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GoodbyeOracle DiscovererHelloNext Generationof ReportingCompanies who rely on Discoverer are nowscrambling to decide how they can effectivelyfulfill their reporting needs. Fear of the unknownhas left many companies afraid to implementa new reporting tool, yet the risk of staying withDiscoverer is becoming increasingly high. WithExtended Support ending in June 2017, time isrunning out to find a replacement.
our Mission: Find a Replacement Yfor Oracle Discoverer.Fear of the UnknownAs an Oracle E-Business Suite (EBS) user, data access is about to get a bitmore difficult now that the company has phased out the Oracle Discovererproduct. If you are like the many organizations with hundreds or thousandsof Discoverer reports, it’s overwhelming to think of switching to anotherERP reporting tool. How can you re-develop the reports created over theyears? Will the transition deliver as promised? What if there’s a steep userlearning curve? How much IT effort and implementation time will a newtool require?The Impact of Discoverer Ending: P remium support ended in 2015 andextended support ends June 2017 No new releases are planned Any new bugs found will not be addressedby Oracle Development Will not be certified to work on any newproducts released (including but not limitedto) the Operating System, Web Browser,and Oracle Database, etc.You need a reporting tool that is easy to implement and use. The majorityof enterprise software reporting user interfaces were built for IT or thosewith expert skillsets. These interfaces create additional workload for IT whena new report or change is required and do not provide an easy way todrill down into information often making it difficult to understand the data.Your OptionsCompanies who rely on Discoverer are now scrambling to decide howthey can effectively fulfil reporting needs. In actuality, three options exist:DISCON INGNRNUERRVERE PLACEMEOUTTThis has put many looking for an alternative rather than sticking withan unsupported ERP reporting tool. Oracle recommended that theirE-Business Suite customers replace their Discoverer implementationby migrating to Oracle Business Intelligence Foundation Suite byJune 2015, but there are other options available to you.TIMEISFORIT Friendly Options
1Simply do nothing: Continue to stay with unsupported Discoverer2Migrate to Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition (OBIEE)3Explore user- and cost-friendly next-generation reporting alternativesontiOp1Stick with Oracle DiscovererFear of the unknown has left manycompanies afraid to implement anew reporting tool, yet the risk ofstaying with Discoverer is becomingincreasingly high. Although doing sowould require the least amount ofcost and effort, Oracle won’t be thereto assist if you encounter a problem.This might cause your organizationto avoid upgrading its ERP for fearof Discoverer breaking without areplacement in hand. IT skills areanother concern. Because Discovererhas been non-strategic since 2006, it’sa challenge for IT to successfully writereports. Even finding the resources withthe right technical knowledge to do sois difficult and sometimes results in anunhealthy dependency on a singleexpert. R iskiest option L east amount of effort and cost O racle will no longer providesassistance N o longer able to use OracleSupport for any issues
ontiOp2Migrate to OBIEE and Deploy OBIAfor Strategic ReportingOraclerecommendsthatOracleDiscoverer users migrate to Oracle BusinessIntelligence Foundation Suite. This includesOBIEE, a strategic BI tool that provides aweb platform with attractive dashboardssuitable for C-level needs. While it hasmany advantages, it’s not built to be atransactional reporting tool for day-to-dayad hoc analysis or easy drilling into datadetails. It requires a data warehouse andbusinesses must typically plan 6-12 monthsahead to develop the structure of thereports they anticipate, which is difficultfor dynamic businesses where reportingneeds change daily. See process below.Also, implementation is costly and lengthy,often requiring consultants to build newreports or convert Discoverer reports toOBIEE, which takes as many as eight steps.Another expense is for the ongoingexpertise needed to create OBIEEreports once the application is installed,as it requires a specific skill set. Somecompanies who have purchased OBIEEabandon it for less costly alternatives thatprovide autonomy for the average users increating reports. C omplex and expensive option S trategic BI tool, not ideal fortransactional reporting L engthy implementation