NO BARRIER to GROWTH Australian Finance Group Makes a Daring Technology Decision That Pays Off

VOLUME 12 • NUMBER 3 • AUGUST 2007

NO BARRIER TO GROWTH Australian Finance Group Makes a Daring Technology Decision That Pays Off

APPLICATIONS UNLIMITED Oracle Executives on the Latest Applications Products AND News: Oracle Application Integration Architecture, Oracle E-Business Suite, Siebel CRM On Demand, and more

Lifetime Achievement Candid Insight from Oracle chairman Jeff Henley

ORACLE DATABASE 11g accelerate Australian Finance Group Cofounder and your business Executive Director Malcolm Watkins

Identity Management Staying Secure and Compliant AUGUST 2007 VOLUME 12 NUMBER 3

FEATURE STORY 26 REDEFINING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Thinking strategically has always been a strength of Malcolm Watkins, cofounder and executive director of Australian Finance Group. Find out how AFG is managing IT more effectively and better understanding its customers. —By David A. Kelly

Cover: Robert Edwards

Editor’s note HYPERION AND ORACLE 10 All Together Now 43 BI AT ITS BEST —By Margaret Terry Lindquist Find out why the combination of Hyperion and Oracle make sense for both sets of customers. VIEWPOINT 12 BUILDING BLOCKS —By Katheryn Potterf Get insight into the connection points for Oracle SMALL AND MEDIUM BUSINESS Applications—and the path to 47 BIGGER ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER Oracle Fusion. —By John Matelski Small companies compete with the bigger fish—with the help of IT systems 15 Forward Thinking that can charge their efforts.

APPLICATIONS UNLIMITED —By Alan Joch 19 Simple, powerful SPOTLIGHT ON COMMUNICATIONS business systems 51 RESPONDING AROUND THE CLOCK Get insight into Oracle’s unique applications strategy ViaSat’s use of Oracle Priority Service has dramatically from the Oracle executives who are driving the future cut system issue resolution time—and powered its of business applications. customer service. —By Monica Mehta

30TH ANNIVERSARY SPOTLIGHT ON CONSULTING 31 A SOLID FOUNDATION 55 SINGLE SYSTEM SUCCESS Get the inside perspective on Oracle’s success from Jeff Getting the right help for a huge IT project was critical Henley and Judith Sim. —By Margaret Terry Lindquist to Avago—and it found that Oracle Consulting was the best choice. —By Karen Bannan IDENTITY MANAGEMENT 37 IDENTITY CRISIS SPOTLIGHT ON EMERGENCY SERVICES Businesses depend on how companies handle a basic 59 THE DRIVE TO SAVE LIVES IT function—making sure that the right people have the EMRI leads the way in creating a system for emergency right access at all times. Find out how two companies services—with a goal of saving more than 1 million are meeting this challenge. —By David Baum lives a year. —By Molly Rose Teuke

PRODUCT ANALYSIS 41 ORACLE DATABASE 11g 63 Oracle Certified Advantage Partners TUSC CEO Rich Niemiec provides LEADERSHIP a real insider’s view on the newest 64 THE RIGHT DIRECTION release of Oracle Database. Find out about the characteristics that every leader —By Jeff Erickson must have to reach the top. —By Kate Pavao

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications oracle.com/profit

The Executive’s Guide to Oracle Applications expands coverage of the technologies that will change the way you do business. With dozens of new acquisitions, new versions of all application product lines, and the advent of the next-generation enterprise- computing platform, there is a lot to say about Oracle’s applications business. Profit is pleased to announce the redesign and relaunch of the online version of the magazine: Profit Online.

Visit oracle.com/profit to see a full digital version of the print magazine along with exclusive content developed for Profit Online, including

Ten Steps to Fusion What you need to do today to prepare for tomorrow’s enterprise computing platform

Getting to Know Applications Unlimited: A Q&A with John Wookey Oracle’s senior vice president of applications development talks about enhancing existing product lines while preparing for Fusion applications.

Spotlight on SMB Special focus on how IT is changing the way small and medium businesses operate and compete

Profit Opinion Get diverse perspectives on the role of IT in today’s business with columns and commentary from Oracle executives, Profit editorial staff, partners, and customers.

august 2 0 0 7 editorial editor in chief Margaret Lindquist [email protected] senior managing editor Caroline Kvitka features editor Aaron Lazenby contributing editor Blair Campbell

contributing writers Marta Bright, Bobbie Hartman, Jeff Erickson, Leeann Myers, Katheryn Potterf, Fred Sandsmark design director Richard Merchán contributing designer Ron Sellers oracle press Lisa McClain [email protected]

publishing publisher Jeff Spicer [email protected]

advertising sales associate publisher Kyle Walkenhorst [email protected], tel +1.323.340.8585

Northwest & Central u.s.—technology Tom Cometa [email protected], tel +1.510.339.2403

southwest U.S. technology and Consumer Shaun Mehr [email protected], tel +1.323.658.6250, ext. 205

midatlantic u.s.—technology and consumer Dawn Becker and Lisa Rinaldo [email protected], tel +1.732.772.0160

northeast u.s./canada—technology and consumer David and Ann Schissler [email protected], tel +1.508.394.4026

europe/middle east/africa/asia pacific—technology Mark Makinney [email protected], tel +44 (0) 1273.774.341

production and operations

sAles and production director Jennifer Hamilton [email protected], tel +1.650.506.3794

subscriptions oracle products Subscriptions are complimentary for qualified individuals who complete the form found in each issue or at oracle.com/profitmagazine. For change 1.800.633.0675 (U.S./Canada). International: of address, mail in label with old and new address to Profit: The Executive’s Guide to Oracle Applications, P.O. Box 1247, Skokie, IL 60076, USA. See the OracleDirect box for the phone number in your region. Profit magazine customer service [email protected], tel +1.847.763.9635, fax +1.847.763.9638 oracle services 1.888.283.0591 (U.S./Canada) Privacy Oracle Publishing allows sharing of our mailing list with selected third parties. If you prefer that your mailing address m a i l i n g l i s t re n t a l s or e-mail address not be included in this program, please contact customer service at +1.847.763.9635, fax +1.847.763.9638, or Edith Roman Associates [email protected]. 1.800.223.2194, ext. 684

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Copyright © 2007, Oracle. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without permission from the editors. Oracle does not provide any warranty as to the accuracy of any information provided through Profit: The Executive’s Guide to Oracle Applications. PROFIT: The Executive’s guide to oracle applications IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS. ORACLE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. IN NO EVENT SHALL ORACLE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF OR RELIANCE ON ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED HEREIN. The preceding is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decision. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described for Oracle’s products remains at the sole discretion of Oracle. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other product and service names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.

august 2 0 0 7 EDITOR’S NOTE

All TOGETHER NOW

Most CIOs will tell you that software integration is one of the most pressing challenges they face. Connecting disparate systems, legacy applications, and the cutting-edge, best-of-breed applications that businesses today demand is a task that will test even the most agile, innovative IT department. When Oracle first started acquiring other business application providers, conventional wisdom was that the company was digging its way into a deep, dark hole. Either customers would be forced to migrate from the software they were using into the Oracle application suite, or they would continue to use whatever software they had installed—past the point where they were getting good return on their investment and past the point where the software was providing up-to-date functionality. The result, some feared, was that companies with established IT systems would be quickly outclassed by newer, more-agile companies that could hit the ground running with the latest customer- and partner-friendly systems. But the latest big announcement from Oracle intends to solve that problem for our customers. Oracle Application Integration Architecture is designed to allow customers to tie Oracle applications, legacy applications, and industry-specific software from numerous best-of-breed partners into an integrated system that will meet the needs of businesses now and in the future. This comes in addition to our other big

announcement of the year, the introduction of Oracle Database 11g, the newest edition of a database that has set the standard for innovation since its first release. This issue is full of insight into both new product offerings. We round things out with continued coverage of Oracle’s 30th anniversary, including a candid interview with Oracle’s chairman, Jeff Henley, who speaks about the challenges and successes in Oracle’s history. It’s a nice look adler

back at where we’ve been, even as we plot a course for the future. bob

Margaret Terry Lindquist [email protected]

1 0 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 USER GROUP BY JOHN MATELSKI

Building Blocks Oracle connects current applications and provides a path to Oracle Fusion.

Oracle’s dual commitment to Oracle current systems and make decisions around the timing of Applications Unlimited and Oracle Fusion moving to Oracle Fusion. The prebuilt integration packs has always given fodder to the grassy-knoll also enhance the value of Oracle Fusion Middleware, folks. They point to the existence of both making it even easier to talk to different Oracle applications. as proof of a lack of commitment to either, Oracle Application Integration Architecture extends the theorizing that trying to fund both initia- value of the recently released Applications Unlimited appli- tives will inevitably lead to a dilution of cations, as Oracle has built some elements of Oracle Fusion resources and, ultimately, a delay of Oracle Fusion or nominal into those releases. support of Applications Unlimited. Oracle also plans to build these integration packs to meet But it is clear to me as a user of one of Oracle’s “legacy” industry-specific needs, and the company has gone out of applications that each subsequent announcement from Oracle its way to get customer input—already hosting sessions with cuts another divot away from the skeptics’ turf. customers across the globe and working with its user group First came the announcement and delivery of Applications community to get the word out, by leveraging the value of Unlimited, a major piece of good news to Oracle’s JD Edwards, the International Oracle User Council (IOUC) and the groups Oracle’s PeopleSoft, Oracle’s Siebel, and Oracle E-Business of which it is composed. User group leaders and participants Suite users unsure of the long-term support of their software. have had the opportunity, through Webcasts and phone calls, Now we have the Oracle Application Integration to learn about Oracle Application Integration Architecture Architecture announcement—making it clear that and provide feedback. By involving customers across a range Applications Unlimited cannot be dismissed as a token effort of different industries, Oracle can get an accurate picture of designed to string along an anxious user base. Applications what type of integration packs will be of most value to each Unlimited provides a platform that allows for incremental industry and tailor those packs accordingly. applications to be integrated into our current solutions. By Of course, this serves Oracle’s purpose as well. Building giving us prebuilt integration packs, Oracle Application additional integration points, and doing what it takes to get Integration Architecture helps save both time and money, as applications to communicate seamlessly with each other, IT staffs will spend less time custom-integrating each system makes it more palatable for customers to stick with their that needs to communicate. Moreover, the prebuilt integra- current solutions. It also buys time for customers to plan their tion pieces will handle upgrades with less reprogramming of long-term strategies—and makes it less likely they will switch customized code than other solutions. If everything comes to to a different vendor as they wait for Oracle Fusion. fruition, Oracle Application Integration Architecture will give This is about customer satisfaction and corporate success. us the ability to quickly integrate some of our current appli- In the competitive enterprise resource planning market- cations, minimize the time we need to build applications, and place, you need a value proposition that sets you apart from speed implementation of some of the upgrades we might do. the competition. I think that Oracle’s willingness to make a The Oracle Application Integration Architecture significant investment in supporting and enhancing custom- announcement provides the final element of what I con- ers’ current investments will build customer satisfaction and sider to be Oracle’s three-pronged, long-term strategy: comfort over the long haul. And when Oracle Fusion hits the Oracle Application Integration Architecture, Applications market, the customer base will still be largely intact. <> Unlimited, and Oracle Fusion. Oracle Application Integration Architecture provides a stepping stone that lets CIOs evolve In addition to his current roles as chairman of the International Oracle User either to the next releases of their current applications or to Council (IOUC) and president of Quest International Users Group, JOHN MATELSKI demeer Oracle Fusion. As a result, it protects CIOs’ existing invest- has been chief security officer and deputy CIO for the City of Orlando, Florida,

ments while allowing them additional time to use their for the past 10 years. charity

1 2 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 FORWARDTHINKING news and in f ormation f rom aro u nd the g l obe

By Marta Bright, Bobbie Hartman, Monica Mehta, Christopher Null, Kate Pavao, and Alison Weiss Exotic Car Club If you’ve always dreamed of driving a Ferrari but can’t handle the U.S., from Club Sportiva in San Francisco, which offers mem- the US$200,000 price tag, an exotic car club might be just berships starting at US$3,500 per year, to the Classic Car Club the thing for you. Starting at a few hundred dollars a month, a Manhattan (manhattan.classiccarclub.com), where you can drive club membership offers access to a stable of high-end cars, a classic like the 2001 Porsche Turbo for about US$7,500 per much like a vacation timeshare. You get to drive year. Club costs differ depending on the types of cars Lamborghinis, Bentleys, and Porsches with- and number of driving days offered. Memberships out the hassles of ownership, because often include perks such as clubhouses and the club takes care of maintenance, private events. Companies such as Curvy cleaning, and storage. “Our typical Road (www.curvyroad.com) also offer member is a 54-year-old individual fractional car ownerships, which lock who currently owns some sort of you into one car but can be less fun car, or has owned one in the expensive. “When you’re out in one past, and understands the reali- of these cars, you get celebrity ties of ownership,” says Torbin treatment—people wave, they talk Fuller, president and founder of to you, they take photos of the Club Sportiva (www.clubsportiva car while you’re driving,” says .com), the first car club in the Fuller. “You get that sense of, country. Car clubs exist throughout ‘I’m somebody special.’” SPIDERBOX PHOTOGRAPHY

Book Review Conniff also believes in the power of gossip. “We’re built to trade Monkey Business information, and it’s not divisive in most cases. It’s the opposite. It’s The Ape in the Corner Office, by Richard Conniff how we form bonds with people, by swapping valuable information In The Ape in the Corner Office, Richard Conniff argues that people and letting people know about things that affect their jobs.” are very similar to social animals such as primates. “We have to One change was made for the paperback edition. The subtitle be able to work with other people, and in fact we’re completely went from Understanding the Workplace Beast in All of Us to How frustrated if we’re not working with other people in order to suc- to Make Friends, Win Fights and Work Smarter by Understanding ceed,” he tells Profit. Human Nature. Why the switch? “I don’t think people like being Conniff examines corporate culture and animal behavior through reminded of their animal origins as much as I do,” Conniff says. anecdotes and studies, and he offers advice for working primates “They’re ready to hear how biology affects behavior, but looking to thrive in the corporate jungle. Among it seemed more sensible to show them the book’s lessons: an obvious alpha how understanding their biology can help can establish a peaceful environ- them succeed.” ment—but bosses shouldn’t forget Want to hear more? See how facial that creating that environment expressions, gossip, and compli- means taking time to do some ments impact your management serious grooming of their packs. style in Richard Conniff’s conversation (In other words, don’t skip the with Profit Online, at oracle.com/profit/

WENDYWAHMAN positive reinforcement.) exec/060807_conniff.html

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 1 5 FORWARDTHINKING An In-Dash GPS that goes with you! Want a real-time map wherever you go? Hide and Seek You can pay hundreds of dollars for a For golfers, one of the main frustrations during a game is losing a handheld GPS unit that mounts awkward- ball, wasting time looking for it, and taking a penalty when it can’t be ly (and illegally in some states) on your found. It takes the focus off where it should be—on the game itself. car’s windshield. Or you can pay thou- Now, there’s a solution to this challenge: the RadarGolf System, by sands for a built-in automotive GPS unit Radar Corporation. The system uses Ball Positioning System technol- that never leaves your vehicle, making it ogy, which is a microchip embedded in the core of useless for camping, hiking, or adventur- USGA-conforming, high-quality golf balls. Golfers use ing after you park the car. Fujitsu Eclipse’s a handheld homing device to find any lost balls AVN2210p offers the best of both worlds. using a radio signal. Depending on the terrain, It’s an in-dash car stereo with a full, 3.5- golf balls can be detected from up to 100 feet inch GPS screen. But when you exit your away. According to Radar President and CEO car, just punch a button and the GPS unit Chris Savarese, “Professional golfers don’t have to pops out to help you navigate on foot. look for their golf balls. All golfers should have this advantage. Priced in the low US$900 range, RadarGolf gives golfers their own digital caddy.” the base Eclipse unit fits in any 2-DIN The RadarGolf System, which is priced at US$199.95 and includes 12 golf balls, is available through the company’s Web site as well as Sharper Image and Golfsmith. For more information, go to www.radargolf.com. Snuggle Up to These Diseases (double-height) stereo bay, offering a CD player that can play MP3 and WMA files, Ever thought of the common cold as . . . cute? You might, after you see what a USB port for standard MP3 players, and rhinovirus looks like as a cuddly, five-inch plush toy. Giantmicrobes are plush an optional Sirius radio and iPod connec- dolls that look like real microbes, only a million times the actual size (and not tor. Bluetooth is also built in, in case you’d infectious). Each doll comes with an image of the real microbe it represents as like to fold your cell phone into the mix well as information about the microbe. and use the car speakers for your call. A Chicago-based company also called Giantmicrobes has been making these snug- The GPS unit comes from TomTom, gly viruses and germs since 2002. CEO and founder Drew Oliver originally developed one of the top names in navigation, and the plush toys as educational tools for doctors and teachers but found that these ador- its screen is preloaded with maps of the able replicas of the flu, bad breath, Lyme disease, dust mites, rabies, and even scum U.S. and Canada, plus 5 million popular appealed to the general public. Today, destinations such as restaurants and gas you’ll find Rhino and his companions stations. The usual top-down and 3-D in drugstores, hospital gift shops, map views are available, with gentle, and science and children’s muse- turn-by-turn voice guidance, and a real- ums. Check out www time traffic display is also available as an .giantmicrobes.com upgrade. Disconnected, the GPS offers to see the entire about 90 minutes of runtime before the collection and n á battery dies, so don’t forget how to ask to order. merch

