move towards Fusion Application. This is an intended approach of Oracle for end user to upgrade to Fusion in future. For user interface, Oracle has used ADF (Application development framework) and ADF java server faces, which will give ability to developer to create rich applications in a browser.

Business process execution language (BPEL) will be used as services oriented architecture for workflow and approvals. This is an XML based language which allows developer to links together various web services in an organization.

Hyperion will be used for financial reporting and this is a replacement to Financial Statement Generator in Fusion Applications.

Oracle Fusion Functional Setup Manager:

Oracle Fusion Functional Setup Manager provides a single user interface for performing all tasks related to Oracle Fusion Applications setup after installation and helps to easily move the setup data between different instances to reduce implementation time.

Below are the benefits of using Oracle Fusion Functional Setup Manager-

1.Minimizing time to deploy setups and using same and ability to import or export to multiple instances.

2.Enhancing productivity and reporting functionality.

3.A single point to set up applications and enables to manage all aspects of functional setup in one interface.

4.Pre-packaged facilities to export and import setup data consistently and quickly.

5.Pre-seeded setup templates and reporting.

6.Options to create custom setup objects.

Users of Oracle Fusion Functional Setup Manager include the application implementation manager, the functional user, and the application implementation consultants. The functional users are responsible for entering and verify the setup data for the functional area.

The application implementation consultants are super users who assume the roles of both the application implementation manager and the functional user.

Conclusion: 

Fusion Application is different from EBS. There is no plan from Oracle to come up with R13 version. Next version of Oracle apps is Fusion Application which is new generation ERP as Oracle purchased lots of different companies like PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Siebel etc in last few years and Fusion applications is an effort to integrate all different technology into one single product. Initially Fusion Application is going to be major technology changed ERP and for organization there will be great learning to adopt and incorporate these new technology changes for better management reporting and planning.

New technology changes are going to provide more flexibility and easy reporting for an organization.

Oracle Fusion Applications are service-enabled, enterprise applications that can be easily integrated into a service-oriented architecture (SOA) and now available as software.