ITM Zdm Ten Things

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Introduct Ion

In todays business climate, small and

midsize companies are competing

with everyoneone another and big-

ger rms alikeor customers and

revenues in every niche. Large-scaleenterprises get most o the press, but

SMBs are subject to the same pres-

sures and infuencesto do more

with less, to streamline processes

and speed go-to-market, to achieve

near-perect levels o service and reli-

ability or their customersand they

have much lower tolerance or delay

or ailure.

IT and sotware applications can

play a huge role in getting work

done quickly and eciently. The righttools, and the right support, can help

a company dierentiate rom the

pack and deliver a superior level o

service. The problem is, SMBs dont

have time or lengthy assessments,

consultations, solution designs, and

phased rollout schedules. Smaller

players need the job done right, on-

time, the rst time.

The best way to make that happen,

ar more quickly and productively than

via customized or tailored sotware,

is with an intuitive, easy-to-deployand easy-to-use suite o applications

that already has best practices and

smooth workfow built in.

oracle accelerate I s the

r Ight approach

Oracle Accelerate is a xed-price,

rapid-implementation approach, de-

livering dozens o congurable solu-

tions that are designed to t the needs

o specic industries. Oracle solutions

launch quickly, scale easily, and ex-

pand eortlessly, bringing powerul

tools and enterprise-class service to

the SMB.As the largest enterprise sotware

company in the world, Oracle has

the know-how to pinpoint successul

workfows and best practices that ap-

ply regardless o company size. These

elementscalled Acceleratorsare

built into the industry-ocused appli-

cation suites that Oracle and its part-

ners deliver or SMBs.

Jim Rodgers, vice president o sales

at Oracle partner Baytree Associates,

Inc., explains: Based on industry-specic leading-practice Business

Flows, the Oracle Accelerator is a wiz-

ard-driven toolset that provides tre-

mendous fexibility or personalizing

the [customers] implementation o

Oracle E-Business Suite without mak-

ing modications or customizing the

core Oracle code. The result is a high-

ly congured instance that is quickly

deployed and completely protected

during uture version upgrades. This

toolset is delivered with a variety

o out-o-the-box assets, includingtraining videos, how-to guides, test

scripts, and implementation guide-

lines that provide immediate value to

the client.

Oracles experts have identied ten

important actors or SMBs to keep

in mind when considering their

sotware and business process needs

and the narrow timerame in which

they have to work. Making the right

decision will mean the dierence be-

tween a successul deployment and a

quagmire that drains precious time

and money rom the company.

1. c f im m i

i

Whenever youre shopping, a glance at

the price tag is enough to determine

whether youll pick up or reject an

item. But with business sotware, ini-

tial cost is just the tip o the iceberg.

Does the price include enough licens-

es, integration help, and training? Will

an army o expensive consultants in-

vade the oce? How much will main-

tenance cost? How long beore we seea positive return on investment? And

what happens as the company grows?

Oracle Accelerate takes the guess-

work and headache out o business

sotware implementations by deliv-

ering a ocused suite o applications,

Business Accelerators, and support

or one aordable price. You can stay

on your version o the sotware or

as long as it suits your needs, with

regular upgrades and eature-set ex-

pansions readily available, ensuring

that changes and growth dont end upcosting more than necessary.

2. F i i y b i

Depending on the provider, SMB so-

lutions can be stripped-down versions

o enterprise applications, or heav-

ily customized and specialized oer-

ings that t a niche industry but dont

scale or adjust easily. You dont have

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Oracles apprOach tO sMB applicatiOns gets yOur Business up, running,

and prOductive quickly

Ten Things To Consider for rapid implemenTaTion


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time to spend adjusting an application

to t your workfow style; you need

tools that are precongured and pre-

loaded with the best and most ecient

elements or your companys ocus.

Oracle Accelerate delivers solu-

tions that meet the workfow needs ospecic verticals, rom automotive

to technology and over 70 others.

With product lines such as JD Edwards,

PeopleSot, Siebel, and Oracle E-Busi-

ness Suite, Oracle delivers complete,

suite-based solutions that ocus on

specic industries. The solutions in-

clude comprehensive business fows

across ront oce, back oce and in-

dustry-specic processes. Local channel

partners add an even ner level o

ocus, adjusting applications to account

or regulatory and tax requirements inspecic regions and countries.

3. Imv i y b i

The pressure to improve processes

and workfows is high; the tools you

deploy must be streamlined and task-

specic, enorcing step-by-step ex-

ecution and integrating seamlessly

with management and database ap-

plications. Oracle Accelerators con-

gure end-to-end business fows us-

ing your data, with industry-specicand country versions that meet your

businesss requirements.

Accelerators include fow models,

videos, scripts and other training ma-

terial to help you map processes to the

sotware quickly, and a setup tool that

uses your responses to a simple ques-

tionnaire to integrate your business

inormation into the application suite

quickly and accurately.

The combination o Oracles pre-

integrated applications and Solbournes

public sector expertise was a good tor the City o Englewoodand we

were impressed with the rapid, on-

budget implementation, says Don

Ingle, director o IT or the City o

Englewood, CO.

4. sm kf f

As weve mentioned, rapid imple-

mentation only works i the solution

installs and congures quickly, and i

end-users can learn the new applica-

tions with minimal time investment.

The Oracle Accelerate approach le-

verages the expertise o local chan-

nel partners who tailor Business Ac-

celerators or quick, wizard-drivendeployment and provide videos and

training guides or users. The tools

are precongured or specic indus-

tries and localities, ensuring smooth

integration and rapid uptake.