for directions. For more information, visit ah j i

l www.eclipse-web.com. e

1 6 A u g u s t 2 0 0 7

the shoe knows tech The latest twist in GPS technology won’t help you find your way around an unfa- miliar city, but it will locate a missing loved one. Isaac Daniel’s Compass sneaker Events features an embedded 2-by-3-inch GPS module in the bottom of the shoe. In the event that the wearer is lost, the GPS module uses satellite technology to pinpoint Oracle OpenWorld Asia Pacific his or her location anywhere on earth. The com- Shanghai, China, July 30–August 2 pany released its first line of sneakers earlier oracle.com/openworld this year. Available in six designs, the sneak- Experience the latest in Oracle applications, technologies, and solutions. ers look like any other brand of running shoe Keynotes from Oracle executives and key and retail for approximately US$325 a pair, partners, more than 165 sessions covering plus a monitoring fee of US$20 a month. all Oracle products, an exhibition hall with A children’s line will be available in Oracle and partner products, and ample spring 2008. For more information, visit opportunities for networking make this a www.isaacdaniel.com. must-attend event for Oracle professionals and customers in the Asia Pacific region. LinuxWorld Conference & Expo Discovering Sake San Francisco, August 6–9 www.linuxworldexpo.com Most people are somewhat familiar with Japan’s offering to the realm of deli- The single-largest gathering of the Linux cate wine—sake. There are five grades of sake: junmai-shu, which includes and open source community, LinuxWorld only rice and no added distilled alcohol; honjozo-shu, which includes just a hint brings together three days of education, of added alcohol; ginjo-shu, which is made from highly milled rice and may strategic insight, and success stories. contain added alcohol; daiginjo-shu, which has ultramilled rice and also may include added alcohol. Last is namazake-su, which is unpasteurized. Digital ID World Overall drinkability and taste quality places daiginjo-shu, which has a silky San Francisco, September 24–26 smooth texture and light flavor, at the top of the list. Following www.digitalidworld.com The Digital ID World conference pro- daiginjo-shu is ginjo-shu, which has a slightly acidic taste, vides information and analysis of how then junmai-shu, which offers hints of tropical fruit and is con- digital identity is being leveraged to sidered an everyday sake. Honjozo-shu is very similar to help integrate, manage, and secure junmai-shu, and nama-zake, which comes from the first networks. Presentations cover deploy- press, has a dry, full-bodied taste, and must be consumed ments, identity-based technologies, soon after opening or it will become cloudy. After conduct- standards, and more. ing a search for sublime—and budget-friendly at under US$50 per bottle—sake offerings, the editors at Profit Oracle HCM Users Group recommend these four: Annual Conference ■ Junmai-shu: Otokoyama Las Vegas, Nevada, September 24–27 (“Man’s Mountain”) www.ohug.org ■ Honjozo-shu: Hakkaisan Whether you use Oracle E-Business (“8 Mountains, 8 Seas”) Suite or Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise for HR management, this conference ■ Ginjo-shu: Suishin Tenjomukyu

n (“Eternal Heaven”) offers an excellent opportunity for net- á working with peers and speaking directly ■ Daiginjo-shu: Wakatake Onikoroshi merch

with Oracle’s development team. ah (“Demon Slayer”) j i l e

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 1 7 APPLICATIONS UNLIMITED new insights for oracle application S u s e r s

oracle applications simple, powerful business systems John Wookey explores the path ahead for Oracle Applications customers.

Since joining Oracle in 1994, John Wookey has played a critical role a single business system across all their different lines of busi- in developing Oracle’s applications. In 2004, when Oracle shifted ness, different geographies, and then they could unify business its applications strategy and bought PeopleSoft, Wookey was named processes that span human capital management [HCM], finan- senior vice president of applications development and given responsi- cials, supply chain, manufacturing, CRM [customer relation- bility for the entire Applications division. Under Wookey’s leadership, ship management], and other functions. We delivered on this Oracle Applications has undertaken the creation of a next-generation vision with Oracle E-Business Suite, the first integrated applica- business applications suite, Oracle Fusion, while ensuring that cus- tion suite. A pretty simple idea—and like most simple ideas, tomers continue to get value from extremely powerful. their existing investments through As customers adopted Oracle Applications Unlimited. Profit asked E-Business Suite, they found Wookey about the role Oracle all kinds of great ways they E-Business Suite 12 plays in Oracle’s thought we could improve the Applications Unlimited strategy, application even further. And what customers can expect in the as we continued to grow our latest version, and how the concept experiences with new releases, of an integrated suite of applications we learned new and better has held up over time. ways of doing things. And so Profit: In January, we launched Release 12 is the culmination new versions of all Oracle appli- of learnings we’ve had from cations product lines. How does our own and customer experi- Oracle E-Business Suite 12 fit ences from around the world. into this program? This really is the global Oracle Wookey: Many years ago, E-Business Suite release: it’s we had this idea that we could focused on helping a business improve the value of enterprise operate more effectively on applications if we built a single, a global basis—whether that integrated application suite. This means operating in multiple single suite would improve cus- countries, dealing with out- tomers’ ability to manage their sourcers and providers from adler

John Wookey, Oracle Senior Vice President of Applications bob businesses—they could deploy Development abroad, or just trying to get a

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 1 9 APPLICATIONS UNLIMITED

more global view of complete operations. Profit: How does Release 12 better support global operations? Integration in Focus Wookey: We made significant improvements to the application with global business in mind. We looked at everything— Oracle Vice President Jose Lazares on Oracle how the organizational architecture works, how we manage Application Integration Architecture subledger transactions, how we manage the entire accounting process, how to deploy a single inventory master that supports Oracle’s commitment to providing multiple paths to the future both discrete and process manufacturing systems. All of those for its applications lines has many aspects. The company has changes, and many more, are about helping companies operate been careful to provide incremental methods of moving forward more effectively on a global basis. that allow customers the freedom to drive their migration And at the same time, we made investments to continue to plans based on their own business needs, rather than arbitrary expand our global footprint. We added more localizations in human resources and support for businesses wanting to operate in China by supporting Golden Tax. With Release 12 we’ve delivered the most compelling enterprise application suite in the market that provides tremendous value for our customers. Profit: How have the acquisitions Oracle has made since the first release of Oracle E-Business Suite affect Release 12? Wookey: The biggest benefit to development has been unparalleled access to the brightest minds in software. We are acquiring companies that have demonstrated leadership and innovation in their markets, and we are leveraging that experience and knowledge across the division. That means that when we acquire a company like PeopleSoft, which has the best human capital management software in the world, we can share ideas and methodologies across all teams. The latest releases of Oracle E-Business Suite and Oracle’s JD Edwards EnterpriseOne both benefited from access to the architects of PeopleSoft HCM. The PeopleSoft acquisition also brought us a team that had tremendous focus on user experience. As a result of that passion, Release 12 has an entirely new look and feel, which makes users more productive. Profit: A big part of your focus has been customer experience. What have you done in Release 12 to ease the upgrade? Wookey: We have been working on improving the quality of upgrades for many years and many releases. One process that we have adopted is to pretest the upgrade process by cloning customer instances and performing the upgrade for these customers. This way, we can closely monitor the upgrade and fine-tune the customer experience before general availability. With this release, we also ran upgrades for several of our On Jose Lazares, Oracle Vice President for Applications Development Demand customers to ensure that the On Demand customers can also uptake this release as quickly and easily as possible. deadlines set by Oracle. One of the key strategies is Oracle We’ve also introduced tools and technologies to improve Application Integration Architecture, which uses a combination the upgrade. One of these is a new patch wizard, which will of industry-leading middleware and best-in-class applications automatically interview customers’ systems and create person- to provide business processes that bridge traditional operational alized patching recommendations. By evaluating a customer’s silos quickly and cost-effectively. current configuration, the wizard provides recommendations “Oracle has bought many best-of-breed and industry-specific that are specifically tailored to a customer’s unique needs. This applications, and now we need to make them work together,” is the kind of innovation that I love to see at Oracle—the patch says Jose Lazares, Oracle vice president for application strategy wizard provides a technology solution to a common business and development. “This is what Oracle Application Integration problem by reducing the time and effort needed to complete Architecture is intended to do.” The core concept is to enable

common system maintenance tasks like patching. <> customers to get value from a myriad of application assets by bobadler

2 0 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 creating business processes that span multiple applications, from tion packs that are expected to be available include Oracle as well as third-party software providers. These busi- Oracle E-Business Suite/Siebel/Oracle Retail. This will include ness processes will enable Oracle’s best-of-breed applications to Oracle’s Siebel CRM On Demand Integration Pack, which is behave as a suite so customers can use them as such. “It’s our intended to support the opportunity-to-quote process and hope that Oracle Application Integration Architecture helps includes autoconversion of opportunities to quotes and quotes answer the question many customers are asking: ‘How is Oracle to orders; and Oracle’s Siebel CRM Integration Pack for Oracle going to bring together its broad and ever-growing portfolio of E-Business Suite Order Management, which is expected to applications?’” says Lazares. The architecture is aimed at easing support the order-to-cash process lifecycle, including capabilities pain points for CIOs on a number of levels: for complex product configuration, inventory availability, auto- ■ Easing the cost and resource bottleneck of integration efforts. At mated order processing, price synchronization, and real-time the core of Oracle Application Integration Architecture are the order status. As well, look for Siebel CRM Trade Promotions Process Integration Packs, which allow CIOs to integrate appli- and Deductions Integration Pack for Oracle E-Business Suite, cations with standards-based prebuilt technology packages and which is expected to provide a closed-loop trade promotional without spending time and money on custom solutions that process for consumer goods companies, encompassing trade need to be upgraded with each application change. promotion creation and settlement flows. The company will also ■ Providing prebuilt service-based modules and thus an evolution- release a Multi Order Channel Management Integration Pack for ary pathway to service-oriented archi- Siebel CRM, Oracle E-Business Suite, tecture (SOA). “Forrester says that last and Oracle Retail, aimed at providing year, 14 percent of respondents said “[The new a uniform customer experience regard- they would move to SOA but only 2 architecture] helps less of sales channel, which will enable percent did,” says Michael Seymour, customer service and sales representa- director of product strategy at Oracle. answer the question . . . tives in the retail industry to view and “Oracle Application Integration ‘How is Oracle going to manage orders across sales channels. Architecture provides not only the PeopleSoft. This includes Oracle’s technology components for SOA, but bring together its broad PeopleSoft Financials Integration Pack also applications that run on this tech- for Oracle Financial Services Accounting nology and a governance and meth- and ever-growing portfo- Hub, which is expected to allow users odology to control and maximize the lio of applications?’” in the financial services industry to con- value of the deployment. This gives solidate information from back-office customers a prebuilt SOA, enabling —Jose Lazares, Vice President, Oracle systems into Oracle Financial Services companies to jumpstart SOA initiatives.” Accounting Hub and PeopleSoft General Ledger. ■ Allowing companies the freedom of choice. Using open standards Siebel. Oracle will also release Communications Integration and Oracle Fusion Middleware to build Oracle Application Packs for Siebel CRM, Oracle Billing and Revenue Integration Architecture is an important differentiator. Not only Management, and Oracle Financials, which are intended to will Oracle Applications be seamlessly connected to provide support the concept-to-launch and order-to-cash processes additional incremental value to existing investments, but enabling product and price synchronization, account hierarchy because Oracle Application Integration Architecture is based management, billing activation for sales orders, bill presenta- on open standards, partners and customers can easily integrate tion, payments, and more. custom and third-party applications. This makes it possible for JD Edwards/Siebel. This will include Siebel CRM On Demand customers to leverage best-of-breed applications that will now Integration Pack for JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, which is work together as a suite. planned to include support for the lead-to-order process, ■ An alternative migration strategy to Fusion. Oracle Application new-account creation and maintenance process, and Integration Architecture’s common object architecture is also product lookup synchronization; and Oracle Transportation used by Oracle Fusion applications. “Oracle Application Management Integration Pack for JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, Integration Architecture uses a common translation vocabulary which is planned to include support for rate and route shop- that will be supported natively in Oracle Fusion, so it supports ping during sales order entry, optimized shipment planning an evolutionary path for customers,” says Lazares. “Adopting and consolidation, freight audit and settlement processing, this looser abstraction between systems means that CIOs can and carrier payment. plug in Oracle Fusion modules and evolve to it over time.” i-flex/Siebel. This will include Siebel CRM Integration Pack for Process integration packages will be available for every major i-flex FLEXCUBE Account Originations, which is intended to product line, with many serving as hooks between the different provide an integrated front-to-back-office banking solution that product lines. For example, there are Siebel integration packs gives banks a single view of the customer and a streamlined for several modules of Oracle E-Business Suite. Process integra- account opening and fulfillment process. <>

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 2 1 APPLICATIONS UNLIMITED

Insight About the Right Customers at the Right Time Anthony Lye discusses how customers are getting new capabilities in their customer- facing applications.

Oracle’s Siebel CRM applications help provide insight to the right person at the right time, leading to faster, better-informed decisions. With solutions tailored to the specific needs of more than 20 industries, Siebel provides predictive analytics capabilities that deliver real-time intelligence, greater flexibility through support of both Java Platform, Enterprise Edition, and .NET, and a lower total cost of ownership. Profit spoke with Oracle Senior Vice President of CRM On Demand Anthony Lye to learn about his insights about CRM and how companies are gaining new capabilities in their customer-facing applications. Profit: What is consumable CRM, and what are its benefits? Lye: In businesses where users collaborate and participate, it’s important to support them and broaden the ways in which they do so by building tools and extending the applications they use.

The core of Oracle’s CRM software will be extended to support a Anthony Lye, Oracle Vice President of Siebel CRM On Demand lot more collaboration, social interaction, and participation. The idea is to allow the users themselves to suggest and implement methods that those people already use. modifications or improvements, and to use Web 2.0 techniques People who focus on more-complex relationships tend to like social bookmarking, social tagging, social networking, and work in industries where products are configured or built collaboration to drive best practices in the application. to order. When Oracle sells software, or Boeing sells planes, Traditionally, sales coaches that are part of the software are or Ingersoll Rand sells its products, these companies tend defined by one person and pushed down to everybody in the to have lower volume and higher margin, and the sale and organization. In a consumable application, every salesperson is the service are far more complex. They tend to supplement able to define his or her own sales coach. Through a library of their product lines with more-expensive, knowledgeable sales coaches and usage and tagging patterns, the organization resources, because that’s where they feel they can get differ- is able to see which business process or sales coach provides entiation and drive innovation. the most value to the organization as a whole. Someone can Profit: You mentioned Web 2.0. Could this be called say, ‘Thanks for the sales coaching; I do it a little differently.’ Or, “Enterprise 2.0”? ‘This is a very good step, but this one is unnecessary. I add this, Lye: Yes. It’s where Web 2.0 meets the enterprise, and where and I don’t do this.’ This way, you’re starting to capture a lot enterprise applications recognize the value of Web 2.0 standards more of the tribal knowledge. and technologies and of the internet as a whole. The new appli- Profit: What are some of the industries that can benefit from cations will use significant parts of the internet to provide a far consumable applications? more socially capable platform to help people differentiate and Lye: Consumable applications make sense for industries drive innovation. in which managers are looking to drive innovation and Profit: Define the term “consumable” in the context of efficiency from the end users. In these industries, compa- “consumable CRM.” nies hire highly educated, knowledgeable people for a very Lye: Consumable applications have to support a self- simple reason: the knowledge of those individuals carries registration and self-setup philosophy. There should be little or more value than the repetitive element that any process no data entry. Based on the user’s profile, the application should could deliver. There just haven’t been tools and technolo- recognize the user’s access to insight, internal systems, and exter-

gies available to extend, enhance, and improve upon the nal systems. The application should operate around a very spe- bobadler

2 2 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 cific value proposition and should operate in the same manner Release 12 Financials at a Glance as any other consumable application. All of the information An excerpt from Terrance Wampler’s executive blog should appear personalized and should be delivered in context. Value should be instantaneous, not something that comes over Terrance Wampler, Oracle vice president of financial products time. The application should also be virally adopted. Through strategy, is responsible for driving product direction and recommend- the productivity and usage of the application, the application ing business strategies for Oracle’s financial products set. He blogs should spread. It should utilize community and social relation- frequently about issues and challenges related to corporate financial ships and have a minimal IT footprint. These are the base prin- management at blogs.oracle.com/terrancewampler. ciples for a consumable application, which are quite different For many of us in development, the general availability of from the enterprise software principles that we grew up with. Oracle E-Business Suite Financials Release 12 marks a signifi- Profit: How will Siebel CRM On Demand evolve over the cant accomplishment in our Oracle careers. Personally, with next year to address these principles? this release, I feel much like I expect to Lye: We’re planning to introduce about two releases a year, and feel soon when my oldest attends her I expect the release toward the end of 2007 to incorporate a first day of kindergarten: happy with the significant number of these elements in the design and usage of progress she has made yet excited about the application. Also, we will offer personal productivity tools her future. Professionally, I am pleased that for the first time will focus on the value proposition of a that much of the functionality for Release salesperson, a service person, a marketing person—and how 12 Financials was driven by customer to make those people more productive. Our goal is to provide requirements that originated from our applications that focus on making the salesperson more produc- customer advisory board and focus tive in his or her territory. That value will be compounded as Terrance Wampler groups. For these customers, it’s been a more people use the tool and then allow the person to push the long wait, but hopefully, well worth it. results of that information back into the CRM system, so that ■ Release 12 objective. The mandate from customers was clear: not only do the end users become more productive, but they simplify the ability to manage across business functions, orga- also improve the overall level of visibility that an organization nizations, and locations. gets from the combination of these two tools. ■ Key requirements. Improve support for shared service opera- Profit: Why is Oracle developing consumable applications? tions; ease access to aggregated data for management reporting; Lye: Oracle is recognizing that companies are adopting a trans- ensure accurate accounting, tax, and currency treatment of formational or adaptive business strategy and that they want transactions. applications that meet those particular requirements. Given its In response, we separated operational activities from financial own standing of business value, its application assets, and its management tasks; defined new, logical business structures to ability to leverage middleware, the database, and the service easily group information, and rationalized trading partner data organization, Oracle is in a great position to offer customers a into a single location. The results are consumable CRM product—one that’s very easy to use, easy to ■ A single responsibility to access and transact on multiple set up, and easy to derive value. <> organizations

