Oracle users call for extended support

The UK Oracle User Group (UKOUG) has urged Oracle to extend the support deadline for its 10.7 business applications, arguing that customers are not ready to upgrade.

Speaking at the group?s annual conference today in Birmingham, Paul Parnis, applications director at UKOUG, said given the number of UK customers with no plans to upgrade to Oracle's 11i range of business applications, the company should extend support for known bugs.

Oracle had been right in giving plenty of notice of the 30 June 2003 deadline, he explained, and was right to stick to that date for stopping product modifications.

"But for customers looking for fixes to known problems, Oracle should consider extending support," said Parnis.

There was a disparity in Oracle extending support for customers using its public sector financial package, but not for others, he added.

Research undertaken by the UKOUG showed that one in five members were not aware of the deadline. Some users said they intend to use the software for up to 12 months after support has finished.

Ronan Miles, UKOUG chairman, explained that the past year has been a period of stability for Oracle users, with no major releases.

By concentrating on their installed software, users have been able to reap the benefits that the software was able to deliver.

But the introduction of the euro would force more users to upgrade to 11i, according to Parnis.

"10.7 doesn't deal with the euro," he said. "In mainland Europe there isn't anyone still on 10.7. In two years' time I would imagine that will be the case in the UK."

Although Miles admitted that Oracle has done much to listen to users over the past 12 months, he warned that there are still concerns.

"I would be pleased if Oracle took the messages from this conference onboard," he said.

Oracle's UK managing director Ian Smith told delegates that the company is paying increasing attention to its user base.

"We're not there yet," he said. "But our strategy of focusing on making our customers successful is beginning to bear fruit."