Goodbye Oracle Discoverer, Hello Next-Generation Reporting

Before deciding on your Oracle Discoverer replacement, analyze the existing Discoverer reports and ask the right questions. Home»GoodbyeOracleDiscoverer,HelloNext-GenerationReporting GoodbyeOracleDiscoverer,HelloNext-GenerationReporting February20,2022 insightsoftwareistheglobalproviderofenterprisesoftwaresolutionsfortheOfficeoftheCFOtoconnectto&makesenseofdatainrealtime,drivingfinancialintelligenceacross[…] UserinterfacesforERPreportingtoolsaremostoftenbuiltwithITstaffinmind,nottheenduser.Easyaccesstoinformationiskey,butmanypeoplefeelthatgettingthisaccesstakestoolong.ForusersofOracleE-BusinessSuite(EBS),dataaccessisabouttogetabitmoredifficultnowthatthecompanyhasphasedouttheOracleDiscovererproduct.ManycustomersarenowlookingforanOracleDiscovererreplacementandalternative. TableofContents DefineYourOracleDiscovererReplacementRequirements EvaluateYourDiscovererReplacementOptions StickwithOracleDiscoverer MigratetoOBIEE LookforaNext-GenerationOracleReportingSolution MaketheFinalSelection MigratetoYourNewOracleReportingSolution Conclusion   OracleDiscovererisUnsupported. WhatComesNext? Asaheavyweightintheworldonenterprisesoftware,Oraclemakesalotofcompaniesscrambleanytimeitdecidestostopsupportingoneofitscoreproducts.SuchisthecasewithOracleDiscoverer,oneoftheprimaryreportingtoolsintheOracleecosystem. Oracle’s2014StatementofDirection laidoutitssupportstrategy.NotethatextendedsupportforOracleDiscovererendedin2017. Userswhotransferredfrompremiertoextendedsupportdidnothavethebenefitofbeingcertifiedwithmostnewthird-partyproducts/versions(suchaswebbrowsersandWindows10),ormorenewOracleproducts. UserswhostayonboardwithOracleDiscovereruntilthesustainingperiodendswillnothavethefollowingsupport: CertificationwithmostexistingOracleproducts/versions Certificationwithmostexistingthird-partyproducts/versions Softwareandoperatingsystemupdates Newpatches,alerts,orscripts Thesedowngradesinsupportallpointtosomethingfairlyobvious:OraclewantsyoutomigratetoanOracleDiscovereralternative. Real-TimeReportingAlternativeforOracle GetaDemo TheR12.2UpgradeandWhatitMeansforDiscovererUsers  WhenupgradingtoEBSR12.2youalsomakethemovetoonlinepatching, whichmeansyoucannolongeraccesstables(e.g.,GLBalances)directly.ThismeansyouwillneedtomakeasignificantinvestmentrewritingyourDiscovererreports. So,thequestionis,doesitmakesensetomakesuchaninvestmentofyourtimeandeffortinto a productthatisnolongersupportedandhasaverylimitedshelflife?  What’smore,stickingwithDiscoverercarriessecurityrisksforyourorganization.DiscovererusesaJavaApplet,technologywhichisnolongersupportedbymostmodernbrowsers,includingGoogleChrome,Firefox,Safari,andMicrosoftEdge.Tocontinueusingit,youwouldneedtouseanolder,unsupportedbrowserversion,whichincreasessecurityvulnerabilitiesandvirusriskstoyourorganization.  Additionally,Oracleisactivelydiscouraginguserswitha19cdatabase(thecurrentlong-termrelease)fromusingDiscoverer,asitisnotcertifiedorsupportedforusers.Oracleencouragescustomerstomigratetoothersolutions. Thereisasignificantriskwithunsupportedproducts.Ifabugisintroduced,youwillbeunabletogetanewpatchtoresolveit.So,ifOraclewantsuserstomigratefromDiscoverer,whatcomesnext? Followthesefourstepstofindout. Step1:DefineYourOracleDiscovererReplacementRequirements Youcan’tidentifytherightreplacementwithoutknowingwhatyouneedfirst.BeginbyconsideringthepainpointsofusingOracleDiscoverer.Ifreportingprovedtobeatimeandlabor-intensiveprocess,takesometimetounderstandwhy.Thatwaythereplacementisanactualupgrade.It’salsoimportanttoconsideryourbusinessobjectives,bothinsideandoutsidefinance.Whatdoyourreportsneedtoinclude