Applications Unlimited @ Oracle OpenWorld With Oracle OpenWorld just around about the steps you need to take the corner, Profit readers are to adopt Oracle’s next-generation already making plans for travel to enterprise applications platform. San Francisco. To get a glimpse Oracle Database 11g. Find out of this year’s hot topics, visit Profit how the latest version of Oracle’s Online for the Oracle OpenWorld flagship product will deliver better Special Report. The agenda for the business performance, manage- November 11–15 show will include ment, and results. Applications Unlimited. Get Industry insight. Oracle experts regular updates about develop- know how your business operates. Visit oracle.com/profit/features/ ments to all of Oracle’s application Learn how Oracle’s industry invest- oow_specialreport.html product lines. ments will improve the results on for an ongoing preview of Getting to Fusion. Practical advice your shop floor. Oracle OpenWorld. the photo group

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 2 3 APPLICATIONS UNLIMITED

■ A single ledger to manage multiple currencies Applications Marketing at Oracle. “If you pull those tools in ■ Ledger sets to manage accounting processes across ledgers under the auspices of a secure enterprise and track them within ■ Centralized rules engines for tax, accounting, and inter- the system, you can manage it much more effectively and allevi- company transactions ate some of those concerns.” ■ A separate and simple payment creation and delivery solution By bringing Web 2.0 tools into their HCM systems, com- ■ Centralized trading partner management (suppliers, banks, panies can also keep employees focused on the workplace. legal entities) “Integrated and collaborative instant messaging encourages ■ Netting across trading partners employees to remain focused on workplace responsibilities,” ■ A boatload of other really cool features says Alarcon. “Communicating with colleagues via an internal With more than 2,000 new features in Release 12, there is system increases the employee’s ability to consistently channel a lot of information to consume. To ease the learning curve, I attention to work-related topics, increasing both engagement recommend you start with Oracle’s Centralized Solution Set. and productivity.” <> Additionally, we will be delivering a series of advisor Webcasts on OracleMetaLink, starting with “What’s New in Oracle E-Business Suite Financials R12.” As you progress on your Podcast: The Latest Updates to journey to understanding Release 12, what enhancements do Oracle’s Applications Strategy you see simplifying the way you manage your business? John Wookey, senior vice president for Oracle Introducing Employee 2.0 Applications, speaks with Oracle Senior Vice Web 2.0 adds value to business. President Cliff Godwin about the latest developments in Oracle’s applications strategy. Topics For today’s employees, using Web 2.0 tools is a part of their include: Oracle’s recent unveiling of new releases for daily routine. Workers are tapping into instant messaging, all of its applications lines, featuring components of chat rooms, blogs, and even virtual worlds. Until now, these Oracle Fusion technology; how Oracle Application services have led employees to sites or applications outside Integration Architecture—an open, standards-based their work environment. However, Oracle is poised to help platform for business process management across enterprises add value to their business by bringing Web 2.0 Oracle, third-party, and custom applications—will within their secure enterprise. In addition, the product strat- help customers transition to Oracle Fusion; and egy team behind Oracle Human Capital the path to Oracle Fusion, and how customers can Management is planning to augment prepare for it by upgrading to the newest releases of Oracle’s human capital management their applications. (HCM) solutions with Web 2.0 concepts. Find this podcast and more at oracle.com/ Employee 2.0 allows employees to applications/podcast-fusion.html. interact with each other using tools such as instant messaging, chat, blogs, wikis, >> For more information social bookmarking, newsfeeds, and Gretchen Alarcon virtual worlds. It’s a logical next step Oracle E-Business Suite 12 for Oracle, which is a leader in Web oracle.com/applications/e-business-suite-release.html 2.0 capabilities from an enterprise perspective and a leader in Oracle Application Integration Architecture HCM. Employee 2.0 brings these two areas together by leverag- oracle.com/applications/oracle-application-integration- ing multiple Oracle solutions from Oracle WebCenter, Oracle architecture.html Collaboration Suite, and Oracle Applications lines. “We’re taking pieces of the current functionality within Siebel CRM On Demand PeopleSoft or Oracle and bringing in technology from oracle.com/ondemand/siebel-crm-on-demand.html WebCenter,” says Gretchen Alarcon, vice president of HCM Oracle Financials Centralized Solution Set Product Strategy at Oracle. “This is something that you can do oracle.com/applications/financials/financials- today with any Oracle product line by using Oracle WebCenter centralized-solution-set.html Suite. You would embed some of these processes into the Advisor Webcasts on OracleMetaLink enterprise applications, such as Oracle E-Business Suite or metalink.oracle.com PeopleSoft Enterprise.” Oracle WebCenter The major benefits of doing so include easing potential oracle.com/products/middleware/webcenter.html security issues that arise with such tools. “Companies might be Oracle Human Capital Management intrigued by some of the notions of Web 2.0, yet they’re con- oracle.com/applications/human-capital- cerned that people might be leaking information or saying inap- management.html propriate things,” says Michelle Newell, senior director of HCM

2 4 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 REDEFINING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Australian Finance Group’s Malcolm Watkins approaches IT (and life) with a long-term perspective.

2 6 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 By David A. Kelly Photography by Robert Edwards

he first time Malcolm Watkins saw New York City, it was so big he turned around. “When we were backpacking around the world, my friend and I wanted to go to Manhattan. But after we saw how big it was, we turned back and took another day to do some planning before heading in,” says Watkins. “I grew up in a small town in Australia, so New York City was absolutely huge to me. It was important to think ahead.” Since then, thinking ahead has taken Watkins (and Australian Finance Group, the company he helped to found) far. Australian Finance Group (AFG) is now Australia’s No. 1 wholesaler of mortgage finance and is No. 2 in the market worldwide. From humble beginnings in 1994, the company has grown to manage more than AU$35 billion of mortgage finance while processing more than AU$2 billion in mortgages per month.

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 2 7 “I think we’re three

AFG currently employs 204 people years ahead of anyone tistry courses failed to live up to his but has a much broader reach, with else because we made expectations, and he and McKeon set 2,500 contracted mortgage brokers off to discover the world. Trading in who use AFG’s services to help clients what many people said books for backpacks, the two traveled select and purchase all types of finan- was a crisis decision through Europe and the U.S. for a year cial services, from commercial loans to and a half before returning to Australia. insurance products. Essentially, AFG is five years ago.” Surprisingly, AFG’s other two a hub connecting more than 50 major —Malcolm Watkins, Executive Director, AFG founders did the same thing—in their financial and insurance providers to case, taking off for a year of travel after the thousands of brokers (and hundreds of thousands of their graduating and working in regular jobs for a year. customers) linked into AFG’s network. It started small enough, with the four selling insurance and There’s no doubt that AFG is a bigger success than Watkins financial planning products. “We didn’t dream about being the and his cofounders ever imagined. Part of the reason for this largest mortgage broker. We just saw an opportunity for a new has been their ability to plan for the long term and think strate- type of business and we believed in that opportunity,” says gically—abilities that can be difficult for small, rapidly growing Watkins. “We didn’t aspire to have hundreds of employees; it companies. For example, a decision five years ago to invest was more that we wanted to work for ourselves and build a three times their annual profit in Oracle’s Siebel Customer viable business. We’ve just worked very, very hard and have Relationship Management (CRM) as a single enterprise system ended up as Australia’s largest mortgage brokerage group.” has paid off for AFG. Watkins and his friends pursued that goal with passion. The “We couldn’t have survived our second five years of growth four had different and complementary skill sets and an urge if we hadn’t made the decision to invest in a tier-one platform to work for themselves. However, along the way, Watkins and like Siebel,” says Watkins. AFG’s Siebel CRM implementa- his friends found that working for themselves was harder than tion is deployed across the organization and integrated on the any other job they had ever held. Like most entrepreneurs, back end into Oracle Financials and Oracle Database. “In fact, they ended up working 60- to 80-hour weeks across Australia, today we’re the envy of many of the major lending institutions trying to sell their dream. and banks in Australia because we have only one platform “We had no lifestyle and very little income for the first four end-to-end. We don’t have integration issues between multiple years. Whatever we had managed to set aside and save disinte- technology suppliers.” grated into the passion of building a business,” notes Watkins. From taking trips to New York City to building Australia’s largest private mortgage company—as well as one of the three CREATING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES largest wholesalers of mortgage finance in the world—Watkins Watkins continues to radiate his passion for growing the has an ability to think ahead and plan strategically that has business to meet new and changing demands. As an executive resulted in huge dividends. Watkins is planning even more director at AFG, he works closely with his team to ensure that strategic initiatives for AFG’s next five years of growth, espe- AFG’s marketing and IT strategies are fundamentally linked cially in the area of customer centricity. together as well as linked to AFG’s business goals. FINDING YOUR PASSION >>SNAPSHOT Like many entrepreneurial companies, Although strategic planning has been Australian Finance Group AFG grew organically. But it wasn’t long important to Watkins’ success, his career www.afgonline.com.au before unplanned growth was taking a toll at AFG hasn’t followed a traditional path. Year founded: 1994 on the business—some records were kept AFG was founded by two sets of high Employees: 204 manually, customer and business data were school friends who simply didn’t want to Headquarters: West Perth, Australia scattered across five different Microsoft work for someone else—four men who Total assets: AU$35 billion Excel spreadsheet–based databases, and became passionate about an opportunity Oracle products and services: the company had no centralized view of Siebel Customer Relationship Man- to build a business with their own efforts. agement, Siebel Finance 7.5, Siebel the customer. After graduating from high school, Incentive Compensation; Oracle Busi- “Our biggest challenge was to jump AFG Managing Director Brett McKeon ness Intelligence, Oracle E-Business from a mishmash of incompatible systems and Watkins went to college. After a Suite Financials; Oracle Database to something that would enable our busi- few years of university, Watkins’ den- ness to grow efficiently,” says Watkins.

2 8 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 trendwatch

However, instead of trying to make what they had work, or invest in a slightly better solution, AFG decided to jump ahead and make a commitment to an enterprise-class implementation of Siebel CRM. “We wouldn’t be here now if we hadn’t made a decision five years ago to move to Siebel,” says Watkins. “I think we’re three years ahead of anyone else because we made what many people said was a crisis decision, to invest what was three times our annual profit in a technology solution. They even said it was madness. But now, no one in the marketplace is positioned with a platform like we have.” The results of their investment have paid off handsomely. “We were 1.5 percent of the mortgage market; now we’re closing in on nearly 10 percent of the whole Australian mortgage market,” says Watkins. “It’s an enormous gain that would have been impossible without a technology platform that allowed us to grow without having to scale our resources exponentially.” For AFG, success comes from efficiently and effectively connecting brokers and customers to products from financial services institutions, and creating new opportunities for all parties to benefit. “Our whole strategy is focused on customer retention. We need to be able to effectively manage the margins between our brokers and the financial institutions, as well as create a true value proposition so we can actually maintain the relationships,” notes Watkins. For its brokers, AFG offers efficiencies in scaling up their business, through payment, security, training, accreditation, compliance, and other factors. For lenders, AFG is a highly efficient channel for connecting customers to their products. “It’s critical that we deliver profitable customers to our lenders, so they don’t have a reason to bypass us and try to go directly to the consumers,” says Watkins. “Our IT infrastructure is the critical link between those lenders and our brokers and their customers. Technology is fundamental to our future success and our existence.” One of the benefits to AFG in using technologies like Siebel CRM aggressively has been its ability to understand its customer base better that its competitors can. “Now, we’re in a situation Life Choices where no one can do what we can do,” says Watkins. “No one Hardest thing to do: Calling in sick when you’re the boss can roll out, integrate, and understand their customer base and Quick vacation escape: Whitsunday Islands, the Great have that essential customer viewpoint in the same way that we Barrier Reef Where he’d spend one month: Africa or South do. That’s an enormous power and a unique advantage in that.” America, photographing scenery and wild game Food: Indian, However, to continue its success, AFG knows that it needs Thai, anything spicy Beer: “I like trying different internation- to continually invest in its business—on both the people side als, the local brews from all countries.” Wine: Red—Rockford and the technology side. “I think our other unique advantage Basket Press Shiraz; white—a range of New Zealand and is that we’ve always reinvested back in our business massively,” Margaret River selections Hobby: Boating Music on the iPod: says Watkins. “For example, we have the largest support staff in Grace Jones, David Bowie, Ministry of Sound, Vocal House the industry. We have more people on the ground servicing our Car he’d like: Ford Shelby GT 500 Car he owns: Aston brokers, as well as servicing the lending community.” Martin DB9 Favorite movie: Pride and Prejudice

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 2 9 MOVING TO A CUSTOMER FOCUS For example, AFG had four IT managers who were respon- On the technology side, AFG is preparing to take its systems sible for a range of topics, from user interface development to and customer analytics to the next level by completely turning business analytics to infrastructure, all of whom reported to the its approach inside out. Over the next five years, AFG will move CIO, as in a traditional organization. its sales, marketing, and management systems from a sales and But when AFG restructured its IT group, the first thing it did product focus to a customer focus. was to make the CIO redundant by making those four managers For example, today AFG doesn’t really know about customers report directly to the business managers in the sales channel. until the brokers enter them into the system. “We made them responsible not for the delivery of the tech- “Over the next five years, we’ve got to use our technology nology but for the return on investment of the technology,” says to acquire customers and provide those customers back to the Watkins. “For example, our user interface person is account- brokers,” says Watkins. Instead of waiting for brokers to deliver able for whatever developments are done in the sales interface customers to them, AFG will work with its brokers to proactively to ensure that it delivers the salespeople’s biggest priorities. We identify new customers and match them to brokers and finan- actually measure it to ensure that it provides what we call a cial services providers. Leveraging new features of Siebel CRM return on development, so that the performance, accuracy— 8.0, such as its task-based user interface, is an important part whatever the object was—is satisfied.” of this plan. “A task-based user interface makes it easier for our The result? The development team is never just working on brokers to navigate through applications, since what they will be something technical that’s not explicitly related to the business. presented with onscreen is linked to the task they’re doing,” says Instead, they’ve got to put their skills to use by working closely Watkins. “It will enable us to roll out with the business channels to make sure new services, new ideas, and new prod- “We’ve deliberately any changes or new processes roll out ucts that are more intuitive and do not and deliver on the company’s critical require much training.” decided not to have a business needs. In addition, AFG sees additional The structure ties the IT managers benefits in an upgrade to Oracle’s Siebel CIO. Instead, what we did extremely closely to their counterparts CRM 8.0, including a large iHelp system was break down IT into on the business side. The IT managers (which will take some pressure off its receive the same reward and incentive- help desk and reduce training and a different structure.” based pay that the salespeople do. If the support time), improved Web services, —Malcolm Watkins, Executive Director, AFG sales channel delivers increased profits, and Web services support that will play then the people in IT share in that an important role in AFG’s future inter- profit. Says Watkins, “The IT managers net retail strategies. are very closely linked into our sales and business performance, “Our goal over the next five years is to completely integrate since they’re basically on par with our senior salespeople.” the marketing and technology departments into one department “We’re running a very different model than we started out and use the technology for customer acquisition to complement with, and it seems to be working exceptionally well,” says our personal service,” says Watkins. “We’ll be moving from a Watkins. “We’re getting past the bureaucracy and building prod- sales focus to a customer focus.” ucts that really address our true business needs. Our unique IT structure makes it possible for our business managers and sales- THE SECRET TO THEIR SUCCESS people to grow the business as fast as they can.” AFG is basically betting its business on its hyperefficient combi- AGF’s rapid growth and premier position within the nation of IT, marketing, and customer management. Surprisingly, Australian financial services industry highlight the benefits of a it’s making that bet without a CIO in place. “We no longer have a cutting-edge business model and the willingness to take risks CIO,” says Watkins. And they’re not thinking of replacing him. early in the company’s life to ensure that the systems were in “We’ve deliberately decided not to have a CIO,” he explains. place when they were essential for competitive differentiation. “I “Instead, what we did was break down IT into a different struc- think it’s one of the secrets to our success,” says Watkins. <> ture because we didn’t want it all funneling up to one person. That just builds bottlenecks. It was hampering our understand- DAVID A. KELLY is a business, technology, and travel writer who has written for ing of the risks in our business and isolating our IT department numerous publications including the New York Times and Oracle Magazine. from the rest of the business.” For Watkins, IT is absolutely fundamental to AFG’s survival. >> For more information It’s also fundamental to its growth and to maintaining and expanding its marketing position in the future. But rather than Oracle solutions for financial services highlighting the importance of IT, these points seem to under- oracle.com/industries/financial_services score Watkins’ belief that as a result, IT (and IT management Siebel Customer Relationship Management roles) needs to be integrated into the business, rather than iso- oracle.com/applications/crm/siebel lated from the business.

