Jim Holincheck

Dennis Howlett (@dahowlett) gave me a gentle reminder in Twitter that there has been a lot of praise out there for something that has not been officially released yet.  Again, this is my personal opinion, not the official Gartner position (as all blogging on the Gartner Blogging Network is), but his point reminded me of a blog post I did last year at the end of Oracle OpenWorld.  Here is an excerpt:

I could not help thinking during these sessions of a software joke told to me by Brian Sommer a long time ago.  It goes like this:

Think about the answer to two questions: “Can I see it?”  and “Does it exist”?

• If I can see it and it does exist, then it is Real.
• If I can see it, but it does not exist, then it is Virtual.
• If I cannot see it, but it does exist, then it is Transparent
• If cannot see it and it does not exist, then it is in the Next Release

So, let’s ask these questions again about Fusion Applications now.  Can I see it?  Last year, I answered “yes, sort of”.  Oracle did demo parts of the solution at OOW last year.  I have had the chance to see more since last year so I know there is more to it, but as I indicated in my earlier blog post, I have not seen the full HCM suite (or full suite of any Fusion Applications).  So, the answer is “yes, to some degree”.

Does it Exist?  Last year, I said:

That is probably the more interesting question… Certainly there are “edge” applications such as Social CRM that do exist… However, based on the information provided to date, it is difficult to know exactly how much of the Fusion Application Suite is built.

It is still difficult to know.  We know the planned scope at a broad brush, but the detailed feature/functions have still not been communicated.  Last year, I also said:

there was no firm commitment on delivery dates for the first release of the Suite or any indication of early customers that were implementing the Suite.

There is a firmer delivery date (sometime in 2010).  We also know that some customers have been testing the solution.  However, testing parts of the solution is not the same as implementing it.  As I said last year, early customers that implement and go live are the real litmus test for “does it exist”.  So, does the first release of the full suite of Fusion Applications exist?  Not yet.  Will it exist in 2010?  I think it will.  However, they need to start implementing early customers soon to make that a reality.  Hopefully, Oracle will provide more details soon about the detailed functionality that will be delivered in version 1.  Customers want and need this information to make informed decisions about their application strategy.

What do you think about Oracle Fusion Applications announcement?