RIP Siebel Management Server (and Agent)

It is with mixed feelings that I share with you Oracle Support document1640801.1. Titled "Siebel Management Server Support Statement of Direction - Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2014" the short article announces the de-support of the Siebel Management Server and Siebel Management Agent as of IP 2014.

The typical answer I get when I talk to Siebel admins and developers is that they "installed it once" or "must use it for ADM". Overall, the management infrastructure - developed before the Oracle acquisition by Siebel Systems and first shipped with Siebel 8.0 by Oracle - did not get much love from the community.

Personally, I assisted some customers in setting it up, mainly for ADM (Application Deployment Manager) purposes, and I also dedicated a chapter of my first book to it. The configuration process was complex to say the least.

As some of you might remember, the management server also included the Siebel Diagnostic Tool which was soon to be sunsetted as of version 8.1.1. Here is a nostalgic screenshot:

Pulling SARM data through the management agents and aggregating it in a browser console was certainly a good idea but Oracle is promoting its own Enterprise Manager and Realtime User Experience Insight (RUEI) to be more up to the task of performance monitoring and diagnostics.

In the aforementioned article, Oracle also announces to provide a replacement for centralized migration of customizations with Enterprise Manager.

In the meantime, customers can still use the "light-weight" variants of ADM, that is using manual or workflow-backed processes to export and import the data.

have a nice day

@lex

Siebel CRM News of the Day

While sifting through the latest alerts, SODs etc on My Oracle Support, I found some interesting news for Siebel folks. While I usually peruse twitter for quick messaging, I believe it is worthwhile to summarize my Sunday evening tweets so that more people get this important pieces of information.

First, all good things come to an end, and even more so for Siebel Management Server, its ADM functionality and the Siebel Management Agent.

Time to say goodbye to Siebel Management Server and Agent. My Oracle Support doc: https://t.co/v2FytD2A2g
� Alexander Hansal (@siebel_ess) April 6, 2014

Second, the good people at Oracle have composed a new Statement of Direction for planned Open UI related enhancements in Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2014 which is expected for late fall this year.

Siebel Open UI - Statement of Direction - Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2014: https://t.co/1lboDC9xq0
� Alexander Hansal (@siebel_ess) April 6, 2014

And third, there is a new monthly patchset for IP 2013 - rather early - for April available. But I posted this already.

Siebel IP 2013 April Patchset 8.1.1.11.6 / 8.2.2.4.6 is now available on My Oracle Support https://t.co/E5yDHQgBGl
� Alexander Hansal (@siebel_ess) April 6, 2014

Oh, I nearly forgot there is a new Siebel Open UI Advanced JavaScript API class available on Oracle University.

Coming to an Oracle classroom or your screen soon: Siebel Open UI Advanced JavaScript API. http://t.co/YS0U5fnKWQ
� Alexander Hansal (@siebel_ess) April 6, 2014

Stay tuned for more details.

have a nice day

@lex

Siebel CRM News of the Day

While sifting through the latest alerts, SODs etc on My Oracle Support, I found some interesting news for Siebel folks. While I usually peruse twitter for quick messaging, I believe it is worthwhile to summarize my Sunday evening tweets so that more people get this important pieces of information.

First, all good things come to an end, and even more so for Siebel Management Server, its ADM functionality and the Siebel Management Agent.

Time to say goodbye to Siebel Management Server and Agent. My Oracle Support doc: https://t.co/v2FytD2A2g
— Alexander Hansal (@siebel_ess) April 6, 2014

Second, the good people at Oracle have composed a new Statement of Direction for planned Open UI related enhancements in Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2014 which is expected for late fall this year.

Siebel Open UI - Statement of Direction - Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2014: https://t.co/1lboDC9xq0
— Alexander Hansal (@siebel_ess) April 6, 2014

And third, there is a new monthly patchset for IP 2013 - rather early - for April available. But I posted this already.

Siebel IP 2013 April Patchset 8.1.1.11.6 / 8.2.2.4.6 is now available on My Oracle Support https://t.co/E5yDHQgBGl
— Alexander Hansal (@siebel_ess) April 6, 2014

Oh, I nearly forgot there is a new Siebel Open UI Advanced JavaScript API class available on Oracle University.

Coming to an Oracle classroom or your screen soon: Siebel Open UI Advanced JavaScript API. http://t.co/YS0U5fnKWQ
— Alexander Hansal (@siebel_ess) April 6, 2014

Stay tuned for more details.

have a nice day

@lex

Siebel CRM Patchset 4 for Innovation Pack 2013 Released

Yesterday, Oracle has released the 4th patchset for Siebel CRM Innovation Pack 2013 which provides cumulative fixes and features for Siebel 8.1.1.11 and 8.2.2.4.

The official version numbers are 8.1.1.11.4 and 8.2.2.4.4. (a feast for numerologists ;-)

As a frequent reader of this blog, you are aware that Oracle has started shipping monthly patchsets for the latest Siebel Innovation Pack releases.

As with all patches, the package is available for download on My Oracle Support.

The Readme document combines release notes and installation guide. Good old opatch is taking care of placing the new files onto your disk, so make sure you follow the instructions to avoid surprises.

Here are some areas which benefit from the patchset in terms of issues addressed:

• Siebel Order Management
• Open UI
• Mobile Applications (connected and disconnected)

have a nice patch

@lex