3 0 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Jeff Henley is Chairman of Oracle. He has held that position since January of 2004. A Solid

Foundation An Interview with Oracle Chairman Jeff Henley

By Margaret Terry Lindquist business in a lot of different countries. We brought in a new head of sales. We got our business practices to where they Jeff Henley has been chairman of Oracle needed to be, cleaned up our balance sheet, got our financing Corporation since June 2004, but his history organized—all the classic stuff. with the company goes back much farther. For But the thing that saved the company was the Oracle7 data- 13 years, starting in 1991, he was Oracle’s chief base, which we launched in June 1992. We had cleaned up the financial officer and an executive vice president. company, and a lot of the basics were in place. But without a He has been a member of Oracle’s board of directors since June great product, you’re not going to get anywhere. Oracle came 1995 and a member of the executive committee since July 1995. up with some really great new features that put us back in the His perspective on Oracle’s history of innovation and where the driver’s seat. After that, our database business caught fire and company is heading is an invaluable look at the structure of Oracle. the company was making money again. We continued to grow PROFIT: You joined Oracle in March 1991, at a time when it nicely in the 1990s—30 percent, 40 percent, 50 percent a was going through a difficult period in terms of financial man- year—and that was something that we could sustain. agement. What had to happen to turn the company around? PROFIT: The next big change for the company was the HENLEY: The first year or two after I joined was really a case globalization effort, which started in the late 1990s. How did of a classic turnaround. I worked with Larry Ellison, and we that play into the growth of Oracle? made a lot of management changes around the world. We HENLEY: The globalization effort was a huge transforma- adler

bob brought in more experienced, senior-level managers to run the tion that got us very well situated for the next big steps we

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wanted to take. It took about five years to go to a global single tionships with customers during the industry upheavals? instance, global processes, and shared service centers. It was a HENLEY: When the internet bubble burst in 2000 and dramatic cultural change for a lot of our country subsidiaries. the economy slowed and the stock market imploded, from But it improved our profits enormously. It gave us much better a customer standpoint we did very well, because we had information because we could put all of our information in one already been cutting costs because of our globalization place. It also gave us better governance and better quality con- work. So we weren’t caught having to make huge layoffs trols and made it much easier when we became acquisitive to or anything like that. Nobody was nervous about Oracle’s start bringing these new companies into Oracle. viability because our profits were still very strong relative PROFIT: Web services and service-oriented architecture were to the rest of the industry. A lot of companies—smaller the next big transformations to hit the industry. How did players—saw losses, or big drops in profits. Oracle keep up with these trends? From a customer standpoint, I don’t think there was any HENLEY: Service-oriented architecture is the next big transfor- concern about our viability because we remained very strong mation, after the internet—it’s the hot technology now. A lot of financially. The important thing we pointed out to customers the acquisitions that we’ve made in the past three years really is that in every quarter, we kept adding R&D people. We said, strengthened our position in the middleware area, particularly “Look, we’ve obviously had to readjust like everybody, and our around service-oriented architecture. Our customers are seeing profits aren’t quite as good as they have been. Our revenue those capabilities as allowing them to get additional leverage actually dropped for a little bit, but we think this is temporary. with some of their legacy systems—helping them past some of We think the business will come back, so we’re going to keep the integration challenges that they’re facing. It’s an evolution- investing.” It was a great opportunity for us to show ourselves ary step ahead, I believe, in terms of developing software that as a truly safe choice. And obviously, in hindsight we were right, adds additional benefit to the customer. and when the business came back and revenue and profits PROFIT: How has Oracle been able to retain its strong rela- started growing, those investments really paid off for us. Jeff Henley: A Lifetime of Achievement Oracle chairman receives 2007 Bay Area CFO Lifetime Achievement Award.

The internet boom. The dot.com bust. his peers at the Bay Achievement Award to Software consolidation. Not many Area CFO of the Year Henley, citing his ascen- software companies have been strong Awards event in San sion to the chairmanship enough to withstand the volatile market Francisco, when he of Oracle as evidence of forces buffeting technology investment received the 2007 Life- his exceptional qualities: cycles these past 20 years. But then time Achievement Award “While talented CFOs fre- again, not many companies have had and was inducted into quently become CEOs, it the benefit of an experienced chief finan- the CFO Hall of Fame. is truly exceptional when cial officer and turnaround veteran like The Lifetime Achieve- a CFO becomes chair- Jeff Henley guiding their finances over ment Award honors man of a [US]$16 billion this turbulent period. chief financial officers revenue company,” noted Now chairman of Oracle, Henley who have played a criti- Edmunds. He also cited was brought on board by Larry Ellison cal role in the success Henley’s strong com- Jeff Henley at the Bay Area in 1991 to save the company from of their companies and CFO of the Year Awards event mitment to corporate financial crisis, and he remained as whose contribution has disclosure and customer CFO and executive vice president until significantly and uniquely affected the satisfaction and his charitable work with 2004 to oversee Oracle’s evolution into greater Bay Area business community organizations such as the Boys and Girls the largest enterprise software vendor over the course of their careers. Clubs of America and the University group worldwide. On June 6, 2007, Henley’s Deloitte & Touche Vice Chairman of California campuses at Los Angeles photo

accomplishments were recognized by Mark Edmunds presented the Lifetime (UCLA) and Santa Barbara (UCSB) as the

3 2 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 trendwatch

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“The important thing we pointed out to customers is that in every quarter, we kept adding R&D people.” —Jeff Henley, Chairman, Oracle

PROFIT: What do you think it is about Oracle that drives the they would make financial sense for Oracle, that was another company to increasing levels of innovation? way to foster more innovation. No software or technology HENLEY: One of the big benefits of Oracle is that the database company has the lock on all the good ideas. We have a lot of is such a strong product, and so financially powerful, that it good people, but so did PeopleSoft, so did Siebel, and so do gives us the strength to invest in other things over time and not all these different companies we’ve been buying. The trick is be afraid to take the risk of getting into new areas. We’ve con- not driving off those people, but figuring out how to make tinued to innovate in all of our product lines. We’ve acquired them feel at home and how to actually listen and get good very innovative companies, and at the same time the people ideas from them. within our development teams have continued to be very inno- PROFIT: Going forward, what do you think is the biggest chal- vative. In our database, our middleware stack—we can show a lenge that the company faces? long history of innovation, and as we’ve grown stronger finan- HENLEY: We have a great strategy, so if we execute right, I cially we’ve been able to power more innovation. think we’re going to do really well. We have a good record Another part of it is that Larry Ellison is an entrepreneur and of success, but I don’t think anybody feels like we’re done a risk taker. Oracle, in my opinion, isn’t as ossified and bureau- yet. People aren’t resting on their laurels. As much as we cratic as some large companies can become. I attribute a lot of respect our competition, we really think we have the right that to Larry, because he fights bureaucracy. strategy and can differentiate ourselves. We just have to Also, once Larry found a way to do acquisitions so that work hard and execute. <>

reasons for the award. tive back in the early days of his career Oracle’s back-office operations is now In 2005, Henley’s performance as in Silicon Valley. “I have been fortunate paying off in the form of a stronger com- CFO was profiled by the CFO Execu- enough to have had Jeff Henley as a pany much better positioned to provide tive Board, a Washington DC organiza- mentor since meeting him at Memorex new technologies and services to our tion representing 600 CFOs from the Corporation in 1976. Later, we shared global customer base.” Fortune 500 and Global 2000. “During the ups and downs of the internet boom Henley credits his success in large his CFO career at Oracle, Jeff Henley and bust while I was at Sun and he was part to the people who supported him embodied what we consider to be at Oracle. Throughout all those years, during his tenure as CFO. “When you a high-performing CFO: one who is Jeff has been a role model not only are the CFO of an organization as large focused on affecting operational per- because of his exceptional performance as Oracle, you can’t do it all by your- formance, who delivers positive total as Oracle’s CFO but also because he self,” Henley observes. “You need to shareholder return, and who motivates is an outstanding individual and a good empower people, give them the infor- behavior changes across the entire friend,” says Reyes. mation and authority to drive change, organization,” explains Scott Bohannon, Although his career has been marked and then turn them loose. Many of the executive director, CFO Executive Board. by success, Henley considers his efforts executives helping manage Oracle today During Henley’s 13-year tenure as to globalize Oracle’s operations as his were on my finance team, and they’ve Oracle’s CFO, his work to centralize and most important accomplishment: “It took done an incredible job growing the busi- standardize Oracle’s back-office opera- us about five years to consolidate on a ness since I assumed the chairmanship. tions helped the company consistently single global instance, standardize our Knowing that they are there maintaining maintain some of the highest operating business processes, and centralize them the financial and operational discipline margins in the software industry. in two global shared service centers, and we established back then gives me George Reyes, now CFO at Google, the process wasn’t easy,” he recalls. “It’s great confidence that Oracle will be a remembers the influence that Henley a great source of satisfaction knowing force in the software industry for many had on him as a young finance execu- that the work we did to restructure years to come.” —Anne Ozzimo

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A Customer Connection An Interview with Oracle CMO Judith Sim

With more than 20 years at Oracle to her credit, Chief as a visionary—what does that bring to Oracle to have Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President Judith Sim has that kind of leader? had a tremendous effect on the way the company is per- Sim: Larry has the vision and talent to know where to ceived by customers, partners, analysts—every part of the drive our business. He also knows how to run the busi- Oracle ecosystem. Her thoughts about the company’s culture, ness with the management team that we have in place. brand, and customer-centric focus provide new insight into He has picked some very strong leaders who can trans- the history—and future—of the largest enterprise software late that vision and know how to drive it for our busi- company in the world. Profit spoke with Sim on the occasion ness on a day-to-day basis. It is the combination of that of Oracle’s 30th anniversary. vision and that leadership skill that I think really makes PROFIT: Customer focus is at the him the best leader in the industry. core of Oracle’s message right now— PROFIT: Can you talk about the can you tell us more about that? culture here at Oracle when you first Sim: Customers have always been started and the type of people that you a priority for us. We have many worked with and how that inspired customer focus efforts across all innovation? divisions at Oracle, which bring Sim: I think the culture at Oracle the voice of the customer into vir- today isn’t all that different from when tually everything we do. We have I started. When I first started at Oracle customer outreach and survey we always hired people who never programs that collect feedback knew what it was like to fail. We on every aspect of our customer wanted to put them in an environment relationships, products, and ser- that was very aggressive. Oracle is still vices. We have a highly structured very entrepreneurial. We’re like a small approach to collaborating with our company where you can try different

420 user groups, customer advisory Oracle Chief Marketing Officer and things, but you have the backing of boards, and key customers around Senior Vice President Judith Sim a multi-billion-dollar company. It is the world. These programs are all the best playground for us to be able about working with our customers to ensure the best to accomplish our jobs, and the management team lets possible experience with Oracle. We’re successful when us do that. They let us make mistakes. They let us try our customers are successful. And that means putting something different. Because of that, it’s an environment a face to Oracle, making sure they get the information where I want to come to work every morning. I love my they are looking for, and helping them to help us set job, and I love what we are able to create. product direction. PROFIT: What are some of the changes that you have It’s incredibly rewarding to contribute to customer noticed in the culture of the company itself? success, at a personal level. When you spend time with Sim: It still feels like a small company to me. We are customers face-to-face, they know right away that they not afraid to try something a little different, and we have made a connection and you can really feel it. Then provide the leeway so that employees can do that. I you have a relationship with a customer. Even if cus- think in many respects that part of the culture has not tomers don’t quite have the answer yet and we are still changed. I think what has changed is that we have working on it, they already feel like we are working with become a little more mature. We have more experience. them. That’s what makes the difference, and I notice that We know what works. There is respect for people who it happens every single day. That’s one of the best things can take that experience and use it when creating new about working directly with the customers. programs. We have a lot of respect for people who have PROFIT: Larry Ellison is considered a celebrity as well a long tenure at Oracle. I think that’s a differentiator

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in our business. In a lot of the area—it could be by industry, by companies around us, there is “We don’t follow any product, by line of business—can plenty of change. Most people books in terms of how benefit from the local commu- probably aren’t aware that at nities that we create that allow Oracle there are a lot of people we do marketing. . . . everyone to interact. who have been here for more We’re writing the book on This happens over the course than 10 years. of nine days, and it happens PROFIT: Can you tell us how how to market enterprise alongside opportunities for the the innovative culture that has software now.” larger crowd of attendees to be always been part of Oracle has able to get together for keynotes infused into marketing and —Judith Sim, Chief Marketing Officer and the exhibit show floor. Being affected the marketing strategy? and Senior Vice President, Oracle able to create unique networking Sim: I think the best value I environments for your attendees can use to describe Oracle is one of innovation. I have and then allowing them to feel as though they’re still part noticed that since the first day I started working at this of a broader, bigger Oracle community where you can get company. You could decide what your job was going to the right resources at the right time is what makes Oracle be at Oracle. When you were hired, you weren’t limited OpenWorld unique. to doing just what was on your job description. You were PROFIT: How did Oracle Red come to be? encouraged to try to take on as much as you could and Sim: Oracle’s brand was not always consistent and iden- be innovative. Oracle would tell you that these are the tified with the color red. I remember that we even won objectives and goals that we have for the business, and an award for the worst Web site ever, mostly because the it’s your job to innovate to accomplish those things. The Oracle logo appeared in many different colors. It was company takes an innovative approach to how employees in green, it was in blue, it was in red, it was in purple. can work at the company. It was not always in the same Oracle font, and it also There is an innovative approach to how we go to appeared with different shapes behind it—triangles, market as well. We don’t follow any books in terms of circles, and other things. We got serious about having a how we do marketing, how we work with customers. We consistent brand around the same time that we started to can create it as we go. In fact, we’re writing the book on drive a global line of business for marketing. We wanted how to market enterprise software now. We’re innovative to standardize on a consistent color, font, and overall with the message as well. Our messages are unique to branding guidelines. As a result, our brand is one of the exactly what Oracle can provide. We make sure that any strongest because it has been simple and consistent. I message we put out there is something that our competi- think that has been one of the secrets behind the great tion cannot say as well. Innovation is what drives the brand we have. company. It is absolutely why I come to work every day. PROFIT: What surprises you most about working PROFIT: Tell us about the first Oracle event. at Oracle? Sim: I think the first event at Oracle was a user group Sim: Oracle has surprised me by how much I have event—the very first annual user group meeting. As I enjoyed working at the company. It is the same today as recall, it was held in one of our founders’ backyards—a it was the very first year I started. We have the best and casual backyard barbecue. It started with customers the brightest talents working at Oracle, and this keeps driving the events that we were running, and that is still me challenged every day. But mostly, the folks who work a message that we have today. here have tremendous passion. It’s tangible and incred- Today, instead of having one event a year, we now run ibly addictive. I love it. <> more than 6,000 events for our customers, with our customers, and with our partners. >> For more information PROFIT: What makes events such as Oracle Find out more about Oracle’s past and its future OpenWorld so unique? plans. Read part one of the Oracle 30th anniver- Sim: Oracle OpenWorld is unique because of its scale. sary coverage at oracle.com/profit/mag/ We not only host 42,000 people, but we really create profit_may_07.pdf. an environment where customers and partners in each

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 3 5 By David Baum

Abnash Singh, Group CIO for MphasiS, explains that the company was looking for an IDM solution that was flexible, comprehensive, and based on industry standards.

Identity Crisis A sound strategy for managing users and provisioning Information Technology resources is essential to corporate survival.

oday’s businesses are moving online—not just to connect resources—and protect access to sensitive data. with customers but to conduct a vast array of business Historically, user authentication and authorization was activities, from routing purchase orders to managing handled by directories associated with specific business applica- supply chains. While most of these Web-enabled business tions and computer platforms—often in the form of simple lists processes come with immediate payoffs in efficiency, with the of users and their access privileges. This worked fine for homo- benefits comes the challenge of controlling access to the various geneous computing systems ensconced behind a firewall. But business systems. How enterprises handle this roadblock can controlling access within today’s network environments, which have a serious impact on compliance and network security. support many types of information systems and users, dispersed “On one hand, you must be more open, more available, more workforces, and internet access via mobile devices, is more dif- internet-enabled,” points out Hasan Rizvi, vice president of iden- ficult—particularly in the face of strict compliance regulations. tity management and security products at Oracle. “On the other Rizvi explains that there are three primary business drivers for hand, opening your systems to online access makes you more adopting IDM solutions: securing corporate information, com- vulnerable to attack, from both internal and external users.” plying with regulatory policies, and improving efficiency for As security threats increase in volume and sophistication, both users and IT professionals as they contend with increas- many companies are adopting modern identity management ingly complex IT environments (IDM) technology to more systematically authorize users, Some companies are meeting these requirements by deploy- protect sensitive data, and control access to network resources. ing application-centric IDM systems that work hand-in-hand According to IDC Research Director Sally Hudson, IDM tech- with their business applications. These systems are usually nology works by associating specific rights and restrictions anchored by the human resources management system (HRMS), with each user’s established identity. User provisioning, access where provisioning functions naturally start within an organi- control, and directory services are critical components of most zation. Whereas older IDM systems were siloed and typically IDM portfolios, because they govern how employees, contrac- platform-centric because they revolved around homogeneous

NAMAS BHOJANI tors, vendors, partners, customers, and other stakeholders use IT computing environments, these newer IDM systems govern

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 3 7 access to many types of information systems, computer platforms, and user access scenarios. “Application-centric IDM technology addresses the pervasive issue of who-had-access-to-what-when-and- where,” says IDC’s Hudson. “It gives you secure single- sign-on capabilities, leads to more-efficient resource provisioning, and streamlines authentication procedures. You can’t have a secure IT enterprise without having a portfolio of these products.”