toimproveenterpriseperformancemanagement?Finally,talktostakeholdersinfinance,IT,andtheC-suiteaboutwhattheidealreportingprocesslooksliketobothproducersandconsumers.Relyonallthesesourcestodevelopadetailedlistofrequirementsforyournextreportingtool. Step2:EvaluateYourDiscovererReplacementOptions TheenterprisesoftwaremarketisfullofOraclereportingtools,butnotallofthemoffertheupgradeyou’relookingfor.Firstandforemost,seekoutsolutionswiththetoolsandfeatures you’relookingfor,butdon’tmakethistheentiretyofyourevaluation.Youwillalsowanttoconsiderfactorslikecost,vendorreputation,implementationrequirements,user-friendliness,andtrainingrequirements.Identifyingtherightvendorisacomplicatedequationthatdependsonbalancingvariouspriorities:loweringITcosts,speedingupreporting,minimizingITinput,integratingmoredata,etc.Itcostsmuchmoretoimplementthewrongsoftwarethanitcoststodelayfindingareplacement,sobesuretospendasmuchtimeasnecessaryevaluating. Inactuality,threeoptionsexist: StayingwithunsupportedDiscoverer MigratingtothemorecomplexandexpensiveOracleBusinessIntelligenceEnterpriseEdition(OBIEE) Exploringuser-andcost-friendly next-generationreportingalternatives.   Webinar:ReplacingDiscoverer-TopWaystoMoveForwardwithReal-TimeData WatchNow Option1:StickwithOracleDiscoverer FororganizationswithhundredsorthousandsofDiscovererreports,it’soverwhelmingtothinkofswitchingtoanotherERPreportingtool.Howcanyoure-developallthereportscreatedovertheyears?Willthetransitiondeliveraspromised?Whatifthere’sasteepuserlearningcurve?HowmuchITeffortandimplementationtimewillanewtoolrequire? Fearoftheunknownhasleftmanycompaniesafraidtoimplementanewreportingtool,yettheriskofstayingwithDiscovererisbecomingincreasinglyhigh.Althoughdoingsowouldrequiretheleastamountofcostandeffort,Oraclewon’tbetheretoassistifyouencounteraproblem.ThismightcauseyourorganizationtoavoidupgradingitsERPforfearofDiscovererbreakingwithoutareplacementinhand. ITskillsareanotherconcern.BecauseDiscovererhasbeennon-strategicsince2006,it’sachallengeforITtosuccessfullywritereports.Evenfindingtheresourceswiththerighttechnicalknowledgetodosoisdifficultandsometimesresultsinanunhealthydependencyonasingleexpert. Option2:MigratetoOBIEE OraclerecommendsthatOracleDiscovererusersmigratetoOracleBusinessIntelligenceFoundationSuite,whichincludesOBIEE.OBIEEisastrategicBItoolthatprovidesawebplatformwithattractivedashboardssuitableforC-levelneeds. UsingOBIEEasDiscoverer’sreplacementisintendedtohelpunlockthepowerofyourinformationwithrobustreporting,adhocqueryandanalysis,OLAP,dashboard,andscorecardfunctionalitythatofferstheenduseranexperiencethatcomeswithvisualization,collaboration,alertcapabilities,andmore.ButdoesOBIEEstackup? Whileithasmanyadvantages,it’snotbuilttobeatransactionalreportingtoolforday-to-dayadhocanalysisoreasydrillingintodatadetails.OBIEErequiresadatawarehouse,andbusinessesmusttypicallyplansixto12monthsaheadtodevelopthestructureofthereportstheyanticipate,whichisdifficultfordynamicbusinesseswherereportingneedschangedaily.Also,implementationiscostlyandlengthy,oftenrequiringconsultantstobuildnewreportsorconvertDiscovererreportstoOBIEE,whichtakesasmanyaseightsteps. AnotherexpenseistheongoingexpertiseneededtocreateOBIEEreportsoncetheapplicationisinstalled,asitrequiresaspecificskillset.SomecompanieswhohavepurchasedOBIEEabandonitforlesscostlyalternativesthatprovideautonomyfortheaverageusersincreatingreports. TheadvantagesanddisadvantagesofOBIEEasanOracleDiscovererreplacement: AdvantagesofOBIEE Interactivedashboardsthatprovidereportswitharichvarietyofvisualizationtools. NiceUI–GreatdashboardsforC-levelexecutives. Goodaggregation–Impressivesummarydata. Strongenterprisereportingthataccommodatesformattedtemplatesandreports. Exceptionreporting–Detectionandalertsthattriggerworkflowsbasedonbusinessevents. Spatialintelligencethatallowsuserstovisualizeanalyticsviamap-basedvisualizations. DisadvantagesofOBIEE