Deriving Value from Oracle Applications with Microsoft Dynamics™ Published: January 2008 Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics Summary: The purpose of this whitepaper is to discuss how users can enhance the value of centralized Oracle application installations (hub) with local Microsoft Dynamics installations (spoke). Writers: Lan Kaim, Ed Kaim Technical Reviewers: Michel Putnik, Kees Hertogh Copyright The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. This White Paper is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT. 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Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Oracle and Microsoft Business Applications Overview ......................................................................1 IT Governance Model ................................................................................................... 1 Enterprise Application Adoption Risks ........................................................................ 2 Project Size ........................................................................................................................................................2 Training ...............................................................................................................................................................2 Cultural Adoption ............................................................................................................................................3 Utilizing Existing Investments .....................................................................................................................3 Hub and Spoke Model .............................................................................................................. 3 ERP Hub and Spoke Model ...................................................................................................... 3 Oracle E-Business Suite .................................................................................................................................3 Microsoft Dynamics NAV .............................................................................................................................3 Integration Scenarios .....................................................................................................................................4 Microsoft Dynamics AX .................................................................................................................................6 Integration Using BizTalk .............................................................................................................................6 CRM Hub and Spoke Model .................................................................................................... 7 Oracle CRM Product – Siebel ......................................................................................................................7 Microsoft Dynamics CRM .............................................................................................................................7 Using Siebel at the Hub and Microsoft Dynamics CRM at the Spoke .........................................8 Microsoft Application Platform ................................................................................. 10 Summary .................................................................................................................................... 10 Additional Information .......................................................................................................... 10 Sources and References .............................................................................................. 10 Deriving Value from Oracle Applications with Microsoft Dynamics 1 Introduction In this paper, we will discuss an IT infrastructure built upon hub and spoke concept. The hub and spoke concept refers to a parent or holding company that uses one business software system centrally (the hub) which is integrated with the systems used by its individual subsidiaries or divisions (the spokes). The hub and spoke scenario is typical for companies and organizations looking for more agile solutions that do not require the same infrastructure investment as big hub applications. Common spoke scenarios cover the needs of sales and marketing offices, production plants, or other entities with demand for highly capable and flexible ERP, SCM, PLM, SRM, or CRM solutions1. In this paper, we will look at two conceptual scenarios and the corresponding application platform implications: 1. An Oracle ERP application at the hub and a Microsoft® ERP application at the spoke. What are the implications for general ERP processes? 2. Siebel CRM at the hub and Microsoft CRM at the spoke. What are the implications for customer master and downstream master-slave information? Oracle and Microsoft Business Applications Overview Oracle applications, such as Siebel, are traditional hub systems that span ERP scenarios of various complexity and coverage to CRM scenarios. As of today, Oracle’s application offering is comprised of Oracle E-Business Suite, PeopleSoft Enterprise, Siebel, JD Edwards EnterpriseOne, JD Edwards World, and the upcoming Oracle Fusion Applications. In this article, we will focus on Oracle E-Business Suite and Siebel. Similarly, Microsoft Dynamics™ solutions span both the ERP and CRM scenarios and are capable of serving as either a hub or a spoke. However, this whitepaper will focus on Microsoft Dynamics spoke capabilities as they pertain to extending an existing Oracle investment. Microsoft Dynamics is comprised of Microsoft Dynamics AX, GP, NAV, CRM, POS, RMS, SL, and Snap solutions. In this article, we will focus on Microsoft Dynamics AX, NAV and CRM. IT Governance Model For a variety of historical reasons, many large companies have implemented ERP and CRM in a ―piecemeal‖ fashion: site by site, country by country, or business unit by business unit. Over the last five years, there has been increased pressure on IT budgets, resulting in a push to bring IT costs down. Most companies have looked at consolidation of their IT infrastructure and, specifically, at the number of ERP and CRM instances in their organizations. Consolidating the number of ERP instances seems like a logical win to save on IT costs; however this cost saving is not as straightforward as it seems. For example, as early as 2003, an AMR analyst survey study of 60 enterprise companies showed that the consolidation projects alone usually required reimplementation of an ERP system and cost an average of $10M per $1B of company revenue. The adoption and training costs were not even included in the study. Instead of cost saving, governance structure should be a primary factor in determining whether a company should take a single instance approach or work toward consolidating to a handful of instances. The level of consolidation depends on the company’s governance model (see Figure 1 on the following page). The three most common scenarios are centralized, federated, and decentralized, which describe the relationship between business units and corporate. 1 i.e., Enterprise Resource Planning, Supply Chain Management, Product Lifecycle Management, Supplier Relationship Management, and Customer Relationship Management. ©2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Deriving Value from Oracle Applications with Microsoft Dynamics 2 The IT governance model a company chooses, as well as its product and service diversity, the geographic nature of the business, and the size of the company