Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) is a comprehensive suite of business applications that helps enterprises run their operations efficiently and effectively. Oracle EBS has been evolving over time, offering greater value and new advantages for businesses. Upgrading Oracle EBS is key to realizing the maximum return on your Oracle investment and staying current with the latest features and functionalities.
In this blog post, we will discuss the best practices for upgrading Oracle EBS to the latest version 12.2.11 and database version 19C. We will cover the following topics:
- Why upgrade to Oracle EBS 12.2.11 and database 19C?
- What are the prerequisites and requirements for the upgrade?
- What are the steps and phases of the upgrade process?
- What are the common challenges and risks of the upgrade and how to mitigate them?
- What are the benefits and outcomes of the upgrade?
Why upgrade to Oracle EBS 12.2.11 and database 19C?
Oracle EBS 12.2.11 is the latest release update of Oracle EBS 12.2, which is the most current and stable release of Oracle EBS. Oracle EBS 12.2.11 offers several enhancements and improvements over previous versions, such as:
- New features and functionalities in various modules, such as Financials, Supply Chain, Human Capital Management, and more.
- Improved performance, scalability, security, and reliability of the application and database layers.
- Simplified patching and maintenance using the Online Patching feature, which allows applying patches without downtime.
- Enhanced user experience and usability with the new look and feel, personalization options, and mobile and tablet support.
- Increased integration and interoperability with other Oracle products and cloud services, such as Oracle Fusion Applications, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Oracle Analytics Cloud, and more.
Oracle database 19C is the latest and long term support release of Oracle database, which is the underlying platform for Oracle EBS. Oracle database 19C offers several benefits and advantages over previous versions, such as:
- New features and functionalities in areas such as performance, availability, security, analytics, and more.
- Improved stability, compatibility, and supportability of the database layer.
- Extended support and patching until 2027, which ensures a longer and smoother lifecycle for your Oracle EBS environment.
- Reduced cost and complexity of database administration and management using the new features and tools, such as Automatic Indexing, Real Application Clusters, Data Guard, and more.
By upgrading to Oracle EBS 12.2.11 and database 19C, you can leverage the latest and greatest capabilities of Oracle EBS and database, and ensure that your Oracle EBS environment is up to date, secure, and compliant with the Oracle support policies.
What are the prerequisites and requirements for the upgrade?
Before you start the upgrade process, you need to ensure that your Oracle EBS environment meets the prerequisites and requirements for the upgrade. Some of the key prerequisites and requirements are:
- You need to be on a supported source release of Oracle EBS, such as 11i, 12.0, or 12.1. If you are on an older or unsupported release, you need to first upgrade to a supported release before upgrading to 12.2.11.
- You need to have sufficient hardware and software resources to support the upgrade, such as CPU, memory, disk space, operating system, middleware, and network. You can use the Oracle EBS Upgrade Sizing and Best Practices white paper to estimate the resource requirements for the upgrade.
- You need to have a backup and recovery strategy for your Oracle EBS environment, such as using RMAN, Data Pump, or other tools. You need to take a full backup of your Oracle EBS environment before the upgrade and test the backup and restore procedures.
- You need to have a testing and validation strategy for your Oracle EBS environment, such as using automated or manual testing tools, test scripts, test cases, and test data. You need to test the upgrade process and the functionality of the upgraded Oracle EBS environment in a non-production environment before applying it to the production environment.
- You need to have a change management and communication strategy for your Oracle EBS environment, such as using project management tools, documentation, training, and stakeholder engagement. You need to plan and communicate the upgrade scope, schedule, roles, responsibilities, risks, and impacts to the relevant parties, such as business users, IT staff, vendors, and partners.
What are the steps and phases of the upgrade process?
The upgrade process from a source release of Oracle EBS to 12.2.11 and database 19C consists of several steps and phases, which can be broadly categorized into the following:
- Pre-upgrade: This phase involves preparing your Oracle EBS environment for the upgrade, such as applying pre-upgrade patches, performing pre-upgrade checks, gathering statistics, and backing up the environment.
