Infosys-Oracle Blog

The Combo for Successful Application Integrations is on its Way!

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:58:40 +0000

It makes sense for us to begin the story with the mention of nothing other than the Application Integration Architecture release 3.0 (AIA 3.0) which is going to be out shortly. Application Integration Architecture is an integration solution for orchestrating agile, user-centric business processes across enterprise applications. It offers prebuilt solutions at the data, process and user interface levels delivering a more complete process solution to business end users. With handful of productivity tooling components, reference process models, infrastructure components, methodologies that guide us through the SOA development lifecycle and many more, AIA 3.0 is going to stand out as superior reference architecture for implementing best practice Service Oriented Architecture in Enterprise Application Integrations.

Critical Success Factors for Implementation projects

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 10:47:02 +0000

Having managed fairly large implementation projects from offshore namely among them being for a Banking Major & Global power leader , I would like to list down the critical success factors and the key points that we should not lose sight of .

Effort estimation of a project should drive the schedule and Go Live date
Solution Acceptance
PMO governance
Tighter control and tracking process
Data Migration
Infrastructure Planning
Performance/Stress Testing
Cut Over
End User Adoption
Risk & Readiness Assessment
Stakeholder Management & Responsibility Definition
Resource Allocation

On Demand TMS: A new reality in transportation sector

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:50:16 +0000

In the era of traditional Transpiration Management Systems (TMS), a company buys packaged software by paying an upfront license fee and deploys the software on computer platforms within their own enterprise, being responsible for the general technical support of the application.
Over the past few years, we have come across variety of terms like hosted solutions, ASP (application service provider), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The basic idea shared among all such concepts is that rather than installing software on a server within the boundaries of the enterprise’s IT domain, the software resides outside the company’s walls by 3^rd party service providers and delivered over web technology.
SaaS or “On Demand” generally implies a multi-tenant model, where multiple companies share a single/multiple instance of the software and associated hardware / infrastructure. It makes perfect sense for transportation processes to be deployed on SaaS mode as they are

Inherently network centric
Involve extensive communication and collaboration between different trading partners
Standard workflows across companies and industries

On demand TMS is the latest buzzword in the transportation industry. They are developed on Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) platform to keep pace with recent developments in IT industry. On demand TMS definitely scores over traditional TMS in many key areas such as

Incremental implementation (module wise) reduces initial cost overhead & ensures rapid deployment.
Greater willingness to adapt to the application as on-demand TMS is perceived as a “service”, making buyers accept it as more standardized offering and demand less customization.
Ready to use carrier connectivity enables providers to leverage existing carrier connections among common customers
Collaborative transportation opportunities via benchmarking transportation processes across the industry.
Strategic flexibility to “unplug” an on-demand TMS solution and switch to another service provider
Additional advantages provided by on demand TMS providers like process consulting by domain experts, streamlining support escalations and guaranteed performance levels.
On demand TMS is definitely the way forward, but it does not pose an end to traditional TMS implementation as initial subscription cost in this model works out to be higher when compared to traditional TMS deployment. Only ‘vanilla’ configuration can be managed in such formats leaving little room for customer specific enhancements. Moreover, enterprise will always face the strategic risk of exposing company specific data to external world.
Corporate shippers should look at a two step approach to TMS implementation. Initial phase of TMS project should be delivered via on demand service provider, but later with better process maturity, the enterprise should move to in-house TMS deployment to appraise processes to next level and maintain more control over data.
Acknowledgments for inputs from - Nipun Lakhotia , OTM Consultant, Oracle Practice

Managed Solution for Staffing Industry

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:39:04 +0000

As staffing industries remain challenged to grow their revenues, their focus areas have also shifted to reduce their back office costs continually, streamline the business process through automation, front to back office integrations and integration with VMS systems. Given their proven experience in implementing and supporting global implementations be it compliance with global accounting requirements or managing global payroll, ERP System integrators are very strongly placed to help staffing companies reduce their back office costs both on the pay side and the bill side, thereby improving their bottom-line revenue.

Is it possible to achieve “Zero” breakdown in Maintenance World?

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 06:26:38 +0000

In maintenance world when we talk of “Zero Break down” most of the time maintenance crew says that it is not possible to achieve zero break down. So is it really possible to achieve “Zero Break down” for a Machine /Equipment? The answer is “Yes”.