thatmay require consultants tobuild the reports, thus skillset notretained in house or only by asmall number of users. S ignificant cost and time torebuild reportsDiscoverer Report Conversion Using OBIEE:StartiDiscovererReportsExportExport scovererconversion toolfor OBIEEConvert to RPDMapUsing theconversion tool,convert theEnd-User Layerto an OBIEEMetadataRepository (RPD)Complete thedata modelingwithin the BusinessModel Mapping(BMM) and Presentation Layers(PL) of the RPDsUploadUpload the RPDto the OBIEE onfigure OBIEESecurity, whichis separate fromOracle EBSSecurityRecreate eachDiscovererReportOrganize thereports within theOBIEE catalogaccording tosecurity setupHTML / Report ReadyFinish
ontiOp3Next-generation reporting solutions for Oracle EBSprovide immediate access and data drill down fromreports via Excel, making it easy for average users tocreate their own reports. Also, instead of taking monthsto implement, these tools install in a few hours and don’trequire a data warehouse with its expense and extracomplexity. F amiliar solution (Excel) and rapid useradoption Discoverer Converter allows for reportmigration in minutes Low risk and fast implementation Better flexibilityReports Wand is a next-generation reporting alternativefor Oracle EBS 11i to R12 users that comes with pre-builtreports for Financials, Supply Chain, HR, Manufacturing,Service and other modules. In keeping with user needsfor “fast time to value,” conversion of Discoverer reportsis accomplished in two easy steps. Lowest cost optionDiscoverer Report Conversion Using Reports Wand:StartFinishDiscoverer ReportExportExport report structurefrom DiscovererReal-Time, Excel-BasedReportingProcess with WizardProcess report structurethrough Reports WandWizardReport ReadyReports Wand for Oracle E-Business Suite, works directlyin MS Excel, your familiar tool of choice offering easydata access, better organizational insights, and one ofthe fastest implementation times, up and running in afew hours.Reports Wand delivers a quick ROI and is the clearupgrade to Oracle’s Discoverer retaining your ability toreport in real-time across all of the Oracle Modules. Itis a powerful and robust reporting application offeringmuch more than a Discoverer replacement for creatingsimple to complex reports for your organization.
hat to Do with Your WDiscoverer Reports 3,000Existing Discoverer Reports?Whichever replacement solution you choose, the firstprocess before any decision is made is to analyze yourexisting Discoverer reports and ask the right questionsof your business analysts and users in order to reducethe amount of reports required to be converted.Analyze and ConsolidateThe sun setting of Discoverer offers the perfectopportunity to analyze and consolidate your existingreports to a more manageable number. Manyreports are often duplicates created over a numberof years with just a single parameter change, orhave been used only once or many years ago.Spend time on this and your migration will runsmoother, faster and your users will thank you as theywill find it easier to locate the correct report to run.We are sure you will be surprised as to how manyDiscoverer Reports will not require conversion due tobeing similar or duplicates reducing the conversioneffort to approximately 10-20% of existing Discovererreports.Removevariations,duplicates,once runetc.10 o/o to 20 o/oto convert- 300
Identify Discoverer Reports to ConvertReports Wand can identify your current usage ofDiscoverer reports and provide insight such as whichusers run the most reports, what reports are mostfrequently run, which were built for a single purpose,and which have duplicates or multiple versions? Thisdata can assist you with your report conversion andprioritization process.emigratotwoat:See heportsrrereDiscov/pps.coma4lecgo.exterconver
Next StepsReports Wand is an Excel-based alternative toOracle Discoverer that empowers end users withself-service reporting. Access your E-Business Suitedata in real-time and through our library of 1,000 ready-to-execute, pre-built reports.For a short demo, case studies, or on-demandwebinar, visit: www.excel4apps.com/discovererTo contact us or to start your free, 30-day trial,please email: info@excel4apps.com 2016 Excel4apps. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
upgrade to Oracle’s Discoverer retaining your ability to report in real-time across all of the Oracle Modules. It is a powerful and robust reporting application offering much more than a Discoverer replacement for creating simple to complex reports for your organization. Real-Time, Excel-