Driven by Security Ensuring the security of its client’s software assets is what led MphasiS to adopt a centralized IDM solution. The Bangalore, India–based company, which supplies business process outsourcing services to large companies, walks a tightrope between enabling its remote operations teams to freely access client information and complying with stringent security policies set by both clients and government regulators. MphasiS has 12,000 employees working in multiple industries, including financial services, transportation, and technology. With thousands of people managing dozens of customer engagements at any time, the Kenny Gilbert of Silicon Image was eager to find a solution that would eliminate global IT services provider needs to streamline access the sticky notes that employees were using to keep their multiple passwords to client applications without compromising security. close at hand—it was a huge compliance issue, he notes. MphasiS sought a centralized IDM solution that could provision user identities among a variety of appli- in a dynamic business environment,” explains Abnash Singh, cations in a consistent way. Since each of its clients has different group chief information officer at MphasiS. types of systems—along with differing policies and procedures The company uses Oracle Identity Manager to provision for authorizing users—the solution had to be flexible, com- and manage user accounts across Microsoft Active Directory, prehensive, and industry standards–based. “We must be able Microsoft Exchange, Verint quality management system, and to demonstrate that our procedures for provisioning users and Ramco HR software, as well as to interface with physical access accessing network resources are extremely robust, even as we management systems from Siemens and Zicom. According to control the high cost of managing user accounts and credentials Singh, the Oracle software has enabled MphasiS to implement consistent security practices for its contact center and simplify An Identity Management Glossary reporting processes associated with regulatory compliance. Best of all, the new IDM system sets the company apart as a purveyor Access control technology governs how users access of industry-leading security practices—an essential differentiator IT resources. in the competitive business process outsourcing market. Authentication technology is used to prove that users are who they say they are. Driven by Compliance Authorization technology governs which resources In a world characterized by strict financial controls and contin- users are allowed to see. ual oversight by government regulators, public companies need Directories are repositories of information about users to keep close tabs on who can access their financial systems. and their attributes. In this context, IDM systems are often deployed as preventive Federated access is the process of enabling external solutions. For example, they help address section 404 of the users to access Web applications on partner networks. Sarbanes-Oxley regulations, ensuring that internal controls Identity management (IDM) involves managing each are in place around who can access which financial reporting user’s credentials, rights, and privileges with respect to applications. IDM systems also generate detailed audit logs to enterprise information resources. track who is accessing which applications. Provisioning encompasses the creation, maintenance, For Silicon Image, achieving this level of control was one of and deactivation of users and their attributes. the motivating factors for adopting centralized IDM software. Single-sign-on procedures supply a common way to log The Silicon Valley company, which creates semiconductor solu- in to multiple business applications. tions for high-definition multimedia and data storage applica-

tions, wanted to establish consistent, auditable authorization peter Stember

3 8 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 “To satisfy Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, we need consistent, orderly, and timely provisioning processes when we hire and terminate personnel.” —Kenny Gilbert, Director of Technology Services, Silicon Image procedures for all of its users, from data entry clerks to the CEO. and timely provisioning processes when we hire and terminate “We had a lack of consistency in our password policy across key personnel,” Gilbert says. “In the past, an HR person would notify Sarbanes-Oxley-compliant applications,” says Kenny Gilbert, the IT department about changes in user status via multiple help director of technology services at Silicon Image. desk tickets, and too many people had to get involved.” As an engineering company, Silicon Image’s innovative solu- This also yielded conflicting information about an individual’s tions are driving industry standards for digital content delivery identity, which could vary depending on whether an employee in the consumer electronics and personal computer markets. The record was pulled up from the intranet portal, Microsoft company has remained nimble in the face of rapid change. Its IT Exchange, or the HR database. “When an identity is scat- infrastructure has evolved quickly, leading to multiple usernames, tered among multiple systems, it’s almost impossible to keep it passwords, and access policies for different business applications. updated,” Gilbert explains. “We ended up with people writing passwords on sticky notes, Oracle’s Rizvi says that large organizations frequently encoun- which was a huge compliance issue,” Gilbert notes. ter this issue. One solution is to maintain IDM information in the Silicon Image selected Oracle Identity Manager because it HRMS. From there, it becomes an integral component of a wider could handle all of their user access and authorization needs, as application framework—ultimately taking the form of a business well as their Sarbanes-Oxley compliance requirements. According service that is available to many applications. “When identity to Gilbert, it began with a desire to automate hiring and termi- management is delivered as a service, the user profiles that are nation activities. Previously, the company had several different created when employees are first entered into the HR system are procedures for granting network and facilities access: one for the same profiles used to create, approve, and enable company- employees, another for temps, and a third for contractors. “To wide system credentials,” he explains. “Their access privileges are satisfy Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, we need consistent, orderly, all created as part of a single business process.”

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p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 3 9 “Most people readily see the advantages that an application-centric

IDM solution can provide.” —Sally Hudson, Research Director, IDC

Silicon Image is demonstrating the provide. For example, having a single wisdom in this approach. Its HRMS is now point of administration and a single point the primary data feed for all user identity >>SNAPSHOTS of approval creates genuine efficiencies for information, governing access to build- MphasiS users—and makes it easier to comply with ings and networks. The HR application www.mphasis.com demands from auditors.” Location: Bangalore, India maintains consistency among UNIX LDAP Employees: 12,000 directories, Microsoft Active Directories, Annual revenue: US$212 million Driven by ROI and other applications from Oracle and Oracle products and services: While many companies are deploy- third-party providers. Consequently, when- Oracle Identity Management, ing IDM in reaction to concerns about ever the HR department changes the job Oracle E-Business Suite 11i security, compliance, or efficiency, Rizvi role or employment status of a user, cor- Silicon Image emphasizes that the software pays off in responding changes to accounts and access www.siliconimage.com several ways. Employees are more pro- privileges occur automatically, based on Location: Sunnyvale, California ductive, since they generally gain a more the company’s business policies. Employees: 400 cohesive way to access the information Gilbert says that these HR-based Annual revenue: US$295 million assets of the enterprise and no longer have Oracle products and services: authorization procedures speed up user Oracle Identity Management, to manage multiple usernames and pass- account access and drive down costs. If an Oracle Database 10g, Oracle words. That leaves help desks with fewer administrator updates a certain attribute E-Business Suite, Oracle Portal, tickets associated with insufficient access of an identity in one system, it will flow Oracle SOA Suite privileges and password resets. Auditing to the master identity record, and vice becomes easier and more sustainable, and versa. Employee records created in the HR the risk of a security breach—and the system link to Silicon Image’s systems for procurement, expense associated loss of company assets and credibility—is dramati- management, and related applications. “When workers are ter- cally reduced. Finally, once the IDM software is in place, it’s minated, we instantly deprovision all of their access privileges,” much easier for developers to deploy new systems that leverage he explains. “The auditors love that this stuff is so consistent.” a common and comprehensive security infrastructure. As part of the implementation, Silicon Image also established For MphasiS, the ROI stems from the company’s ability to a single-password policy and devised a workflow process that offer better customer service. According to Singh, the global automatically provisions users for self-service purchasing and solutions provider has been able to meet clients’ information expense reporting. If a user submits a purchase order, an auto- security service-level-agreement requirements while at the same mated workflow application directs the process: acquiring the time dramatically reducing the average lead time for responding appropriate signatures and authorizations from the business- to service requests from 5 days to 15 minutes across 10 different process owners and then routing the order through the necessary applications. While it’s difficult to tie an exact number to these steps to complete the transaction in a secure, auditable way. “We savings, having a smoothly running security operations and con- can show the auditors that all pertinent information is in one sulting practice is invaluable. place—all of the provisioning, all of the approvals, and all of the At Silicon Image, the payback comes in the form of a more- policies,” says Gilbert. “That’s a big advantage for us.” efficient IT operation. “We’ve calculated an 80 percent reduction in ticket volume to the IT help desk for provisioning or depro- Driven by Efficiency and Control visioning requests,” says Gilbert. “My highly paid analysts are not IDC’s Hudson says that most IT organizations are still in the burdened with the day-to-day chores of user account manage- early stages of establishing their IDM foundations. Once they ment. It’s now handled by a workflow process that’s constant, have tackled the key aspects of deploying the technology inter- accurate, and consistent.” <> nally, they commonly offer federated access to customers and partners. This allows external users to securely access internal DAVID BAUM is a freelance writer based in Santa Barbara, California. applications across organizational boundaries. “Today, the majority of IT enterprises are still dealing with the challenging requirement of deploying security to each device >> For more information within their organizations, as well as to the policy servers on Oracle Identity Management the back-end systems,” Hudson says. “Most people readily see oracle.com/products/middleware/identity-management the advantages that an application-centric IDM solution can

4 0 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 Rich Niemiec, CEO of TUSC, provides an expert view of the upcoming Oracle Database 11g—the newest release of Oracle’s industry-standard database.

oracle database 11g the future of your business

BY Jeff Erickson and manage huge data loads. We’ll need systems that help us meet that change with confidence. We’ll need systems that have n 1987, Rich Niemiec came to Oracle to help build the the intelligence to manage themselves to some degree. Oracle client-server system on the Oracle6 database. He went Database 11g is expected to do all these things. on to become a leading advocate and expert on Oracle Profit: You say future databases must manage huge amounts technology, writing several Oracle best sellers including of data. How huge? 2007’s Oracle Database 10g Performance Tips and Techniques Niemiec: I calculated that the top 1 million enterprise data- (Oracle Press). Niemiec is also the former president of the bases in the world today hold a total of 3 exabytes of data, International Oracle User’s Group (IOUG) and current which is 3 million terabytes. In one Oracle 11g database, you CEO of TUSC, an Oracle database and Oracle E-Business can expect to be able to store 8 exabytes. So on one Oracle Suite partner that has been on Inc. magazine’s list of the 500 database that would mean you could store the top 1 million fastest-growing privately owned companies. Anticipating company databases in the world, right now. That’s the planned the introduction of Oracle Database 11g, Profit spoke with capability of Oracle Database 11g. Of course, the hardware to Niemiec to get his insights into Oracle’s new flagship data- hold it isn’t there . . . yet. base and why it makes sense for businesses to choose it. Profit: Why would a CEO, CIO, or CFO care? Profit: You’ve spent time under the hood of Oracle Database Niemiec: The absolute power of the Oracle Database provides 11g. What are your impressions? them with a business advantage over their competitors. Being Niemiec: I’m excited about Oracle Database 11g because I able to store and update records quickly, with all the data that think it manages business systems that are yet to come. The you could ever store in your system, and every partner you amount of data continues to grow while the pace of change ever had storing their data in your system, and doing it quickly,

ANDREA MANDEL accelerates. We’ll need systems that give us a way to visualize is what gives Oracle a huge advantage over other systems.

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 4 1 We’ll need systems that have the intelligence to manage themselves to some degree.” —Rich Niemiec, CEO, TUSC

Profit: How does Oracle Database up, because a database is much more acquired Oblix—literally the best product manage all that data and continue to complex than an operating system. And out there for identity management. stay so fast? of the handful of people that are capable Profit: Any other thoughts on Oracle’s Niemiec: Oracle has a lot of capa- of writing a great optimizer, none of recent acquisition activities? bilities in that area, but I’ll illustrate them will do it for free, because it would Niemiec: I’ve never seen Oracle caught with one special component of Oracle take too many years.” from behind over the past 20 years, Database called the optimizer. The Profit: What’s your favorite new and right now I think they’re extending optimizer is one of the key pieces of feature in Oracle Database 11g? their lead. Take a company like SAP: 67 Oracle Database that makes it great. Niemiec: I would love to tell you about percent of SAP runs on Oracle Database. What the optimizer always asks, every my top 20 features, but let me just tell They’re not acquiring all the pieces that time you search for data, is, “How you about one. It’s a feature that would Oracle is acquiring. They’re not acquir- should I access that data to make it allow you to capture and replay system ing the security capabilities. They’re not fast?” With every search, it learns and workloads, and it might be the best acquiring all of the failover capabilities. fine-tunes the fastest way to retrieve thing planned for Oracle Database 11g. They’re not acquiring the disaster recov- that data. It’s the most complex part of People are constantly making changes ery technology. All these things make a Oracle Database, and it’s probably 10 in their data centers: implementing customer’s business stronger, and they’re to 15 years ahead of any other data- migrations and upgrades and changing all beginning to come from Oracle. Oracle base. The optimizer is what’s making hardware, operating systems, and appli- Database makes SAP a better product. all those great decisions for you that cations. They’ve needed a way to ensure Much of what makes SAP a viable busi- make your system fast. As the amount consistent or better behavior when they ness product is Oracle Database under- of data continues to grow, it’s going to make these changes. Oracle Database neath the hood. With the capabilities become more and more important. 11g’s workload capture and replay that we expect to be available in Oracle Profit: What about talk that you feature would do this. Database 11g underlying all these critical hear about competition from open Workload capture and replay is business and technology functions, it is source technologies? planned to be a simple menu-driven really overwhelming. Niemiec: Oracle has so many advan- way of capturing a system’s workload Profit: Any final thoughts on the tech- tages when you look at the complete over time and then replaying it precisely nology underlying the database? solution. It has features like Oracle in the same manner as it was captured. Niemiec: Oracle is really more than a Flashback Database for recovering from You would be able to capture workload database. It is much more of a platform. mistakes, Oracle Data Guard for disas- for a minute, an hour, or for several It’s clustering technology, failover tech- ter recovery, hot backups that are well days so when you make changes in your nology, disaster recovery technology; it ahead of the competition, online redefi- system, you could test your real day-to- has Grid Control to handle grid systems nition of objects like indexes, Oracle day application workloads against the and manage service-oriented architec- Real Application Clusters (Oracle RAC), new system. You would be able to make ture, right out of the box. It has features which has not been replicated and will changes with confidence. to automatically tune the system and not be easily copied at the intercon- Profit: How will the new release affect automatically send alerts. So it’s self- nect level, Oracle Grid Control features Oracle Applications users? healing and self-alerting. It’s online for that expand the benefits of Oracle RAC, Niemiec: Most of our work at TUSC better availability. It’s all those surround- mature parallel processing to improve is with Oracle Applications. I look at it ing products that provide even greater performance, and the optimizer func- this way: In the database world, Oracle benefits to Oracle users. And with tionality that, again, borders on artificial has always been first. Now on the appli- Oracle Database 11g, you can expect to intelligence in its levels of sophistica- cation side, I look at Oracle acquiring manage change like never before. <> tion—and we expect it to be even better PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Hyperion, in Oracle Database 11g. Retek, Siebel, and more. You’re watching Jeff Erickson is a senior editor with Oracle Publishing. I remember asking Bruce Scott, who Oracle succeeding at the deepest levels was the first employee ever hired by at making its applications and data- Oracle, if he thought that open source base infrastructures work together for >> For more information would ever catch up with something customers. I don’t think they’re going Oracle Database 11g like the Oracle or [IBM] DB2 databases. to be caught for 10 to 20 years on the oracle.com/database He said, “No, it’s never going to catch business side. On the security side, they

4 2 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 BY KATHERYN POTTERF at its best

Senior Vice President Thomas Kurian explains Oracle’s unique BI strategy and lays out the path ahead for Oracle and Hyperion customers.

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT THOMAS KURIAN ON THE ORACLE AND HYPERION COMBINATION

hat happens when the No. 1 provider of busi- Oracle and Hyperion offer the industry’s first complete and inte- ness intelligence (BI) solutions acquires the No. grated enterprise performance management system. This unified 1 provider of performance management software? product offering will enable our customers to gain greater busi- For business users, it’s an unbeatable combination, ness insight; link the financial and operational sides of their according to Thomas Kurian, Oracle’s senior vice president of business more tightly to drive better decisions; and will, in turn, server technologies development. Not only do you get the best drive stronger financial and operational results. of both solutions, but you also end up with business insight Through this acquisition, Oracle is the only vendor to offer all even greater than the sum of its parts. Profit spoke with Kurian the different components, from a product perspective, to build to find out what Oracle’s acquisition of Hyperion could mean out such a system. And, we’re the only vendor that’s considered to your business or organization. a leader in this space, in terms of market share, revenue, and PROFIT: Why did Oracle acquire Hyperion? analyst perception. This complete enterprise performance man- KURIAN: Corporate performance management and BI are stra- agement system will offer Oracle, Hyperion, and SAP customers tegic priorities for Oracle. The rationale that drove the Hyperion enormous value—including the highest quality of information acquisition was simple: We believe a new enterprise performance and the ability to define better plans and to link them with the management system is emerging—one that provides managers insight from their operational business intelligence systems. and executives with a unified view of information, enabling them PROFIT: What is Oracle’s overall BI strategy? to manage their business more effectively. This enterprise perfor- KURIAN: Our BI strategy is designed around three funda- mance management system will integrate information from an mental pillars. First, a complete and integrated suite of BI organization’s transaction processing systems [enterprise resource tools—spanning data integration, query and analysis, report- planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) ing, dashboards, metrics management, and scorecards—that systems]; its operational business intelligence systems [report- provide a consistent and accurate view of information across ing and analysis systems]; and its financial management systems Oracle and non-Oracle datasources. Second, a comprehensive

PHIL SALTONSTALL [planning, budgeting, and consolidation systems]. Together, suite of operational business intelligence applications called

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 4 3 “Our plan is to deliver to customers a single, integrated, comprehensive, best-of-breed enterprise performance management system.” —Thomas Kurian, Senior Vice President of Server Technologies Development, Oracle

Oracle Business Intelligence Applications that provides a pre- PROFIT: What business trends are driving this combination? packaged data warehouse model, prepackaged ETL [extract, KURIAN: Enterprise performance management is a rapidly transform, and load] maps, and prepackaged dashboards and growing software segment. Analysts estimate that it will reach aggregate information for analysis from the various modules about [US]$7 billion in 2009, growing by double digits every of Oracle Applications suites, including Oracle’s Siebel, Oracle year. The reason for the quick growth is that it’s become a top E-Business Suite, Oracle’s PeopleSoft, and our vertical applica- priority for financial executives and company boards of directions. Third, to integrate these tools and operational analytic tors. Financial planning, which traditionally has been the focus applications with Hyperion [System 9] Financial Management of these solutions, is now being brought in by organizations to applications—including financial planning, budgeting, consoli- span not just the financial part of the business but also their dation, and financial reporting solutions. operational lines. To gain better control of the business, com- Our strategy is not just to offer these three pillars but to panies want to complement their financial planning solutions integrate these three elements into a single unified enterprise with sales, human resources, and marketing planning, and performance management system that allows our customers to other solutions. Today there are no great tools out there—aside get a unified view of information from their transaction systems, from Hyperion’s—to do such planning. To make performance operational business intelligence systems, and financial manage- management really work, you need to integrate the perfor- ment systems. This strategy has driven a very rapid growth in mance management system with two important capabilities. our business intelligence product capability, market share, and It has to be integrated with your operational systems; that is, customer adoption over the past 12 to 18 months. the ERP and CRM systems from which you pull the data that We are also very proud that leading analyst firms have rec- drives your planning and allows you to measure how you’re ognized Oracle’s vision and execution in this market by making working against the plan. Also, you need to integrate it with Oracle one of only two vendors that is a leader in both the busi- the analytic systems—your data warehouses, business intelli- ness intelligence tools market and the performance management gence tools, and operational analytic applications. market. IDC has also recognized Oracle as the worldwide leader In our view, it is the combination of the transaction systems in the overall category of business analytics software. [ERP and CRM], the business intelligence tools and applications, PROFIT: How does Hyperion fit into this strategy? and the financial performance management solutions that will KURIAN: When we looked at what customers wanted in an allow us to offer customers an integrated end-to-end view of enterprise performance management system, we saw that Oracle financial plans tied with the operational systems. had a crucial set of assets. First, based on our acquisition of PROFIT: How will Oracle customers benefit? the Sunopsis product line, now called Oracle Data Integrator, KURIAN: Oracle Applications customers and Oracle’s tech- we had a market-leading, best-of-breed, heterogeneous data nology and BI customers will get enormous value from this integration platform. Second, we had a comprehensive set acquisition. If you’re an Oracle Applications customer running of business intelligence tools in Oracle Business Intelligence Oracle Financials or PeopleSoft Financials, you get the world’s Enterprise Edition. We had added Oracle Business Intelligence best financial management solution to complement your invest- Publisher as a new reporting capability. Third, we had unique ment in Oracle’s enterprise applications. It allows you to link differentiation compared to other BI vendors and applications the operational side of the business where you run Oracle vendors with the operational analytic applications under the ERP applications with the financial side of the business. The Oracle Business Intelligence Applications family, including Sales value of such a combination is that customers are going to get Analytics, Marketing Analytics, Financial Analytics, Supply better information from this system. They get the ability to Chain Analytics, and Human Resources Analytics. drive better plans that can be better aligned with how they are What we lacked was a world-class suite for the financial performing operationally and, as a result, they will get better management side of the business, which would handle financial financial performance as well as operational performance. planning, budgeting, consolidation, reporting, and data quality. If you are a customer using Oracle’s BI tools or Oracle’s So, the Hyperion acquisition was really about filling out our database, the combined suite of Oracle Business Intelligence product line in that market space with a complementary suite [Enterprise Edition] and Hyperion’s tools really offer the most of products. Hyperion also brought with it some great technol- complete and best suite of business intelligence tools in the ogy assets with its Essbase OLAP [online analytical processing] market. Our BI tools suite spans query and analysis, relational engine and its BI+ tools. This combination of products would reporting, online analytical processing with the Essbase product enable Oracle to quickly offer customers our vision for a com- from Hyperion, Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher for report- plete and integrated enterprise performance management system. ing and publishing, Hyperion’s scorecard for measuring how