What is breakdown? :- When a Machine (M/c)is working and suddenly something fails for e.g. in case of CNC M/c hydraulic hose pipe rupture and leads to heavy oil leakage ,thus Beak down due hydraulic leakage occurs on the M/C.
Above Failure could have anticipated by doing regular check of hydraulic hose piping by carrying out proper preventive, predictive maintenance
What is “Zero Breakdowns”? :- When a Maintenance Department hand over a M/C to Production department for the Production activities that time maintenance department can confidently tell the M/C would not fail due to “Hydraulic leakage” for another 24 Hrs as they have done a proper inspection/ratification through Preventive and Predictive Maintenance on the M/C on Hydraulic side. This 24 hrs of running time without any Hydraulic failure is said to be “Zero Break Down” in Hydraulic failure.
After 24 Hrs again maintenance team would take the machine in their custody to do preventive and predictive maintenance to ensure that there would not be any failure due to “Hydraulic leakage” for another 24 hrs, thus maintenance team take over the control of M/C after certain running period of the M/Cs and do preventive/Predictive maintenance to active “Zero Breakdown” in specific area e.g. ‘Hydraulic Pipe failure’. Over a period of time by doing proper, regular preventive maintenance on almost all the areas of M/C instead of specific area leads to achieve Total “Zero Breakdown” on an asset for certain mentioned period time frame by the Maintenance department.

Lets Be Innovative like our own LIC

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 04:20:45 +0000

LIC – Life Insurance Corporation of India is the largest life insurer of India with an asset base of USD 160 billion and insuring 220 million lives over past 50 years.

It has recently come out with innovative schemes to revive insurance policies of individuals who defaulted on premiums during the global recession of 2009. As per a leading source, it was estimated that around 7 million policies were closed in 2009 alone. The schemes include:

a) Revival of policies with all riders by paying premium along with interest at one go

b) Payment of premium in easy instalments but revive the policies with immediate effect

Such schemes are turning out to be a win win situation for both LIC and the Individuals since the corporation would maintain a healthy bottom line by retaining customers and the individuals would gain by revival of their policies

Taking a cue from LIC, software companies should also start taking measures especially for their Banking and Financial industry clients who were hit hard by recession. For E.g. Software Companies acting in ERP space can identify:

a) Client programs which were called off during 2009 – Review these programs and present how effectively they can be carried forward by remediation or relooking at value proposition

b) Clients would now like to analyze trends like Return on Investment and Pay Back period for investments made in IT, one needs to include such metrics in their proposals and project delivery

c) Advice client to spend in the right place – Post recession clients have become risk averse hence one should suggest projects which would provide value for money in short to medium term with long term vision still intact

d) Device innovative billing methods like “Pay as you deliver” or “Milestone based payment”

e) Identify new opportunities created post recession due to Mergers and Acquisitions

Like LIC, some of the above measures would definitely strike right chord with client and would go long way in redefining the existing relationships and also creating new value based relationships, thereby creating a win win situation by having a shared vision for Client IT strategy

Hitting two birds with a single arrow………. Integrating financial planning to operation reporting

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:41:29 +0000

If your organization is relying on spreadsheets to produce the information for forward looking guidance, it might be time to consider a more-robust solution, which provides more control. What more if these information systems can supplement the operational reporting needs?
Just as companies are seeking ways to better utilize their ERP investments, they are also seeking ways to maximize their ROI in business processes through integration and standardization. Industry is grappling with multiple challenges today, but there's no turning back – yes, the financial planners now need sophisticated measurement tools to churn out accurate estimates.
Need for sound financial planning has never been as profound as it is shaping up in wake of recent financial crisis. Businesses are fast recognizing a need to tighten integration of financial reporting; EPM; and governance, risk, and compliance. A greater integration in information delivery systems is being witnessed for serving dual objective of compliance and decision support systems.

Spend Time on your Projects, Not on Reporting

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 08:58:18 +0000

Project Managers work in a constantly changing environment and are often looking for ways to manage the multitude of data elements within their reach. Typically the data is available, but it is scattered across different screens and the project managers need to spend a long time in consolidating them. This would always mean a customization and would require some lead time for the IT team to develop it.

IT - The Strategic Tool for Staffing Industry

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:00:00 +0000

The staffing industry has seen a huge swing towards recruiting professionals from varied streams such as Finance, Sales, Engineering, Information Technology, and Management. While this trend provides myriad opportunities for growth, it also brings a unique set of challenges that include Customer Retention & Serving new industries; Applicant loyalty, soaring operational cost due to disintegrated systems in usage; high percentage of manual effort involved in the process of matching the right people with the right job that prohibits a quick response to the customer for an order, and integration of the business processes across geographies.

Invigorating the topline of Hi Tech enterprises through a streamlined and efficient Demand to Deliver Value Chain

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 10:29:12 +0000

Most of the Hi Tech Manufacturing organization are reeling under tremendous margins pressure due to flat to modest growth in the topline and ever increasing costs. In this tough environment its absolutely imperative for organizations to capitalize on whatever sales opportunities are presented to them. At the same time they also need to be very aggressive in scouting of new avenues for revenue growth, so that their toplines are positively impacted.

