The complexity of Oracle® Applications’ relational databases has grown exponentially with each new version release, resulting in a system that is extremely difficult to implement and maintain. For example, Oracle Applications 11.5.10.2 contains over 2 million columns, each of which could be related to any other, or could be part of a check constraint, or part of a unique or primary key. View the original Blog post: http://www.eprentise.com/blog/the-changing-enterprise/why-is-change-so-hard-in-oracle-applications/ Website: www.eprentise.com Twitter: @eprentise Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+Eprentise/posts Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eprentise Ensure your data is Complete, Consistent, and Correct by using eprentise software to transform your Oracle® E-Business Suite.

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Why is Change So Hard in
Oracle® Applications?
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2. Why is Change So Hard in Oracle® Applications?
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eprentise® is a registered trademark of eprentise, LLC.
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Author: Helene Abrams
Published: August 17, 2007
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3. Why is Change So Hard in Oracle® Applications?
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The complexity of Oracle® Applications’ relational databases has grown exponentially with each new
version release, resulting in a system that is extremely difficult to implement and maintain. For example,
Oracle Applications 11.5.10.2 contains over 2 million columns, each of which could be related to any
other, or could be part of a check constraint, or part of a unique or primary key.
The constraints (or rules about the data) determine the sequence of changes made to the database. Most
of these rules are not documented at the database level, so if a change is to be made, the rules have to be
discovered and then validated with actual data. Furthermore, because rules cascade in a relational
database, it is impossible to comprehend all of the possible combinations of relationships, making manual
mining of the rules a daunting task that will almost certainly result in compromising the data
integrity. While consultants with expert knowledge of relational databases can be an asset to an
organization undergoing changes to their data systems, the assistance of software is necessary to ensure
complete and correct data as well as an understanding of the impact of change. Verification has been a
manual process, as analysts and consultants manually mine the database attempting to maintain data
integrity, checking as many of the possible existing combinations as they can and keeping numerous
spreadsheets as workarounds to making changes in their Apps.
The changes and rules at the database level do not consider the impact of business changes to related
data. (If a product ID is changed, what is the business impact to production and inventory
processes?) Managing the complexity of change both at the database level and at the business process
level often results in a disconnect between the technical and functional players of database
management. The time-consuming task of manual mining is naive concerning its effects on business
processes, often proving very costly for a company going through data and business changes.

4. Why is Change So Hard in Oracle® Applications?
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About eprentise
eprentise provides transformation software products that allow growing companies to make their Oracle® E-Business
Suite (EBS) systems agile enough to support changing business requirements, avoid a reimplementation and lower the
total cost of ownership of enterprise resource planning (ERP). While enabling real-time access to complete, consistent
and correct data across the enterprise, eprentise software is able to consolidate multiple production instances, change
existing configurations such as charts of accounts and calendars, and merge, split or move sets of books, operating
units, legal entities, business groups and inventory organizations.