Re: Oracle 10.8 vs. 11i: The Good, Bad, Ugly and Unknown

george lewycky wrote:

> Daniel Morgan <dmorgan_at_exesolutions.com> wrote in message news:<3D177DB2.EED2DF74_at_exesolutions.com>...
> > george lewycky wrote:
> >
> > > We are currently battling Oracle and 11i under NT and I have suggested
> > > we revert back to 10.8 and I would like to hear from others in the field
> > > about this version.
> > >
> > > Can anyone tell me the good, bad and the ugly of the previous major release
> > > and about the trials and tribulations with functions such as Customer Interfaces
> > > and installation.
> > >
> > > Has ANYONE had any success with the installation, interfaces of 11i ??
> > >
> > > Thanks in Advance
> > >
> > > George Lewycky
> > > NY City Transit Authority
> > > Brooklyn, NYC
> > > gelewyc_at_nyct.com
> >
> > Just about everyone I know is using 11i.
> >
> > And reverting back to a version that is so old I presume it is no longer supported
> > doesn't sound like a good solution.
> >
> > Other than using the word "battling" you don't give even a hint as to what is
> > actually wrong. The questions I have could fill a small book and include:
> >
> > 1. What version of the database on what platform and operating system?
> > 2. Which Oracle11i application(s)?
> > 3. What consultants with previous experience have you retained and have failed?
> >
> > Oracle applications are not a do-it-yourself project like installing MS Office.
> >
> > Daniel Morgan
>
> Daniel,
>
> First off we are oracle financials 11.5.5/Database 8.1.7 under Windows
> NT
>
> from other users in the field Ive been in touch with from mailing
> lists, etc and other publications it seems we are encountering the
> same problems
> and Oracle is "trying" to push companies into 11i,11.x and many are
> not going that route or going back to their last "stable & operating"
> versions.
>
> We are battling the following:
>
> 1. Oracle Financials (AR & GL):
> a. interfaces (customer, invoice) neither of which WORK
> b. insufficient documenation
> c. terrible, inconsistent and unreliable tech support
> d. countless number of patches, megapatches for known problems,
> glitches
> that oracle is well aware of
> e. forcing customers to use oracle consultants with no guarantees
>
> I would like to hear from customers who can attest Oracle Financials
> worked right out of the box. And who were able to port their legacy
> data using Oracle's Interfaces without an act of God or going broke in
> the process!!!!!!!!!!!!!
>
> George
>
> PS I'm planning to rewrite this DEMO joke to reflect oracle:
>
> Did you hear the one about Bill Gates dying and meeting up with St.
> Peter
> at Purgatory? Pete said he was on the"edge" and could go to either
> heaven
> or hell. Bill asked about the differences and Pete told him to have a
> free
> check of both. Went to hell first and it was tropical and nice and
> lots of
> good looking women, good food and plenty of fun. Went to heaven and it
> was
> angel, harps and wings and such. Bill chose hell.
>
> Several months passed and Peter checked up on Gates in Hell. He was,
> of
> course, in torment in the flames, shackled to a wall. Gates said,
> "This
> wasn'tanything like I saw the first time through here! What
> happened?"Peter smiled and said, "Oh, that. It was just the "demo"
> version."

I misunderstood. I thought you had 11i, not 11. I still wouldn't go back ... I'd go forward. If for no other reason than your resume. Three to five years from now being an expert in 10.7 (or 8 if it exists) will likely get you a job sitting next to someone that bangs COBOL for a living. And by the time you are my age you will be unemployable. 11i has been out a long time and it is where people either are right now or will be reasonably soon.

I think I could state with a 90%+ chance of not being contradicted that not only do Oracle apps not work directly out of the box neither does anyone else's. They are basically tool kits from which you assemble what you want. Yes the documentation is ... well if not horrible ... in very short supply. And yes there are lots of patches. But no more than for similar products.

But Oracle has never forced anyone to use their consultants. I have no idea where that comes from. I've never worked for Oracle (and never will as long as they expect me to live out of a suitcase) and there are a large number of consulting groups, many associated with the big consuting practices that install and configure the product.

If you tried to install and configure it yourselves, without help from someone with substantial previous experience, I would not be at all surprised if many of your problems are inadvertently self-inflicted.

Daniel Morgan Received on Tue Jun 25 2002 - 17:21:51 CEST