A streamlined, efficiently run Demand to Delivery Value Chain is the key to this objective and this in turn calls for a best of breed, cutting edge, integrated, Enterprise wide solution/application to support the execution of this value chain.

Oracle BI on the move

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:46:03 +0000

Few days back after watching the launch of iPad by Steve Jobs, my thoughts just went 15 years back when mobile phones were a novelty and few could have imagined then that they would become so ubiquitous in just a decade. iPhone was a landmark in what seems to be the dawn of the age of mobile digital convergence. This obviously forebodes that we have a very exciting future as digital consumers.

We all know that the success of iPhone came from its positioning on rich user experience. And the iPad promises to enrich it further. It has a tremendous potential to take Visual BI to the next level with use of multi-touch capabilities. Oracle has taken a step by delivering the business intelligence on iPhone through Oracle Business Indicators. Oracle Business Indicators accesses pre-built reports that are delivered in Oracle Business Intelligence (BI) Applications, and include financial, human resources, supply chain, and customer relationship management analytics.

One of the interesting features is that, upon opening the reports in the catalog, you can zoom in and out of report details using the mobile platform’s multi-touch (or “pinch”) technology. You can double-tap to zoom in or zoom out of the data. One can turn the iPhone 90 degrees for a wider view of the data or chart. When you forward a report, Oracle Business Indicators sends an email that contains a link to the report that when clicked, launches the report in a Web browser. The recipient does not have to be an Oracle Business Indicators user to view the report.

I believe this is just the beginning. With advent of iPad, with its 9.7” displays, mobile Business Intelligence apps would become really appealing. Mobile apps can be developed on iPad which enable what-if analysis for business scenarios. Integrating Oracle Business Indicators with Oracle Fusion Middleware will give capabilities to get answers to real-time business questions on their multi-touch iPad screens. One wish I have is that the BI tools should have the capability of dynamic bubble charts made famous by Hans Rosling. The moment we expand our horizons for application of business intelligence, we see that it can move in to much wider realm, from the current focus on business data to any kind of data which can be presented to the new age digital consumers. And it is already happening with the kind of fancy apps you have with iPhone. The tablets of the future would be the real playgrounds for evolution of Mobile and Visual BI.

A diet for your General Ledger system: From “Fat GL” to “Thin GL”

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 04:04:58 +0000

Determining the number and composition of the extended accounts (Flexfield structure in Oracle) has been a topic of debate and angst amongst GL architects.

A “Fat GL” design as the name implies contains a very large number of journals, often containing information that would typically be required for operational management reporting and typically containing minimal summarization.

The REST based approach for communicating between Legacy systems and middleware layer.. Part 1

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 06:53:35 +0000

People generally tend to overlook old approaches, but these same approaches, in the past, have emerged as compelling technologies. This very same mindset has also been applied to the REST approach. The idea may be old but when realized, it becomes a technology that uses existing protocols of web to build robust web services.

It is not a set of tools but rather an architectural style in which the Web already works. When we re-construct what we already know about web and frame it into a set of principles, then what we get is the REST approach.

Demand To Deliver Value Chain for High Tech

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 09:46:04 +0000

Are the Traditional Package based IT solutions helping us bridge the gap between various departments to give an enterprise level view?

IFRS would change a company's financial statements forever

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 12:49:50 +0000

Come 2011 and there would be a major transformation in the manner Indian companies present their profit and loss accounts and balance sheets. 2011 is when it becomes mandatory for them to adopt International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

What is IFRS
-- International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) has issued principles based pronouncements comprising of standards and interpretations which are popularly known as IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards).

-- Replaces existing Country specific Accounting Standard which are rule based

-- IFRS compliance is not just accounting change, its impact will be on all entities connected with an organization including shareholders and employees. Policy and Procedural changes need to be analyzed across all areas e.g. Organization, Taxation, Systems, Processes and Controls

Impact on Financial Statements:

Extensive Disclosures: The market value of Financial Derivatives, ESOPS, Properties , Machineries etc need to be disclosed as opposed to current practise of accounting only at historical cost. This would facilitate all stakeholders to assess the correct market value of organization.

Greater transparency: Goods will have to be sold to end consumer to be reflected as revenue instead of existing rule of recognizing revenue by just sending the goods to distributors godown

Risk related disclosures: Investors would have better access to information on company's exposure to interest rate risk, forex risk etc since such disclosures would be mandatory under IFRS. This in turn would help better risk management for the investor

Information Complexity: Since it is a principles based accounting standard, their may be lack of uniformity in disclosures by companies leading to increased complexity for investor. Investors must adjust themselves to such fluctuations

Overall it would increase the length of financial statements due to extensive disclosures but facilitate better and informed decision making for all stakeholders

To conclude, post IFRS the Financial Statements would be Re Born for ever, so are you ready for the change?