My Oracle Support Update, May 2012

Learn more about the new My Oracle Support HTML interface and find out how you can preview and begin using the new interface for your online support needs. (More)

Avoid The Unexpected. Get Proactive.

Where do you go to solve technical problems? Better yet, where do you go to find out how to prevent them? Oracle Premier Support’s proactive capability portfolio can help Support customers prevent and resolve problems and upgrade their applications. Bookmark the proactive capabilities portfolio and start exploring.

Maximizing the Value of Oracle Support (and Your Product Investment)

Only Oracle and authorized Oracle service providers deliver the around-the-clock, enterprise-class support and ongoing product innovation that organizations demand. Now, Oracle is introducing a new initiative to help customers get the most of their investment through enhanced sharing of Oracle Support knowledge and best practices. Read the article (PDF file).

OAUG Support in Focus is a quarterly newsletter providing OAUG members with information and updates from the OAUG Customer Support Council. The February 2012 issue contains information about the waiver of Extended Support fees for E-Business Suite Customers, Proactive Support tools, Oracle Support sessions at COLLABORATE 12, recommended information resources and more. Read OAUG Support in Focus. Member login required.

Oracle Support at COLLABORATE 12

Attend education sessions presented by Oracle Support associates and meet the Oracle Support engineers -- the ones who solve, recommend and fix your issues -- during COLLABORATE 12. Review the list of Oracle Support-related sessions.

Oracle Financials within E-Business Suite provides a good foundation for integrating the roles of IT professionals, business analysts and accountants — the so-called “super users” who know IT protocols as well as business processes. They are DBAs and CPAs. They know about database indexes. And they understand debits and credits.

OAUG Customer Support Council Applauds Oracle’s Efforts to Protect Customer Investments

The OAUG Customer Support Council applauds the announcement that Oracle has waived Extended Support fees for Oracle E-Business Suite customers. Details about Oracle’s extension of support value to customers are available on the OAUG Web site.

E-Business Suite (EBS) Patch Wizard Overview Webcast

You are invited to this Oracle Advisor Webcast! Product administrators, system administrators, DBAs and customers will benefit from this detailed session discussing the Patch Wizard as a primary tool to identify and analyze recommended and critcal patches. Learn how to be proactive about system maintenance, reducing down time through the application o recommended and critical patches and maintenance. This one-hour webcast is recommended for technical and functional users who perform patching maintenance of the Oracle E-Business Suite. Register now.

Webcast topics include:

• Why use Patch Wizard
• How to use Patch Wizard
• Required setup
• Create recommendations
• Impact analysis

Can't Attend The Live Webcast? It Will Be Recorded. Advisor Webcast Archived Recordings (Doc ID 740964.1) Interested in Future Webcasts? Advisor Webcast Current Schedule (Doc ID 740966.1)

E-Business Suite (EBS) Upgrade Advisor and Patching and Maintenance Advisor Overview

The EBS Upgrade Advisor is designed to guide you through your upgrade. The Patching and Maintenance Advisor is designed to guide you through patching and maintenance activities. The advisors are specially crafted documents that incorporate information from various sources using best practices and, where applicable, provide step-by-step instructions. Through this overview you will learn how these two powerful tools can help you with your upgrade and patching needs. Read the full article

Access a recorded webcast on the Order Management Advisor Webcast Calendar And Archive.

Oracle's Support Training Community

The Oracle Support Training Community is a valuable resource for Oracle’s customers and partners.

Are you new to the Oracle family of products and our proactive support model? Check out the Getting Started region then register for the Premier Support Basics Advisor Webcast. Or register for a live Webcast on how to use My Oracle Support Community more effectively. When you’re looking for proactive and predictive resources, try the Configuration Manager. And if you need a refresher on My Oracle Support features, take advantage of recorded Speed Training or simply download a quick reference guide from the community documents. (More)

The OAUG Customer Support Council Featured in Oracle Profit Online

OAUG Customer Support Council Chair Patrick Gresham talks about the council's work to bring value to members by representing the collective interests and concerns of Oracle Applications customers. Through regular interaction with Oracle Support, the OAUG Customer Support Council provides feedback that helps Oracle meet customers' needs. Read the Profit Online Opinion article for the full story.

Readiness for EBS Release 11i Extended Support

The results of a survey conducted by the OAUG in the autumn of 2010 indicate that many Oracle EBS Release 11i customers are unaware of the options and requirements for staying on EBS Release 11i past the end of Premier Support. The "Readiness for Release 11i Extended Support Survey" executive summary provides details. The report also contains information about resources that can help customers evaluate options for remaining on their current releases or upgrading to EBS Release 12.1.

The OAUG Customer Support Council helped negotiate the one-year waiver of support fees for a number of product lines, including Oracle’s E-Business Suite (EBS) Release 11i, through 2011. The Extended Support window for Oracle EBS Release 11i customers began in December of 2010.

Under the auspices of the OAUG Board, the Customer Support Council represents Oracle Applications customers to Oracle Applications Support by:

• Reviewing and responding to proposals and initiatives of Oracle.
• Providing feedback as requested by Oracle.
• Inform Oracle Applications Support of member concerns.
• Assist members and customers in understanding Oracle Applications Support services by:
  • Presenting sessions at national and regional user group meetings.
  • Polling members on issues relating to support.
  • Suggest best practices for customer internal support organizations.

If you have any questions regarding Oracle’s support policies or concerns about potential changes to these policies, please e-mail support@oaug.com.