4 4 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 you’re doing, and Oracle Data Integrator for data integration tion applications can be much more tightly linked with the and ETL. No other vendor offers as broad and as competitive a information in these transaction systems. Second, we demon- toolset as we offer for business intelligence. strated how we are going to integrate Hyperion’s BI foundation PROFIT: What about Hyperion customers? with Oracle’s BI tools. For instance, we showed how a company KURIAN: Every Hyperion customer must be reassured that could combine the use of Hyperion’s OLAP engine, Essbase, Oracle will protect their existing investments. Each one of with Oracle [Business Intelligence Suite] Enterprise Edition. We Hyperion’s products falls under standard Oracle support prac- showed how we could build reports using Oracle’s new reporting tices. We are also going to invest aggressively in the Hyperion solution, Oracle Business Intelligence Publisher, and integrate products, which will extend customers’ current investments that with Hyperion [System 9 BI+] Interactive Reporting. Third, into new areas as we build out the product family. I think they we also highlighted how we will integrate Hyperion Financial will find they get more value from using Hyperion’s products in Management applications with Oracle Business Intelligence combination with Oracle technology and applications. Equally Applications, enabling the planning solution to draw informa- important, they will continue to see us supporting heterogeneous tion from and correlate information with the operational analytic environments, including SAP environments. Additionally, Oracle applications more quickly and easily. is going to invest heavily in the Hyperion-focused development, By November, customers will find that a significant part of sales, services, and support organizations while retaining them this integration of Hyperion products with Oracle technology intact organizationally. and applications will have been completed—and they will be PROFIT: What is the integration plan for the products? able to see the value they are going to get. <> KURIAN: We have a very clear road map. Our plan is to deliver to customers a single, integrated, comprehensive, best-of KATHERYN POTTERF is a staff writer with Oracle Publishing. breed enterpriseDG68A:6I>IH7:HI# performance management system. In fact, at For more information Hyperion’s user conference in Orlando, in April, we showcased >> the three important aspects to our product integration plans. Oracle Business Intelligence First, how we are going to integrate further Hyperion Financial oracle.com/solutions/business_intelligence ManagementNDJ86C68=>:K:>IL>I=C6K>H>I: applications with Oracle’s ERP applications, such Oracle and Hyperion as PeopleSoft Financials and Oracle Financials, to improve how oracle.com/hyperion information in Hyperion’s planning, budgeting, and consolida-

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p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 4 5 By Alan Joch Bigger Isn’t Always Better Despite unique challenges, small and medium companies can

Al Romanowicz, Information Systems use their agility and customer Manager, Symmons Industries. intelligence to beat the big guys.

t would be nice if order volumes always matched expecta- we could achieve this performance. Oracle’s applications enable tions, but in the real world there’s one big stumbling block the efficiencies that companies like ours need to be profitable in to forecast accuracy. “Those darn customers always seem to a global economy.” get in the way,” quips Al Romanowicz, information systems Global challenges and the need for innovative solutions manager for Symmons Industries, a medium-sized 68-year-old aren’t unique to manufacturers like Symmons. Service-oriented plumbing supplies manufacturer in Braintree, Massachusetts. SMBs face similar challenges. “Having the right applications If customers behaved predictably, companies like Symmons means everything to us as we continue to grow,” says Gary could easily maintain optimal inventory levels, protect profit Jabara, founder, president, and CEO of Mobilitie, a 75-person margins, and compete more effectively against large, global investment and asset management company for mobile com- rivals—what Romanowicz calls the “800-pound gorillas.” munications service providers. “Clients heavily rely on our systems and the open platform, which enable them to save SMBs on the Rise significant operating expenses by allowing our staff to manage But Symmons and other small and medium businesses (SMBs) what they would normally have to hire to support,” Jabara says. are finding ways to achieve success. Symmons is combining its Despite their smaller size, SMBs have business and technol- reputation for industry-leading quality with new business pro- ogy needs as sophisticated as the world’s largest enterprises, cesses that shrink order turnaround times from two weeks to notes Tony Kender, senior vice president of Oracle’s SMB Global two days, far faster than its larger competitors. It accomplishes Business Unit. “SMBs compete with the big guys, the little this by building manufacturing schedules based on actual orders guys—everybody. So they face all the problems of enterprises, rather than traditional demand forecasts, a strategy that relies on with the additional challenge of needing to do more with fewer the Demand-Flow Manufacturing module of Oracle’s JD Edwards people and less money,” he says. EnterpriseOne. “The best competitive weapon we have is our “With Oracle, an SMB can use the best software availability to deliver products in one or two days, when necessary,” able—the same software large companies use—but implement bradley

Romanowicz says. “The strength of being a small company is it very inexpensively,” Kender adds. “It’s the best of both worlds

dave that we were able to change our manufacturing process so that for an SMB. Customers can take advantage of Oracle Business

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 4 7 Accelerators. This reduces time and cost to implement the system, and they realize benefits faster.” Growing demand for enterprise applications like these—rather than the off-the-shelf packages at one time associated with SMBs—is a measure of the market’s strength. SMB spending for all business applications is growing between 12 and 14 percent a year, or twice that of enterprises, according to Jim Shepherd, senior vice president for AMR Research. “The sweet spot when it comes to demand for these applications has always been the upper midmarket. But we’re seeing it move down-market because smaller companies need integrated business systems too,” he says. The top SMB applications are those for financial management, accounting, receivables and payables, inventory control, Web retailing, and legal and regulatory compliance, Shepherd adds. Used effectively, these applications help SMBs deliver better customer service and link into the supply chains of larger firms that require their suppliers to deliver products anywhere in the world and electronically exchange information on order status, inventories, and other key areas. “In many cases, the motivator for an investment in a new business system comes because the SMB either can’t hold on to the customers it has Mobilitie’s Gary Jabara says that the company can securely share asset or can’t win new ones without it,” Shepherd says. information managed by JD Edwards EnterpriseOne with its clients, thereby But along with these needs come unique forging closer ties with customers. requirements. SMBs run lean IT staffs, so business applications must require minimal handholding to launch and in and managing a complicated mix of mobile communications maintain. Because of this, SMBs tend to favor a single vendor assets, such as towers, ground leases, licenses, and rights of that can deliver a wide range of capabilities through preinte- way. “Each wireless tower is typically used by more than one grated components, avoiding the customization common with operator, and each is broadcasting using very specific equip- multivendor solutions, Shepherd states. “One-stop shopping is ment and frequencies to avoid interference,” Jabara says. “These one of the ways Oracle distinguishes itself,” he adds. “Companies are highly complex assets to manage.” can get a complete software offering that includes applications, Despite the complexity, Mobilitie keeps its workforce small the middleware, and the database from one vendor.” by relying on the efficiency of JD Edwards EnterpriseOne. “Oracle enables us to be very lean. We feel like Captain Kirk An Answer for Every Challenge on the Enterprise, where we’ve got these wonderful applica- Mobilitie uses the comprehensive JD Edwards EnterpriseOne tions and systems that can handle whatever anybody’s going to suite of applications to cope with the complexities of investing throw at us,” Jabara says.

Accelerated Success Launched late last year, the Oracle Accel- Jacobson, senior research analyst with Oracle Consulting for a set price, to speed erate program tackles a significant prob- AMR Research. launches and eliminate cost overruns. lem for SMBs: their typically bare-bones To meet this need, Oracle Acceler- Oracle Accelerate may change the IT staffs mean that SMBs can’t afford ate combines Oracle E-Business Suite, perception of some SMBs that Oracle is applications that require a lot of work to JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, Oracle’s too big and complex for companies that configure and manage. But they still need PeopleSoft Enterprise, and Oracle’s Siebel don’t have the resources of large enter- solutions that are low cost and low risk. applications with preconfigured business prises, Jacobson says. “It’s a very strong, “SMBs need to know that an appli- processes tailored for specific program well-thought-out program,” he adds. “The cation is going to fit the needs of their modules and vertical markets. Also, secret is that Oracle has a very large and business, and that it will essentially plug Oracle Accelerate bundles implementa- very loyal base of customers in the small- alexander in and work from Day One,” says Simon tion services from accredited partners or to-midsize space.” raffi

4 8 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 “The environment is changing rapidly, and speed and flexibility have become the essence of what it takes to be successful in this business.”

—Volker Bartels, President, Manufacturing and Logistics, Sennheiser electronic GmbH & Co.

JD Edwards EnterpriseOne also helps Mobilitie cultivate col- efficiencies to stay profitable. “The environment is changing laborative relationships with service providers by easily sharing rapidly, and speed and flexibility have become the essence of the large volume of documents associated with each tower. This what it takes to be successful in this business,” says Volker can include 100 different documents, such as leases, engineer- Bartels, president of manufacturing and logistics. ing drawings, and equipment specifications. The challenge Agility is especially important in the consumer segment is compounded by Mobilitie’s growth—it’s now completing a of the audio market, where retail-chain customers expect fast US$2 billion acquisition that will add about 5,000 towers to delivery and minimal errors. “In the old days, small retail stores the portfolio. “That could mean half a million new documents,” might order 10 headphones here and 10 there, and the orders Jabara says. would come a month in advance,” Bartels recalls. “This is no JD Edwards EnterpriseOne closely integrates document and longer true with the industry consolidations that are going on.” records management with its asset-management capabilities. The Instead, the large chains now enter 10,000-item orders tight integration means that Mobilitie can and request three-day deliveries. “To be launch purchase orders and other business precise, that’s a delivery in three days activities directly from the document- between 9:00 a.m. and 9:15 a.m. because management platform. “Our competitors >>SNAPSHOTS that’s when people will be on the loading run stovepiped applications, so they can’t Symmons Industries docks,” Bartels says. “The big customers use their asset-management systems and www.symmons.com now expect a level of service that is pos- see other relevant documents unless they Headquarters: Braintree, sible only with a good ERP [enterprise Massachusetts switch programs,” Jabara says. “With our resource planning] system in place.” Industry: Plumbing-equipment system, if a provider says it wants to place manufacturing JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 8.11 a microwave dish on a tower at a specific Employees: 285 now manages Sennheiser’s German fac- intersection in Seattle, for example, we can Revenue: US$80 million tories, its production facility in Ireland, initiate that transaction while we’re in the Oracle products and services: and the sales subsidiaries in Germany, document-management application.” JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 8.11 Scandinavia, and the U.K. The company is By securely sharing asset information rolling out the suite to the remaining pro- managed by JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Mobilitie Partners duction and sales subsidiaries in the U.S., with clients, Mobilitie forges close ties www.mobilitie.com Europe, and Asia. In addition to the core with its customers. For example, a Headquarters: Newport Beach, Manufacturing, Financial Management, California client’s asset-management staff can log Order Management, and Supply Chain Industry: Mobile communications in to Mobilitie’s system to review each asset management and investments Execution modules, Sennheiser is imple- of its towers and all the related docu- Employees: 75 menting Vendor-Managed Inventory, mentation. “This reduces the phone Revenue: US$750 million which will enable automatic deliveries calls and faxes,” Jabara says. “This is a Oracle products and services: from suppliers. This means Sennheiser’s great platform that’s better than compet- JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 8.11 production plants will keep only enough ing applications built specifically for the inventory on hand to meet immediate wireless space.” Sennheiser electronic GmbH production needs, and receive a consistent & Co. KG flow of replacement materials dictated by www.sennheiser.com/ Reduce Expenses, Increase Profits order rates. “We’ll tie up a limited amount sennheiser/icm.nsf Key to the success of Sennheiser electronic of money in inventory so we’re not paying Headquarters: Wedemark, GmbH & Co. KG is the business systems Germany for a lot of stock that’s just sitting there,” it creates to react quickly to market Industry: Electronics manufacturing Bartels explains. changes. The designer and manufacturer Employees: 1,900 To measure the performance of its of audio equipment for recording- Revenue: €300.4 million manufacturing operations, Sennheiser industry professionals and consumers in 2005 tracks its requested and confirmed deliv- employs 1,900 people at its Wedemark, Oracle products and services: ery rates. Key performance indicators like Germany, headquarters and at facilities JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 8.11, this are just one measure of success. “In around the world. As it competes against Oracle9i Database (upgrading to both of these parameters, we score in the larger electronics giants, Sennheiser is Oracle Database 10g) high 90 percent levels,” Bartels says. He constantly seeking new business-process adds that inventory efficiencies have sig-

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 4 9 nificantly reduced expenses. “We used to carry about 200 days of supply, and we’re now down to about 90 days. Just the difference in interest expense is a significant number,” Bartels says.

A Comprehensive Solution Symmons is using its applications muscle to avoid demand surprises and the “fire drills” that resulted because the production lines were set up to produce forecasted demand rather than the orders that were actually being received. Inventories bulked up with unneeded materials. “We had plenty of the wrong stuff but not enough of what our customers were actually ordering,” Romanowicz recalls. The problem centered around schedules that had little rele- vance to demand flow. “Some of the departments in manufacturing just weren’t getting visibility fast enough to know what was needed,” Romanowicz says. “We saw work-in-progress [WIP] inventory building up and products that didn’t go out the door for months. At the same time, some of the machines that we needed for quick deliveries were unavailable because they were running other jobs.” To overcome these difficulties, Symmons launched a demand- flow strategy that uses actual sales orders, rather than forecasts, to drive manufacturing operations. Symmons relies on the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Demand Flow Manufacturing module to manage this new approach. “When we started looking at this area, we found that JD The big customers expect a level of service that’s possible only with a Edwards EnterpriseOne was the only product that specifi- good enterprise resource planning system in place, says Volker Bartels, President of Manufacturing and Logistics at Sennheiser electronic. cally addressed demand flow,” Romanowicz says. “It supported the execution system we needed. The ultimate goal is to have calls “1.5 million opportunities to make an error. This means demand go beyond our stockroom out to our suppliers. When our people are paying more attention to building the product we give suppliers this greater visibility, they aren’t shipping us versus administrative tasks.” the wrong parts and we have more of the right stuff.” Symmons is now moving beyond its traditional commercial The demand-flow results have been impressive. Almost 50 business to cultivate customers who purchase high-fashion percent of the orders received are shipped the same day, finished plumbing fixtures. It’s a plan that puts Symmons squarely in the goods inventories have dropped to minimal levels, and the WIP/ turf of the 800-pound gorillas, but Romanowicz expects that JD sales ratio is down by almost 50 percent, Romanowicz says. Edwards EnterpriseOne’s Web capabilities will provide the com- In addition, Symmons significantly reduced the paperwork petitive edge Symmons needs. “It will allow us to complement required to move products out the door through a related item- our design-to-order process and will also give suppliers world- completion strategy. In traditional manufacturing, staff members wide a new window into demand and inventory levels,” he says. spend significant time manually opening work orders, posting Does the information systems manager worry that these new transactions into the orders, and performing back-end analyses requirements will trigger a lot of new upgrades and management to look for order variances. In all, a single order may require 30 headaches? Not at all. According to Romanowicz, “JD Edwards or 40 manual inputs from manufacturing personnel. EnterpriseOne contains the functionality we will need for the Symmons’ new approach reduces the process to one step: immediate future, and Oracle’s support policies allow us to wait operators only need to post the quantity of goods created in an for a business reason to upgrade.” <> operation. “An operator doesn’t have to do anything but build it and get it on to the next station,” Romanowicz says. “Only two Alan Joch writes extensively about small-business technology. things need to be accurate at that point: the quantity and the bill of materials for that SKU. If the bill of materials is correct, >> For more information no other manual transactions have to take place to accurately release the inventory that was needed to build that order. That’s a Oracle for Small and Medium Businesses significant time savings that improves sales throughput and takes oracle.com/smb administrative and inventory costs out of the equation.” Oracle Applications By the end of the year, Symmons will eliminate about 1.5 hendriks

oracle.com/applications million manual shop-floor transactions, or what Romanowicz ton

5 0 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 COMMUNICATIONS | SUPPORT

Responding Around the Clock Priority Problem resolution support viasat’s goal of great service.