Extendedimplementation–Becauseofitscomplexity,OBIEEcantakesixto12months(ormore)toimplement. Datawarehouse(andday-olddata)–TouseOBIEE,youmayneedtocreateadatawarehouse.ThismeansOBIEEreportswillrequiretime-consumingexportsofdatatothewarehouse,soyou’llendupwithday-oldstaticdataandnotreal-timereportsyoucandrillinto. Consultingresourcesand/orBIprogrammers–ConsultingresourcesforaBIprojectareoftendoubleormorethesoftwarelicensingcosts.ThisisbecauseOBIEEprogrammersmustintimatelyunderstandOracle’s30,000-plustablesduetothewayOBIEEretrievesandstoresdata.You’lleitherbestuckwithconsultingcostsforcreatingandmaintainingreports,orhavetohireahigh-dollarBIprogrammerlongterm. Easeofuse–TheBIMobileAPPDesignerisdifficulttouse,atbest,whenupgradingfrompreviousversions.OBIEEisnottransactionalandit’sdifficulttodrilldowntothelittledetails,thusrequiringadatadumpintoExcel.ItisalsolessdynamicandagilethanDiscovererandcannoteasilyalterreports Lengthyreportconversion–ConvertingaDiscovererreporttoOBIEEisn’tautomatedandcantakeuptoeightstepsperreport.Thisiscostly,asyou’reusuallyrelyingonconsultants. Security–OBIEEhasitsownsecurityprofilesoutsideofOracleEBS,andittakestimetomapandreconcilethetwo,whichcanbecriticalwhenyouarehiringorlettingpeoplego.SecuritychangesinEBScanoftenbeoverlookedinOBIEE,allowinganunauthorizedemployeetogainaccesstosensitivedata. Toomanybellsandwhistles–Asurveyofmorethan250Oraclecustomersshowedthat72percentofOBIEEusersclaimtheydon’tfullyexploitthetool.Manyjustwantfasttransactionalandadhocreporting―andevencreatingthatbasictypeofreportcantakeuptoayearinOBIEE.   Option3:LookforaNext-GenerationOracleReportingSolution Whenevaluatingwhatyourorganizationtrulyneeds,itmightmakethemostsensetolookforareportingtoolthatprovidesthereal-timeaspectsofDiscoverer,withoutboththeobviousandhiddencostsofOBIEE.DatasecurityandautomatedconversionofDiscovererreportsareotherfeaturestolookforinanewtool.Bydoingso,you’llapproachyourreportingprojectwithaclearviewofthebestoption. WhenusersinanERPsurveywereaskedaboutthe mostimportantconsiderationsforfutureERPimplementations,“fasttimetovalue”and“simplicityforallusers”toppedthelist.ThisindicatesthatabetteralternativeforERPreportingneedscouldbecost-effectivesoftwarethatbuildsonuserfamiliaritywithtoolslikeMicrosoftExcel,whereERPdataoftenendsupanywayforformattingandmanipulation. Next-generationreportingsolutionsforOracleEBSprovideimmediateaccessanddatadrill-downfromreportsviaExcel,makingiteasyforaverageuserstocreatetheirownreports.Also,insteadoftakingmonthstoimplement,thesetoolsinstallinafewhoursanddon’trequireadatawarehousewithitsexpenseandextracomplexity. ReportsWandisa next-generationreportingalternativeforOracleEBS11itoR12 usersthatcomeswithpre-builtreportsforFinancials,SupplyChain,HR,Manufacturing,Service,andothermodules.Inkeepingwithuserneedsfor“fasttimetovalue,”conversionofDiscovererreportsisaccomplishedintwoeasysteps. ReplaceOracleDiscoverer GetaFreeDemo   Step3:MaketheFinalSelection Onceyoueliminateallbutafewcandidates,scheduleconsultationsorsoftwaredemos.Don’thesitatetoprovidethevendorswithspecificreportingrequirementsandactualfinancialdata.Thebestvendorswillcustomizetheirdemonstrationtogiveyouahands-onfeelforhowtheproductadaptstoyouractualreportingworkflows.Aspartofthedemo,trytolearnasmuchaboutthevendorastheproductitself.Afterall,you’relookingforanewreportingtoolbecauseyouroldoneisnowunsupported.WhoeveryouchooseasyournewvendorshouldbeeagertogoaboveandbeyondOracle. CriticalOpportunityforReportConsolidation