Our implementation with Oracle

Business Accelerators was completed

on time and under budget, with a re-

markably smooth transition rom our

legacy system. Oracles technology,

applications, and implementation

partner have been a winning combi-

nation or our company, says SylviaTrujillo, CFO o The Jewelry Exchange

in San Francisco.

5. r

When you sign on with an enter-

prise sotware provider, their SMB

oerings, being customized subsets

o larger-scale oerings, may not up-

grade easily. I the code is tweaked

urther to adapt the application or

a specic industry, upgrades can be

drawn-out and complex tasks.Oracle Accelerate applications are

built on comprehensive, open sot-

ware that allows or eminent cong-

urability and requires no alterations

to the code. Oracle and its partners

release upgrades every 12-24 months

or each o product line. In addition,

the Accelerate program ensures has-

sle-ree, non-disruptive upgrades by

isolating data rom application logic,

providing automated patching and

upgrade tools, and by leveraging an

extensive network o expert partnerswho know your business.

6. M i

SMBs are intimately amiliar with the

speed o business, and the agility need-

ed to seize opportunities quickly. I an

acquisition or product line expansion

comes into play, how smoothly can

you adapt your processes and work-

fow to the new rules? Heavily cus-

tomized applications are not fexible

or easy to recongure once theyre

in place, but Oracle Accelerates ap-

proach enables eortless scaling and

compelling fexibility. With Business

Accelerators encompassing more thana thousand potential workfows, ad-

justing the sotware you have in place

is ast and easy.

Oracles plan or brand-new re-

leases, regular enhancements, and

eature upgrades is called Applica-

tions Unlimited. And while the op-

portunity to upgrade and expand is

available, it is not orced on custom-

ers. Oracles Lietime Support Policy

ensures you will receive the support

you need whether you ollow the up-

grade path or not.

7. M i

Although their needs or application

eatures and unctionality sometimes

mirror those o larger organizations,

SMBs rarely have the luxury o long,

complex, expensive implementations.

The most successul rollouts or SMBs

tend to ocus on solving acute issues

and then branching out to leverage

more comprehensive capabilities.

Oracles competitors nd this type odeployment challengingthey either

orce an entire package on clients, so

all o the applications can be custom-

ized together, or, i they start small,

their custom enhancements and uture

scale-ups are even more expensive and

challenging down the road.

Oracle Accelerate implementations,

on the other hand, are laser-ocused

on meeting acute concerns, such as

supply chain management, procure-

ment, or CRM, and you pay or what

you need, not more. Once the high-priority processes are optimized and

brought into alignment with business

goals, Oracle Accelerate partners de-

liver applications to target specic task

areas and raise their levels o eciency

and productivity or across-the-board

gains. Oracle delivers successul im-

plementations because Accelerate ap-

plications are not customized; theyre

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congured to refect industry-specic

workfows. This approach allows easy

modication or addition o capabili-

ties as your business needs evolve.

8. I i i It

i f SMBs arent always standardized on

one particular IT inrastructure pro-

tocol, and business applications must

integrate seamlessly with existing

environments. The Oracle Accelerate

approach encourages high degrees

o interoperability with other Oracle

and non-Oracle applications. Each

product line includes integration

hooks that translate and transorm

disparate systems into a unied, ser-

vice-oriented whole.

Oracles JD Edwards EnterpriseOnesolutions, or example, integrate all

nancial processes into one database

and link seamlessly with all the other

applications in the suite. Our 100%

revenue growth over the past three

years has been supported with JD

Edwards EnterpriseOne applications,

reports Timothy J. Schultz, director o

IT at Denver-based TUFF SHED, Inc.

9. s y m i

SMB solutions must be covered byresponsive and helpul technical sup-

port to ensure prompt problem-solv-

ing and smooth operations. Oracle

is the largest and most respected

business sotware provider, with a

network o support experts in every

niche industry.

Oracles comprehensive supportpolicies cover everything rom data-

bases to middleware to applications,

with implementation help, integra-

tion assistance, customer-driven up-

grade strategies, and ull updates,

maintenance, and security/regula-

tory patches.

Because all Oracle Accelerate solu-

tions undergo an industry-ocused re-

view process, Oracle and its partners

understand how to provide seamless

support to SMB customers.

10. c i i

Channel partners in specic industry

areas are the best route or SMBs

to take when seeking comprehensive

business application solutions, as

they deliver the best technology

coupled with an intimate knowledge

o the industry.

Oracle Accelerate partners are

chosen or their dedication to

customer needs and their deeptechnical expertise. In addition,

Oracle provides partners with valuable

tools, such as assessment tests and

education courses, so they can

gain prociency in Oracle sotware

implementations and put that expertise

to work or you.

Oracles network o over 330 chan-nel partners ensures that specialists

are there or you in your location and

in your industry. We looked at the

other big names, but ultimately Ora-

cle and Baytree oered a more fexible

solution that is easier to implement,

easier to use, and easier to maintain,

says Mark Slaven, CFO o Cross Match

Technologies, Inc., in Palm Beach

Gardens, FL.

conclus Ion: accelerate

wIth oracle

Small and midsize businesses need

rapid implementation, minimal

learning curve, ease o use, and a

smooth upgrade path or their busi-

ness process applications. Oracle Ac-

celerate delivers these tailored appli-

cations through sotware and chan-

nel partners in every major industry,

helping customers enhance their

processes and service levels, com-

pete more eectively, and grow ever

more successul. To learn more, visitwww.oracle.com/accelerate. n

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Sponsored by Oracle

Copyright May 2007 Ziff Davis Media Custom Publishing.

The information contained herein is accurate only as of the date of publication, and is subject to change without notice.

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ITM Zdm Ten Things