- Upgrade: This phase involves performing the actual upgrade of your Oracle EBS environment, such as upgrading the database, upgrading the application, applying post-upgrade patches, and running post-upgrade scripts.
- Post-upgrade: This phase involves verifying and validating your upgraded Oracle EBS environment, such as performing post-upgrade checks, testing the functionality, resolving issues, and restoring statistics.
The exact steps and phases of the upgrade process may vary depending on your source release, target release, and upgrade method. You can use the Oracle EBS Upgrade Guide and the Oracle EBS Database Upgrade Guide to get the detailed instructions and best practices for the upgrade process.
What are the common challenges and risks of the upgrade and how to mitigate them?
The upgrade of Oracle EBS and database is a complex and critical project that involves many technical and functional aspects. Some of the common challenges and risks of the upgrade are:
- Downtime: The upgrade of Oracle EBS and database may require a significant amount of downtime, which may affect the availability and continuity of your business operations. To mitigate this risk, you need to plan and schedule the upgrade during a low-activity period, such as weekends or holidays, and use the Online Patching feature to minimize the downtime for applying patches.
- Customizations: The upgrade of Oracle EBS and database may affect the functionality and compatibility of your customizations, such as custom code, reports, forms, workflows, and integrations. To mitigate this risk, you need to identify and document your customizations, perform a CEMLI (Configuration, Extension, Modification, Localization, and Integration) assessment, and retrofit or migrate your customizations to the upgraded Oracle EBS environment.
- Performance: The upgrade of Oracle EBS and database may impact the performance and scalability of your Oracle EBS environment, such as response time, throughput, and concurrency. To mitigate this risk, you need to tune and optimize your Oracle EBS and database environment, such as using Automatic Indexing, Real Application Clusters, Data Guard, and other features and tools to enhance the performance and availability of your Oracle EBS environment.
- Data quality: The upgrade of Oracle EBS and database may affect the quality and integrity of your data, such as data loss, corruption, or inconsistency. To mitigate this risk, you need to validate and reconcile your data, such as using data comparison, data audit, and data cleansing tools and techniques to ensure the accuracy and completeness of your data.
What are the benefits and outcomes of the upgrade?
The upgrade of Oracle EBS and database is a worthwhile and rewarding project that can bring many benefits and outcomes for your business, such as:
- Improved functionality and usability: The upgrade of Oracle EBS and database can enable you to access and use the new features and functionalities of Oracle EBS and database, such as new modules, new look and feel, new personalization options, new mobile and tablet support, and more. These features and functionalities can help you improve your business processes, productivity, and user satisfaction.
- Increased performance and reliability: The upgrade of Oracle EBS and database can improve the performance and reliability of your Oracle EBS and database environment, such as faster response time, higher throughput, greater scalability, enhanced security, and reduced downtime. These improvements can help you increase your operational efficiency, quality, and customer service.
- Reduced cost and complexity: The upgrade of Oracle EBS and database can reduce the cost and complexity of your Oracle EBS and database environment, such as lower maintenance and support costs, simpler patching and administration, easier integration and interoperability, and longer support and patching lifecycle. These reductions can help you save time, money, and resources, and focus on your core business activities.
Conclusion
Oracle EBS and database are the core components of your enterprise IT infrastructure, and upgrading them to the latest versions can bring significant benefits and advantages for your business. However, upgrading Oracle EBS and database is not a trivial task, and it requires careful planning, preparation, execution, and validation. By following the best practices and guidelines discussed in this blog post, you can ensure a successful and smooth upgrade of your Oracle EBS and database environment.
We hope you found this blog post helpful and informative. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at protech fusion services. We are a leading provider of Oracle EBS and database upgrade services, and we have the expertise and experience to help you with your Oracle EBS and database upgrade project. We can help you with the following:
- Assessing your current Oracle EBS and database environment and determining the optimal upgrade path and strategy for your business needs and goals.
- Performing the upgrade of your Oracle EBS and database environment using the best