BY Monica Mehta to the upgrade but also to Oracle products used throughout the business. With the new service, issues would be resolved faster or companies in the communications industry, staying with front-of-the-line problem resolution. on schedule is critical. Even a few minutes of downtime With the help of Oracle Priority Service, company employees can result in a serious loss of revenue. ViaSat, Inc., a experienced “virtually no downtime” due to the upgrade, says digital communications manufacturing company based in Gordon Dankberg, director of information systems at ViaSat. Carlsbad, California, manufactures satellite ground systems and “We were confidently able to perform the entire upgrade over other digital communication products for commercial and mili- a single weekend. We brought the system down at 5 p.m. on tary markets. ViaSat’s products enable fast, secure, and efficient Friday afternoon. It was up for user acceptance testing on communications—and the company expects its business to Sunday morning, and by 6 a.m. Monday morning, we were function at the same level of speed and efficiency. open for business.” So when ViaSat planned an upgrade from Oracle E-Business The results have extended beyond the Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.8 to Release 11.5.10, executives realized that the Suite upgrade. Before the new service, ViaSat’s average resolu- employee downtime caused by tion time for system issues upgrade technical issues needed was 21 days. Within just three to be minimized. months, Oracle Priority Service Enter Oracle Priority Service, reduced ViaSat’s average resolu- one of Oracle’s Advanced tion time to 3 days. Customer Services offerings. A “ViaSat is a name associated set of enhancements to Oracle with cutting-edge satellite and Premier Support, Advanced networking technologies, which Customer Services provides often require cutting-edge busi- customers with targeted exper- ness processes and systems,” tise and proactive guidance to says Dankberg. “Oracle Priority help align technology strategies Service helps mitigate the costs with business priorities. Oracle associated with being the first Priority Service offered ViaSat a to implement and enables us to highly integrated, personalized reap the benefits of next- service partnership with Oracle generation technology without to ensure priority problem the associated risks.” resolution and expert technical and application guidance. Expert Guidance With Oracle Priority Service, an All priority service requests Oracle manager assigned to the submitted to Oracle Global company would help employees Support receive priority han-

MICKWIGGINS with issues pertaining not only dling and routing to the analyst

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 5 1 COMMUNICATIONS | SUPPORT

with the highest skill level for a particu- ship management] systems are continu- ucts, and products to meet government lar problem. If necessary, Oracle develop- ously available, enabling us to provide requirements. With more than half of its ers get involved to provide the expertise our customers with outstanding service,” approximately 1,400 employees holding necessary for rapid response. says Dankberg. “We’ve also been able to degrees in engineering, ViaSat under- A Priority Service Manager (PSM) was minimize downtime that affects our daily stands and values superior technology. assigned to the ViaSat account to provide users. We continually achieve availability Dankberg says it was an obvious decision personalized support management. The approaching 99.99 percent. Maintaining to choose Oracle application products to PSM understands ViaSat’s our track record of supe- drive its business. In 2001 ViaSat selected business and technical rior uptime is critical to Oracle E-Business Suite to replace its priorities as well as how our business success.” existing SAP and Baan systems, to help to navigate the Oracle The end of quarter and the company manage its business models, organization—calling fiscal year-end are both inventories, finances, customer relation- on an extended team of critical times for ViaSat, a ships, and more. support analysts, devel- 20-year-old company with To benefit from the latest technology opers, and other subject approximately US$500 enhancements, Dankberg and his IT team matter experts as needed. million in annual revenue. stay current with new software releases, When ViaSat hands over “Oracle Priority Service updates, and patches. “We’re constantly a production-critical is a huge advantage to us upgrading and putting in new modules,” issue to Oracle’s support Gordon Dankberg, Director of during those times,” says says Dankberg. “We stay very current engineers, the PSM Information Systems, ViaSat Dankberg. “We know we with Oracle releases. We’re pretty aggres- makes sure that process goes smoothly. can count on our Oracle business applica- sive about enlarging our Oracle footprint. “The severity 1 and severity 2 issues are tions to be available when we need them.” Oracle Priority Service enables us to get the ones that can affect our production The PSM also leads quarterly reviews through the upgrade process much faster, operations,” says Dankberg. to discuss ViaSat’s plans and assess per- keeping my department on schedule. In With Oracle Priority Service, ViaSat is formance against best practices. During particular, it helps our in-house Oracle confident that its severity 1 and 2 issues the quarterly meeting with Dankberg and systems experts conserve their valuable will be responded to within one and his team, the PSM reviews the support time. Because we are confident that the two-and-a-half business hours, respec- activity and the statistical measures Oracle Support team will resolve any tively. “With Oracle Priority Service, we for the quarter. With this information, issues quickly, we can count on smooth realized a 55 percent reduction in the res- Dankberg is better able to determine software upgrades, patch installations, olution time of our severity 1 and severity where to focus his team’s future efforts. and testing.” 2 issues,” notes Dankberg. Regardless of the priority status of an issue, ViaSat Superior Technology Getting the Right Information knows it can expect a response from ViaSat strives for innovative designs, Like all Oracle Support customers, ViaSat Oracle by at least the next business day. quality products, and short time to benefits from OracleMetaLink, Oracle’s “When we were going live after market. These challenges are intensified Web support portal. Using this single an upgrade, Oracle engineers worked by the fact that the company has many source for up-to-date support information throughout the weekend to make sure different business models, which support and communications, ViaSat has access to that a critical issue was resolved. Because one of the broadest product lines in the thousands of tips, best practices, and fre- we can count on a rapid response from industry, including high-volume com- quently asked questions. Moreover, as an Oracle Support, my IT team can focus mercial products, custom-built prod- Oracle Priority Service customer, ViaSat more on supporting our own business gets an online Oracle Priority Service and the development of our wireless portal, customized for rapid access to products. Oracle Priority Service keeps problem diagnosis and resolution metrics, our mission-critical systems running at >>SNAPSHOT account contacts, and quarterly reviews. peak efficiency around the clock,” he ViaSat, Inc. With Oracle Priority Service, ViaSat adds. “It gives us peace of mind to know www.viasat.com also gains access to product Webinars, Employees: More than 1,400 that when problems do occur, we get the chats, and other events with Oracle Oracle products and services: attention and expertise needed to resolve Oracle E-Business Suite, including experts. This relationship with Oracle them quickly.” Discrete Manufacturing, Financials, developers and subject experts enables The new service has also enabled the Human Resources Management ViaSat’s IT staff to tap into a wealth of company to strengthen its availability System; Oracle9i Database; Oracle knowledge. “We plan to implement an to both its customers and its systems’ Application Server 10g; Oracle Oracle Real Application Clusters architec- daily users. “With Oracle Priority Priority Service; OracleMetaLink ture in the near future. During a recent Service, our CRM [customer relation- Webinar, we gained valuable information

5 2 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 trendwatch Q&A IDC director elisabeth rainge on The Effects of Downtime on Telecom Companies

In her research on and analysis of the Profit: Why is technical uptime telecommunications industry has had this network and service provider infrastruc- particularly important for the communica- as a requirement pretty much since Day ture management markets, Elisabeth tions industry? One. After all, the connectivity capability Rainge has examined the challenges Rainge: Communications companies of your traditional fixed-line phone is rely- facing telecommunications software face an uphill battle to gain customer ing on a network that is powered by the and network management players. satisfaction and successfully charge for operator—not your wall socket. Profit spoke to the director of IDC’s all usage of their infrastructure. Technical Profit: What are the other challenges telecom software programs about the issues limit their ability to work toward telecom companies are facing? consequences of technical downtime for both of those goals. We’re talking about Rainge: We are seeing a real change in telecom companies. an industry that operates in terms of the technologies underpinning the com- Profit: What effects does downtime millions of customers; millions—if not bil- munications infrastructure. The proprie- resulting from technical issues or up- lions—of data points, such as minutes of tary systems from the traditional telecom grades have on a telecom company? use or bytes of data; and incredible levels infrastructure companies are leveraging Rainge: The communications industry of availability. Despite the many firsthand the huge advances we’ve seen in the IT runs on a 24/7 basis. The big challenge experiences of dropped mobile calls we’ve industry. This means that companies are is to keep service running continuously. all had, the fixed-line operators continue to looking not only to their traditional suppli- There are two main risk areas compa- set the bar for uptime. In many cases, we ers but also to IT industry leaders. In this nies need to address: customer satis- tend to think of telephone service continu- area of convergence, the need for outside faction and revenues. Poorly handled ing in the face of a natural disaster even if help is high. Also, as part of the IT/tele- upgrades can hurt customer satisfac- electricity fails—that’s high availability. com industry convergence, we’re seeing tion and cut back on future revenues Profit: How can companies minimize companies develop broader and wider if customers switch to other providers. downtime? skill sets. The challenge for companies is Outages or degradations in network Rainge: Planning is key. The estab- to build technical knowledge to operate service can also result in the need for lished companies are experts at this. the newer networks while improving their rebates to large business customers As consumers, we might think that they ability to respond to customer requests. and even possibly the missed oppor- move slowly, but it’s usually because they Companies need to be flexible with their tunity to bill for traffic. There is also a are so careful to build strong, highly reli- technology. A telecommunications com- regulatory risk: governments expect able systems with lots of backup plans. pany is never fully able to predict when companies to provide connectivity and It’s been only fairly recently that busi- network load will experience exceptional connectivity information—if they don’t, nesses are investing in substantial power peaks and valleys. The best approach is they will be fined. systems for their data centers, but the to plan for reliability and flexibility. from Oracle subject matter experts on completed a seamless upgrade to Release around on any support issues. Enabling exactly that topic,” says Dankberg. 11.5.10, performing most of the work us to achieve a 65 percent reduction with its own in-house Oracle expertise. in our resolution time, Oracle Priority A Phased Approach ViaSat is now taking a close look at Service exceeded our expectations.” <> ViaSat first implemented Oracle the Oracle Advanced Supply Chain E-Business Suite 11.5.4 in phases, starting Planning suite. It is also looking forward Monica Mehta is a California-based writer who with its Atlanta-based businesses at the to moving to Oracle’s next-generation specializes in business and technology. end of 2001. In 2002 it added its Phoenix Oracle Fusion applications. and Maryland offices and upgraded to Dankberg says he couldn’t be happier >> For more information Release 11.5.6. It completed its core with Oracle Priority Service. “Maintaining implementation at its corporate Carlsbad our leadership position in satellite com- Oracle for Communications offices in 2003, replacing the Baan system munications demands high availability oracle.com/industries/ it had been using. In 2004 it upgraded its and fast problem resolution,” he says. communications entire environment to Release 11.5.8 and “We chose Oracle Priority Service to Oracle Advanced Customer Services added the Oracle CRM suite in 2005. In ensure that new products, upgrades, and oracle.com/support/ early 2006, in partnership with Oracle patches are implemented quickly and advanced-customer-services Priority Service, ViaSat successfully smoothly and to guarantee rapid turn-

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 5 3 CONSULTING | ERP

Single-System Success Avago and Oracle Consulting handle an accelerated implementation.

By Karen J. Bannan Penang, Malaysia. “We had an eight-month implementation plan with a major big bang separation from Agilent from a hile it may be fairly easy to change a company system and infrastructure standpoint. We upgraded our software name on a paycheck, changing your software to at the same time we were expanding our footprint and continu- reflect your current company—and severing ties ing to maintain our leadership in supply chain performance.” with your previous company—isn’t easy. But last year Avago Technologies, which manufactures analog, mixed- A Big Bang signal, and optoelectronic components and subsystems for the Avago Technologies began 2006 with Oracle ERP and legacy industrial and automotive, wired infrastructure, wireless com- systems that hosted a significant number of applications. Its munications, and computer peripherals markets, faced this New Year’s resolution was to install the latest version of Oracle exact challenge. Avago started as HP’s semiconductor arm and E-Business Suite. The company had a goal of providing real-time then was spun off as part of Agilent Technologies. In 2005 the information throughout its supply chain, explains Hock-Leng semiconductor business was purchased by two private equity Lee, end-to-end manufacturing lead at Avago. firms: Kohlberg Kravis Roberts “We wanted a single system & Co. and Silver Lake Partners, that could return information which called this new business within a few minutes—inven- Avago Technologies, coheadquar- tory, orders, and related tered in Singapore and San Jose, documents. We wanted our cus- California. The company needed tomers to have the best service to separate all of its applications possible, no matter how they and systems from Agilent’s infra- contacted us,” he says. Avago structure as well as upgrade its executives decided to look software to streamline operations, outside the company for addi- expand its enterprise resource tional expertise. planning (ERP) footprint, and Avago Technologies (as part leverage the latest versions of of Agilent Technologies) chose several Oracle applications. Oracle Consulting in the 2000- “Avago’s primary objective to-2002 time frame, when it was to become totally indepen- first installed several Oracle ERP dent from Agilent’s systems, applications, so Avago knew that improve our own capabilities, Oracle Consulting could imple- and improve our system per- ment software from the ground formance,” explains Hong Siew up. This time the process would Lim, project manager for the be more arduous, but Avago ERP Governance and Support executives were confident

JUSTINE BECKETT Division of Avago, based in because they knew no other

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company had as much expertise imple- employees and Oracle consultants. to use our software in the future,” he menting Oracle products, explains Lim. “It was a challenge because many of explains. “I was impressed that he was “In 2000 we knew that the people the partners had different backgrounds. not just looking at input for the problem who would know the most about Oracle We colocated teams in Singapore and and then addressing it and coming back ERP and Oracle E-Business Suite 11i the U.S., but we had teams in Malaysia with the result. He actually took part in would be Oracle consultants,” Lim says. and Europe. It was a worldwide team thinking through the whole solution.” “We needed the key consultants who that was very involved in the day-to- were the most knowl- day project operations,” Talking the Talk edgeable about the explains Lim. “It has to be a two-way process,” ERP modules in Oracle The Oracle Consulting says Lim. “It’s very important that E-Business Suite 11i, team was both structured the company makes sure the com- especially since we were and flexible, blending in mitment and the communication is implementing relatively where needed and asserting there, or the project won’t succeed.” new modules.” their knowledge when they Audrey Rasmussen, principal analyst Lee agrees. “We were called on to support with Boulder, Colorado–based research knew we could work big decisions. They were group Ptak, Noel & Associates, agrees. faster and smarter if we genuinely curious about “Communication needs to be frequent, worked with Oracle the plans that were being and it needs to address the specific Consulting rather than Hong Siew Lim says that Avago put into place by Avago issues. For some companies, once a day going with a third- was striving for independence. executives, says Lee. isn’t going to be excessive,” she says. party consulting firm,” “They weren’t afraid to “The more a consultant can understand he says. “We have a challenge our approach your business and how it runs, the more rather complex business with another potential solu- success you will have.” process that touches tion. That new solution Avago had the added issues of time, almost every func- may have been different language, and cultural barriers. With tion—from customer- than what we originally teams composed of so many different facing applications to asked for, but it gave us nationalities and competencies, everyone manufacturing to our the same functionality and had to be able to adapt. People also had employees—so we knew would work better for our to be willing to get their hands dirty. “In we needed someone business because it was the past when we had consultants come who would do things scalable or more user- in from third parties, they would spend a The consultants extended our right the first time.” team, says Hock-Leng Lee. friendly,” Lee adds. lot of time documenting the process, but Company executives The Oracle Consulting most of their time was spent on the tech- also wanted consultants who were familiar team was there not only to help solve nical side,” says Lim. “There was a limit with the semiconductor business—how problems but also to think ahead to to how far they would go for us. With its environment develops and changes prevent future ones, says Lee. “This is Oracle Consulting, they were helping and how its supply chain works. They got where our executives were impressed us with solutioning, but they were also that and more, both Lee and Lim say. with the lead Oracle consultant, Mohit getting right down to the nitty-gritty, Ghatak. He asked questions that didn’t going beyond what was required.” Accelerated Learning just relate to that particular scenario This led to camaraderie within the From the first day working with Oracle or problem. He asked how we wanted team, says Lim. “When there was a Consulting on the 2006 project, Lee says problem, there was very little finger- he realized that they had made a good pointing. Instead, people would say, ‘Let’s decision. The consulting team quickly >>SNAPSHOT try to address and resolve it.’ Everyone became an extension of the Avago IT was trying to learn from the issues and Avago Technologies team. In fact, when the project manag- www.avagotech.com each other so they could avoid having ers organized the implementation, they Net revenue: US$1.6 billion, FY 2006 problems happen repeatedly.” grouped both consultants and employees Oracle products and services: Again, Avago executives contributed into 36 functional subgroups. Each team Oracle E-Business Suite, including to this congenial atmosphere by giving was given autonomy to work on its indi- Advanced Planning Suite, Financials, the teams all the tools they needed. vidual piece of the larger project, but the Procurement, Shop Floor Manage- Avago employees didn’t push everything ment, Order Management, Logistics, company also created a cross-functional off on the Oracle consultants, and the Warehouse Management, Product team that ensured everyone was working Lifecycle Management, and Sourcing; consultants didn’t mind doing whatever toward the same goals. Those cross- Oracle Consulting was needed to make the project a success functional teams consisted of both Avago because they could make decisions and