BeforedecidingonyourOracleDiscovererreplacement,firstanalyzetheexistingDiscovererreportsandasktherightquestionsofbusinessuserstoreducetheamountofreportsrequiringconversion.AJune2017surveyrevealedthat36percentofrespondentshaveupto200Discovererreportsintheirorganizations,withanother29percentusing201to500reports.Anadditional19percenthavefrom501to1,000reports.Onamonthlybasis,64percentofrespondentssaidthey personally usezeroto10Discovererreports,andanother16percentusefrom11to20. TheendofDiscovereroffersaperfectopportunitytoconsolidateexistingreportsintoamoremanageablenumber,asmanyreportshavebeenduplicatedovertheyearswithjustasingleparameterchangeorwereusedonlyonceyearsago.We’reconfidentthatyoumayfindthevastmajorityofexistingDiscovererreportsobsoleteoraduplicate.Thinkofthenumberoftimesyou’vecopiedareportandaddedanewcolumn,anewparameter,orchangedafilter.ThisleadstothetypicalEBSsitehavinghundredsofredundantDiscovererReports.WithReportsWand,filtersaredynamic;youdon’thavetosaveacopyofareportjusttochangeafilter. So,asfinanceandotherusersopenDiscovererreportsforconversion,thereisaperfectopportunitytoassessthereport’susefulnessandeliminateredundantorone-offreports.Reducingthenumberofreports,itturnsout,isnotrivialmatter,asevidencedbya surveyofFortune500businessunitsbyTheLabConsulting describedina CFO article. Inthesurvey,85percentofbusinessunitssaidthatnooneinfinancetrackedthenumberofmanagementreportsorwhethertheywereused.Interviewswithinternalcustomersshowedthatmanyweren’tusedatallandmorethanhalfwereusedonlypartially.Allofthisresultsincostlyandmaybeunnecessaryreportcreationprocesses(perhaps$8,000ormoreperreportannually),aswellaspotentiallycostlyduplicates.OnesurveyedFortune500manufacturingcompanygeneratedmorethan10,000internalmanagementreports―oneforevery25employees. TheLabConsulting’ssuggestion:Manageyourreportswithasmuchattentionasyougiveyourofficefurnitureinventory,usingstandardnames,cleardescriptions,andacentralizedinventory.Theirexperiencehasshownthatasmanyashalfofalargecompany’sreportscanbeeliminated,“allowingfinancetospendmoretimeinaconsultativerole.” WhilemigratingtoanewreportingplatformforreportingfromFinancials―andSupplyChain,HR,Manufacturing,Service,andotherOracleEBSmodules―mayseemadauntingtask,italsooffersagreatopportunitytodevelopleanerreportingprocessesacrossanorganizationwiththerighttoolinplace.Next-generationExcel-basedreportinglike ReportsWand notonlyoffersaneasyconversionprocess,butanongoingwayforuserstoeasilycreateandcentrallymanagereportswhileaddingvaluethroughimproveddataanalysis. BuildYourNextGenerationReportingProcessToday RequestaFreeDemoNow Step4:MigratetoYourNewOracleReportingSolution WhileconvertingyourDiscovererreportstoanotherreportingsolutionmayseemdaunting,followingthisReview-Migrate-Evolvegameplanwith11simplestepscanmaketheprocesslesspainlessandultimatelymoreproductiveforyourfinanceandaccountingteam. REVIEW AssessCurrentDiscovererReportUse Agameplantosimplymigratereportslike-for-likemaynotbethebestanswer.Overtheyears,you’vebuiltalibraryofreports,manyofwhicharenowredundant.Nowyouhaveanopportunitytoflag—usinganautomatedprocess—whichreportsaretrulyimportantandusedmostoftenbyyourteam.  IdentifyandEradicateDuplication Ifyouhaven’tcentrallycontrolledreportdevelopment,youprobablysufferfromaproliferationofreportsthatareexactduplicatesorvaryfromeachotheronlymarginally.Areviewofexistingreportscanreducethenumberofduplicates,aswellastheirassociatedcosts.Italsooffersanopportunitytoimprovereportdesign.  ChallengeBusinessRequirements TalktoyourteamabouthowtheyactuallyuseDiscovererreports,howtheyinteractwiththedatainthem,andwhichreportstheyconsidercritical.However,bepreparedtochallengeyourteam’sperceivedbusinessrequirements.“We’vealwaysdoneitthisway”isnojustificationforrollingDiscovererreportsforward. Next,comparewhatyou’veheardfromyourteamtothefindingsfromStep1thatshowwhichreportsareusedmostinreality.Also,lookforsimilaroroverlappingrequirementssothatmultiplereportscanbeconsolidatedintoone.   