Oracle Debuts Budgeting And Planning Application

It includes a set of ad hoc reporting tools and display components such as frequently used graphs, and it analyzes information using performance metrics. All data in the application is associated with an individual such as a manager or staffer should there be questions or need for feedback or action, according to Oracle. The software has the same look and feel as Oracle's Discoverer reporting software. "They spent a lot of time developing this product," says Paul Hamerman, an analyst with Forrester Research, who says the software is between one and two years behind schedule. But the application fills a major gap for Oracle, Hamerman says. The built-in ad hoc reporting features "could be a differentiator for them," he says.

Oracle's Financial Analyzer and Sales Analyzer are holdovers from Express, the vendor's separate OLAP server. Oracle began building OLAP capabilities into its mainstream database software starting with 9i. But Financial Analyzer and Sales Analyzer don't run on the Oracle database so Oracle plans to phase them out. Oracle will continue to update the old products through the end of 2006 and provide customer support for two years beyond that. Enterprise Planning and Budgeting includes tools to migrate data, reports, personal work, and other items from Financial Analyzer and Sales Analyzer to the new application. Current Financial Analyzer and Sales Analyzer licensees will be offered free upgrades to the new application, according to Oracle. Pricing starts at $2,995 for a run-time license, including development and customization rights. A license for read-only applications costs $595.

This story courtesy of InformationWeek.