5 6 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 Oracle Senior VP Harry Storer on Getting the Most from Oracle Software It’s all about customer confidence, print that is very attractive to clients, and Consulting involved early and talking says Harry Storer, Oracle’s senior vice Oracle Consulting has retained the ex- about business needs even if you’re not president of consulting in the Asia Pacific pertise to be able to implement business exactly sure what you’re looking for. region, citing that as one of the main rea- solutions based on these products.” “Time may on occasion present a sons that Oracle Consulting exists. And it’s not just its own consultants challenge. The more time we can have to “When we sell new products to cus- that Oracle brings to the table. Oracle think through different approaches and tomers who want to achieve significant Consulting customers can also tap into research with the global network, the business results, they can have confi- internal Oracle experts as well as Oracle more time we have to do rather than just dence that there are people from all over partners such as IBM and Accenture—the respond to a request on how we would the world who can come and help them best of both worlds, says Storer. Oracle implement our system,” he says. “Our cli- implement software and make sure that consultants are designing customer ents are looking for lifetime support from they get what they’re looking for,” empha- implementations by taking business Oracle, both from consulting and support. sizes Storer. processes into consideration first and Our consultants can help a business Achieving that goal is easier these days using the industry expertise of its partners change what they do and how they do it.” due to recent increases in consulting to ensure best practices are identified, The most successful clients, says bandwidth, offerings, and opportunities Storer adds. Storer, are the ones who look at their new stemming from Oracle’s mergers and “Our core offering is to implement projects as a long-term partnership and acquisitions activities. The infusion of tal- Oracle software with as few extensions investment. “My advice to clients would ent and resources over the past couple of and customizations as possible. We help be to find out more about a potential years alone through some of the strategic clients implement strong solutions using organization’s long-term ability to support acquisitions—including PeopleSoft, JD standard products and encourage them them and their product direction,” he Edwards, Siebel, and i-flex—rounds out to look to future planned releases for explains. “This includes visiting some of Oracle’s software and services offerings. additional functionality,” he says. “In that the company’s very large clients—even if According to Storer, this provides an entry way, we help our customers cut down you’re not a huge client—to find out how point for nearly every vertical market and on the need to customize and the annual they are being supported. In the end, every size of business. expenditure of maintaining extensions.” you’ll see that if you have Oracle involved “The acquisitions brought many new Communication is one of the pillars in your implementation, you have the best players into our team, of course, and we of the Oracle Consulting business. “The chance to optimize and handle an imple- welcome their experience,” he explains. key to taking full advantage of Oracle’s mentation from concept, through devel- “Oracle now has a broad functional foot- offerings,” says Storer, “is getting Oracle opment, and into support seamlessly.” act on them accordingly. formance for its customers. explain it to your consultants,” she says. “Every team had the ability, whenever Looking back, Lim says that it was a “If you don’t do the planning ahead of there was an issue, to escalate it as high combination of the complete sponsor- time and can’t describe it, you’re going to as they needed to,” Lim says. “And we ship and buy-in from their executive and end up with a lot of surprises on the back kept track of everything to ensure that project teams as well as the close ties end, which translates into extra cost and issues that were escalated were owned by Avago formed with Oracle Consulting extra headache.” This is one of Oracle the right people. We really could address that helped make the project a success. Consulting’s biggest strengths, says Harry problems quickly because we had con- “Oracle Consulting was in place stra- Storer, Oracle’s senior vice president of tingency plans in place ahead of time.” tegically. They had the knowledge, the consulting in the Asia Pacific region. expertise, and the management skills to “We’re not just focused on technol- New Name, New Game Face drive the project through to completion,” ogy or what the customer is doing at that In the end, Avago’s team not only beat he says. “They ensured that we looked at moment. We’re interested in what we can its deadline but succeeded in imple- the project in totality—not just in silo- bring to the table for future implementa- menting its new infrastructure without based functions. They helped us manage tion and use,” he says. “We ask them how going over budget. On August 5, 2006, the project and brought leadership to the they want to run their businesses. We’re the company turned off its old legacy table. They were strong pillars within our reviewing their business processes and systems and went live with Oracle overall business team.” giving them lifetime support.” <> E-Business Suite 11.5.10. The new soft- Key to that was Oracle Consulting’s ware and hardware lets the company recognition and acknowledgment of what Karen J. Bannan is a frequent contributor to Profit. cut its advanced planning runtime in Avago was trying to accomplish. Ptak, half—dropping from 12 to 6 hours—and Noel & Associates’ Rasmussen says that >> For more information improves productivity by automating this type of understanding can often Oracle Consulting processes that were previously done make the difference between a project oracle.com/consulting manually or enabling full integration failure and success. within Oracle ERP. But most importantly, “Your company and its employees Oracle E-Business Suite oracle.com/applications/ the company is able to maintain its best- need to understand the scope of a project e-business-suite.html in-class delivery and supply chain per- before it gets under way so you can

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 5 7 PUBLIC SERVICE | CRM

the drive to save lives EMRI implements a public safety system that’s transforming lives in India.

BY Molly Rose Teuke at the time we hand him or her over to the hospital, and then 48 hours later,” says Changavalli. “If the patient had bad vitals ike most CEOs, on any given day, Venkat Changavalli can to start with, wouldn’t have survived without care, and is still assess his organization’s performance by reviewing a dash- living 48 hours later, we count it as a life saved. Our aim is to board. But it doesn’t track sales figures, productivity levels, save one million lives a year.” or performance standards, nor does it lend insight into shareholder value—at least not in the standard sense. A CRITICAL NEED Changavalli goes straight to a different kind of bottom EMRI was launched in April 2005 with US$35 million in line: how many lives did his organization save? As CEO of funding from Ramalinga Raju, founder and chairman of Satyam the Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) in Computer Services. Designation of 1-0-8 as the region’s emer- Andhra Pradesh, India, Changavalli makes that number his gency telephone number followed. “Two hundred thousand primary concern. From there, he can drill down to review the people in India face medical emergencies every day, and 80 number of calls coming into EMRI’s Hyderabad call center; dis- percent of hospital deaths occur in the first hour of admission,” tinguish emergency calls from says Changavalli. “Five million administrative calls and sort lives were being lost every year, them by medical, police, or fire because there was no single emergency; track the number number to call, no ambulance, of ambulances deployed, how no concept of free hospital care. many kilometers they traveled, Ramalinga Raju thought he and how quickly they arrived at could create value by creating the scene; and determine which an institution with one number, hospitals received the patients ambulance facilities, trained they carried. All calls are taken at paramedics, and access to free the Hyderabad call center, with hospital care—and integrate ambulances dispatched locally these so care is complete.” from a group of 502 ambulances, EMRI now operates the or one for every 160,000 people. fastest, most comprehensive He can also track a patient’s emergency response system vital statistics at several points in India, providing not only in the journey, which is how medical emergency response EMRI determines the number but also police and fire services of lives saved. “We have defined under one roof. Its state-of-the- several parameters—pulse, art campus houses a sophis- blood pressure, and other vital ticated call center, medical statistics—that we measure at personnel who provide tele-

dan hubig the time we meet the patient, phone guidance to emergency

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responders in the field, support staff, and Relationship Management (CRM). research and training facilities. “The speed “Generally in nonprofits, you won’t and degree to which they’ve accomplished find these kinds of applications,” notes this is startling,” notes Roger Hixson, Changavalli. “I was the CEO of a German technical issues director for the Arlington, multinational for 11 years before coming Virginia–based National Emergency here. Ramalinga wanted this to be run Number Association (NENA). “They’ve with the kind of performance measures, implemented the type of PSAP [Public marketing strategies, customer orienta- Safety Answering Point] or 9-1-1 center tion, and partnerships that a for-profit equipment at a level of sophistication organization would have. Whereas in that a fairly well-funded medium-to-large another organization, a failure would PSAP would have in the United States at cause loss of a customer, here failure this time. The difference is that our PSAP causes a death. would have done that over the course of “Why CRM? Because our patients are multiple years, and at EMRI they’ve done our customers, and the hospitals that Number of lives saved is a metric that EMRI it within a year.” CEO Venkat Changavalli can track with his receive those patients are also our custom- company’s sophisticated response system. ers. We keep track of which hospitals AN AGGRESSIVE SCHEDULE our patients are going to so that if one Considerably less than a year, in fact. hospital receives more of our patients With a very short launch time—100 >>SNAPSHOT more often, we spend more time with that days—the team that planned EMRI faced partner, understanding the processes and three big challenges: how to establish Emergency Management and challenges so the interface will become Research Institute (EMRI) partnerships that would create a compre- easier in the future. Then we have our www.emri.in hensive response system, how to deter- Location: Hyderabad, Andhra government and alliance partners in the mine which technologies and processes Pradesh, India field of emergency medicine, and we also would best serve the goal of saving lives, Employees: 2,053 as of April 2007 have U.S. partners that share practices and how to best work with the govern- Average calls per day: 25,000 and training. These are all our customers.” ment to designate a single, toll-free emer- Average lives saved per day: 30 Population served: 80 million gency number. A DATA-DRIVEN SYSTEM Number of ambulances: 502 Changavalli and his team began to Automating back-office functions was Oracle products and services: talk with potential public and private Oracle E-Business Suite, including considered essential for consistency and partners. They garnered a commitment Financials, Customer Relationship speed as well as for the very detailed of emergency response participation and Management, and Human Capital tracking available on 1-0-8 calls, says cooperation from Andhra Pradesh, India’s Management Anil Jampala, EMRI’s CIO. “You name fifth-largest state in terms of both geog- Hardware products and partners: any parameter in this process of sensing, raphy and population. They have signed Dell and Nortel for hardware; partners reaching, and caring, and it comes in a include Satyam Computer Services, memorandums of understanding with the Government of Andhra Pradesh, report every day,” he says. It also facilitates 802 hospitals, committing them to free, 1,185 cooperating hospitals, the Na- Changavalli’s daily record of lives saved, short-term emergency healthcare. They tional Emergency Number Association, an unusual capability in the emergency also worked quickly to establish 1-0-8 as the American Association of Physicians number response environment, according the dedicated emergency number. of Indian Origin, the American Acad- to Patrick Halley, spokesperson for NENA. A team of IT professionals provided emy for Emergency Medicine in India, “There may be some U.S. jurisdictions by Satyam Computer began assessing the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma that are tracking this kind of information, Center (University of Maryland Medi- technologies. Three big-picture processes cal Center), Stanford University, the but to my knowledge, it’s not universally emerged: sensing (receiving the call, col- Richmond Ambulance Authority, done,” he says. “One of the beauties of lecting facts, assigning response), reaching Singapore Health Services the data-driven system we’ll see with (emergency responders arriving at the our Next Generation 9-1-1 is that we scene), and caring (providing pre- will have access to better information, hospital emergency care while transport- graphic information systems, and global including information on the patients we ing patients). Voice over IP capacity positioning systems were other obvious respond to and the outcomes.” was a logical choice, although there technology choices, given the need for Just as pressing was the desire to create is as yet no legal mandate that cell distress communication and manage- the capacity to scale the operation beyond phone providers must divulge location. ment. More-surprising choices included the single state of Andhra Pradesh. Computer telephony integration, voice Oracle Financials, Oracle Human Capital “There have been isolated attempts to loggers, interactive voice response, geo- Management, and Oracle Customer address emergency care in India,” says

6 0 a u g u s t 2 0 0 7 trendwatch Q&A EMERGENCY RESPONSE IN TRANSITION

Profit spoke with Roger Hixson, technical ent E9-1-1 systems is the same, but technology, but NG9-1-1 is not internet issues director for the National Emergency the types of circuits and switches vary based. We’re accepting calls over the Number Association, which fosters the quite a bit, and the future of those cur- internet, but we’re not going to start run- technological advancement, availability, rent technologies is not rosy. In terms of ning wire line and wireless calls over the and implementation of a universal emer- consistency of operation, maintenance, internet to a PSAP, for a number of rea- gency telephone number system. and troubleshooting, it’s getting more sons, not least of which is security. So we PROFIT: 9-1-1 service was launched in difficult to manage and maintain them. start with IP technology, and then other the U.S. in 1968. Where are we today? We believe NG9-1-1 will be less costly in applications—database management, for HIXSON: E9-1-1, or Enhanced 9-1-1, the long run, in part because of shared example—will be used in relation to how involves selective routing that routes a technology—shared networks as well as you control call routing, who has access call, based on actual location or address, shared applications and distributed appli- to what data, security, things like that. to the appropriate PSAP [Public Safety cations to do things that are today done PROFIT: If the technology exists, why Answering Point] for a given geography or standalone. Say you have six counties the delay in implementation? jurisdiction. We’ve been doing that since sharing a computer-aided dispatch sys- HIXSON: A big issue right now is the 1980s. We’re now in the process of tem as a networked process and you’re identifying and forecasting changes in planning what will be a quantum leap splitting the cost six ways. telecommunications and public safety from E9-1-1 to NG9-1-1—Next Genera- PROFIT: What’s the timeline for Next services that affect how we design, tion 9-1-1. NG9-1-1 will be an IP [internet Generation 9-1-1? test, and implement the system. We’re protocol] network–based replacement HIXSON: The earliest you’ll see it fully designing a system that has to work in system that uses software applications to functional is 2009. It could be longer, the future, including for future types of replace many of the physical components and that’s just to get it started. There communication technologies, and that in today’s E9-1-1 system. will be early adopters who build varia- raises many questions. If we don’t solve PROFIT: Why is a software-based sys- tions—a couple users have done partial jurisdictional, funding, policy, and regula- tem an improvement over E9-1-1? NG9-1-1 types of systems, but not tory issues—what I refer to as enabling HIXSON: Today’s E9-1-1 systems the whole thing. Interest is growing in factors and what many people would call mostly use analog or digital trunking and requirements and standards for NG9-1-1. roadblocks—mass implementation of full switching. The function among differ- The functional aspects are based on IP NG9-1-1 won’t start by 2009.

Changavalli, “but they have failed because Changavalli. “In January 2007, we were gency response. India’s 1-0-8 was chosen they could not scale up. Scale is a big receiving 10,000 calls each day from a for reasons both cultural and practi- issue.” When EMRI was launched in population of 25 million. By May, the cal, but there is one defining factor that August 2005 in Hyderabad, the capital of population we serve more than tripled to underscores for CEO Changavalli how Andhra Pradesh, the plan was to launch 80 [million]. The awareness of 1-0-8 was important the public/private partnerships in four more towns in September, five only around 40 percent early in 2007. If are that make the system work. “These more in the first quarter of 2006, and an this awareness goes to 100 percent and kinds of undertakings require friendship additional 40 by June 30, 2006. In every the 25 million goes to 1,000 million, amongst the partners,” he says. “If you instance, the goals were met, and that which is what we anticipate, the number give numerical values to the alphabet—A pace of rapid expansion has continued, of calls will go to 1 million by 2010.” is 1, B is 2, C is 3—and you add up the making it worth the effort of creating numbers that make ‘friendship,’ you will a system with capacity to scale. Solid, 1-0-8 SAVES LIVES arrive at 108.” <> scalable back-end systems also allow for EMRI’s 1-0-8 emergency number joins easier front-end changes in interface, such 18 emergency numbers already in use Molly Rose Teuke is a freelance writer specializing as languages spoken, as the 1-0-8 model around the globe, most of them pub- in technology and business issues. is adopted in a broader area. licly sponsored. From Australia’s 0-0-0, “We tracked the type and volume of Moscow’s 0-5-1, and France’s 1-7 to the >> For more information calls expected, so that in terms of speci- 1-1-2 used by several European countries, Oracle E-Business Suite fications, we could build a system from each jurisdiction has its own reasons for oracle.com/applications the beginning that would grow,” notes choosing the digits that represent emer-

p r o f i t : t h e e x e c u t i v e ’ s g u i d e t o o r a c l e applications 6 1 FOCUS ON LEADERSHIP

THE RIGHT DIRECTION HOW PURPOSE, PASSION, AND INTEGRITY DRIVE LEADERS TO THE TOP

BY Kate Pavao need to have. So a lot of the exercises are really asking readers to frame their experi- n True North: Discover Your Authentic ences, the people who have influenced Leadership, Bill George states that them, the challenges they’ve had, to figure leaders need an “internal compass” to out who they are in the world. <> guide them. Profit talked to George, the former CEO of Medtronic and a pro- KATE PAVAO is a California-based freelance writer. fessor of management practice at Harvard Business School, about authentic leader- Authentic Leadership ship and the one value every leader needs. Bill George talks about his five PROFIT: What is an authentic leader? dimensions of authentic leadership. GEORGE: Being a leader is very much like being an athlete or a musician. You Pursue purpose with passion. may have gifts you’re born with, but you “At the end of the day, there needs to have to develop those throughout your be meaning for you, because people lifetime. Authentic leaders—who are sense that. Great organizations can genuine and have a sense of purpose and align around a purpose.” a clear sense of values—are much more as a leader. One of the most important Practice solid values. “Get alignment effective over the long term. The only way steps is to develop self-awareness, and the around values, and test your own val- you can stay true to who you are is to only way to do that is through effective, ues under pressure. That way when develop yourself as an authentic leader. consistent feedback. I’m a great believer you get pressure to do something Otherwise, you’re very much at risk of in 360-degree feedback—not just feed- unethical, you can say, ‘We’re not being a glory seeker or a shooting star. back from your bosses but also feedback going to do that.’” PROFIT: You interviewed more than 100 from your peers, the people who work for Lead with heart. “Qualities of the leaders for this book, including Starbucks’ you, the people you’re trying to motivate. Howard Schultz and Avon’s Andrea Jung, It’s also important in the middle of your heart are empathy for the people you all who have different strengths and styles. career to test your values under pressure. work with, compassion for the cus- You say integrity is the only consistent I think a lot of people in organizations are tomers, passion for the business, and value required of authentic leaders. Why? afraid, “If I fail, that’ll end my career.” We the courage to make hard decisions.” GEORGE: You can’t build a relationship all fail. At Medtronic I would not promote Establish enduring relationships. unless it’s based on integrity and trust. anyone to a high-level position who had “When Anne Mulcahy became CEO If I think someone is not telling me the not failed, who had not been tested. I had of Xerox, she had no financial back- truth, then I have to go around and check seen some people in other organizations ground and was facing bankruptcy. on them. Leaders who maintain a level float to the top and then make mega- Yet she rallied people around getting of integrity have more-effective organiza- mistakes because they didn’t know how Xerox restored to a great company. tions. Employees know what the ground to deal with the pressure. People trusted Anne, and they knew rules are, so if they’re doing business in a PROFIT: You include exercises in each her word was good.” foreign country where bribes are regularly chapter of the book. Should it be a lot of paid, they know how to handle that. work to find your true north? Demonstrate self-discipline. “Lead- PROFIT: What’s the No. 1 thing that GEORGE: Yes, because life is a lot of ers who set higher standards for their leaders moving up the corporate ladder work. A lot of people don’t want to deal subordinates than they do for them- should focus on? with pain they’ve experienced, and it gives selves aren’t going to be successful.” GEORGE: Consciously develop yourself them fears and anxieties they don’t really

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