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| Case Study |
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Accelerated upgrade of Oracle Applications to the
11i release reduces business costs of downtime |
Process maturity, predictability of IT investments and timely completion of the project are the highlights of
upgrading Oracle Applications to the 11i release.
The Client
The client is a leading, global,
diversified business-to-business
media company. It publishes 50
specialized business magazines,
produces more than 50 trade
shows throughout the world,
and provides a broad range of
online media and custom
marketing solutions to its
customers
The Challenge
The client has been using 11.0.3 version of Oracle Applications with a few
customizations in financials and sales compensation modules. Further, the
client optimized cross-application processes by integrating its Oracle
Applications with the mainframe-based invoicing system, ADP's payroll, and
Lawson Software's HR applications. However, the client was looking forward
to upgrade its Oracle Application to the latest version of 11i in order to fulfill
following business objectives:
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Simplify accounting through improved asset tracking feature |
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Reduce maintenance time by utilising rich system administration
features in the new system |
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Improve database security and performance along with scalable
architecture for fulfilling the needs of a rapidly growing business. |
The Solution
The client evaluated the proposals submitted by leading enterprise software companies. It
selected Patni because of the compelling value proposition that promised substantial cost
savings, accelerated upgrade process, domain expertise, unique methodology, and tools.
A team of Patni's domain experts conducted an assessment workshop to understand the
client's business goals and trace the footprints of the existing application. A quick analysis
helped Patni to define the 11i Upgrade road map that clearly identified business process
improvements, and determined the scope to reduce maintenance time and eliminate
customizations. Seven cycles of technical upgrade and three cycles of regression testing
ensured a smooth production cutover.
Customization retrofitting is a major challenge in any version upgrade project. Patni's
unique Customization Tracker reduced retrofitting efforts, because of its ability to
precisely identify those customizations that needed retrofitment while conducting the
batch compilation of the rest of customizations.
Thorough testing is the key to success of any application upgrade. During version upgrades,
there are chances that few mandatory set ups escape the transformation caused due to the
auto upgrade process. Patni's Setup Checker identified all the improperly transformed
modules and de-risked the assignment during the first upgrade cycle itself. Similarly,
Patni's off-the-shelf standard scripts for functionality testing helped to reduce the
development efforts required to prepare the test plan.
Patni's Oracle Application global support structure along with knowledge base of self-help
portal helped quick resolution of issues pertaining to domain, technology, and database
administration.
The Technology
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Oracle 11i. |
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The Benefits
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The client witnessed 33% percent reductions in the time
taken for monthly closure of accounts |
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Advanced functionality pertaining to Fixed Assets
Depreciation helped to streamline taxes pending for two
years |
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Decommissioning of customizations due to the advanced
functionality and standard business processes helped to
develop a lighter application footprint |
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The iExpense functionality reduced the time spent in
expenses reporting by the client's global workforce of
2000 employees |
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Business process improvement in Incentive Compensation
helped to expedite the release of sales incentive |
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Rich administration features reduced maintenance time |
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Scalable architecture was ideally suited to cater to the
growth in transactions. |
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