An Update on the Discoverer Situation

Please Note: The author, Graham Spicer, is our Sales Director, UK  and as such, this blog is written in UK English.

Back in October of last year, I wrote a blog/whitepaper outlining the options, challenges and opportunities facing organisations looking to replace their Oracle Discoverer estate.  During that eight-month period, Oracle has confused the situation even further, whereas their original recommendation was to replace Discoverer with OBIEE, now they are recommending multiple solutions, none of which really address the issue that most organisations face – “How do we replace the Discoverer reports our users have been running for years?”

To all intents and purposes, Oracle Discoverer is now dead!  Yes, it is in Sustaining support, something I explain in the E-Book, but the risks of continuing to use Oracle Discoverer are far, far, greater than even we envisaged 8 months ago.

In this update, I will again look at the options available to you.  Previously I had identified three options: Do Nothing, Replace your Discoverer Workbooks, or Migrate your Discoverer EUL and Workbooks to a new tool. There is now a fourth option: Third Party Discoverer Support. I will discuss the pros and cons of each, consider the many recommendations Oracle makes, BUT – this time I will outline far greater risks to the “Do Nothing” approach.

So, Oracle Discoverer is dead!  Oracle will tell you that it is now covered by Sustaining Support.  Oracle define Sustaining Support as “Sustaining Support maximizes your investment protection by providing maintenance for as long as you use your Oracle software. Features include access to Oracle online support tools, upgrade rights, pre-existing fixes and assistance from technical support experts.”  However, what Oracle doesn’t tell you about are the technology risks you will be taking by continuing to use Oracle Discoverer at this time, nor how it can affect your business.

How long before you need to upgrade to a version of Oracle EBS or database that will no longer support Discoverer?  Future release dates for both EBS and database are already being released! At Open World in October, predictably, Oracle will release information on further upgrades and releases soon to come…none of which will be guaranteed to work with Oracle Discoverer – no certification with other Oracle products!

You have made a significant investment in Discoverer over a significant number of years, so you understandably want to protect that investment, but why wouldn’t you also consider this now as an opportunity to provide your users with: greater functionality, access to more data (both Oracle and non-Oracle), different and easier modes of use?  These are just a few of the opportunities that you might want to consider.

So, with Oracle Discoverer already in Sustaining Support what exactly are the options available to you, the challenges you will face and, more importantly, the opportunities this now presents you with? Download the E-Book below where I discuss each of the opportunities I have identified.