MIGRATE MigratewithAutomatedFunctionality IdentifyasubsetofyourprioritizedDiscovererreportsandmigratethemtoanewreportingapplication,preferablyonewithanautomatedmigrationtool.Someorganizationshavesignificantlydrivenefficienciesbyreducingtheirreportlibrarydowntoaslittleas10percentoftheoriginal.   BeWaryofthe“Pig(skin)withLipstick” Whileendingupwithexactlythesamereportinyournewreportingenvironmentmaybeagoodstart,youshouldalwayslookforimprovementopportunitiesthatclarifythereportorprovideadditionalinformationforusersandmanagement.(See“Evolve’”below.)   TargetYourFriendliestTeamPlayersasFirstAdopters Identifytheplayersonyourteamwhoaremostlikelytoadoptandchampionanewreportingtoolthroughouttheorganization.Theearlieryouinvolveyourbestchangeadvocatesintheprocess,themorepointsyouwillscoreforreportcreationanddefinition,useracceptance,andmore.   EVOLVE FocusonOneSolutionandanEasy-to-UseInterfaceforAll Avoidingmultipleuserinterfacesormultipletoolsfordifferentpurposeswillalsoscorepointswithyourteamforthenewreportingenvironmentthroughanimproveduserexperience.WilltheinterfaceallowtheteamtointeractwithEBSdataaswellasviewit?  DeliverContentandBusinessValueEarly Youcanmaximizeadoptionofanewreportingenvironmentwithagileandrapiddeploymentofyourteam’sevolvingbusinessrequirements.Betteryet,ifthisenvironmentoffersself-servicereportingcapability,yourteamwillbemoremotivatedandsatisfied,andyourITresourceswillbelessstressed.   CommunicateandDemonstrate“ArtofthePossible” It’simportantnottooverlooktheimportanceofcoachingacultureandmethodforsharinggoodcontent,liketipsandtricksforreporting.Encouraginganinvolved,community-focusedteammotivatesinnovationanddevelopmentofbestpracticesthroughoutyourorganization.   LeveragetheCapabilityofMicrosoftExcel Ifyouranalysisofbusinessprocesses(Step3)uncoversthatmostteammembersprefertomanipulateEBSdatainExcel,advancedtrainingwillleverageongoingbenefits.Surprisingly,Excel’scapabilitiesarestillsubstantiallyunder-utilizedinmanyorganizations.Andwhilemanyinfinance—includingtheCFOsinthepreviouslymentionedstudy—feelExcelslowsreporting,itcanactuallyexpediteitifExcellinksdirectlytoEBSdata.   AutomateReportingwithProactiveTriggering Whileyourteammembersdrivemostreportingtasks,establishingkeyperformanceindicators(KPIs)withtriggerpointsthatflagdataoutsideoftheacceptablerangecandriveyourbusinessperformancescoreevenhigher.TheseKPIsletyourteamefficientlyfocusonrevealingexceptionsratherthantediouslyanalyzingalloftheresults. UsingthisReport-Migrate-EvolvegameplansetsyouupforwinningthetrophyforimprovedreportingandanalysisthatCFOsmostcovetthisyear―allwhileyouareupagainstthechallengeofDiscoverer’sdemise.Inadditiontodrivingbusinessefficiencies,improveddataaccess,andbetterdecision-making,thisgameplancanalsomotivateyourteamtobetteracceptanewreportingenvironment. Conclusion SinceDiscovererwasdiscontinued,manyformerusershavemigratedtoOracleDiscovereralternativesfrominsightsoftware.Oursuiteoffinancialreportingtoolsgivesyoumultiplereplacementstochoosefrom,allofferingaclearupgradeinanaccessibleformat.Whatcomesnextisanopportunitytoupgradeyourreportingandyourenterpriseperformancemanagementintheprocess.   RelatedResources WhitePaper SaaSBusinesses,EnhanceYourNetSuiteDataAnalysiswithSpreadsheetServer Video WandsforOracleTips&Tricks:ExtendtheGLWandSubledgerDrilldown Webinar WandsforOracleLunch&Learn-Top5OracleERPCloudMigrationConsiderations AnalyticsandBI BridgingtheGapBetweenOracleOperationalReportingandAnalyticswithAnglesforOracleERP SampleReport GLWandReportWizardQuickStart CustomerStory AirportManagementTeamReachesNewReportingHeights RequestPricing ScheduleaPersonalizedDemo