Oracle EBS 12.1.3, 12.2.2 or 12.2.3: Which Version Should You Choose?

Oracle EBS Version 12.1.3, 12.2.2, or 12.2.3?

Too much choice isn’t always a good thing! And with Oracle’s recent release of EBS 12.2.3, your upgrade choices are even wider, and more confusing, than ever.

If you’re on EBS 11i or EBS 12.0, you’re probably wondering whether you should go for EBS 12.1.3, 12.2.2, or 12.2.3. To help you make this decision, I’ve put together some details on the features, advantages, and disadvantages of your options – and included some extra information that you should consider before making any decisions.

Let’s start with the first two upgrade options – Oracle EBS 12.1(.3) vs EBS 12.2.

EBS 12.2.9 Upgrade Factsheet

You Should Choose EBS 12.1.3 if You:

  • Prefer to target a release on which Oracle has thousands of live customers.
  • Would like to stay on 12.1 for 3-5 years before upgrading to 12.2 (support expected at least through 2019).
  • Are upgrading from a release prior to 11.5.10.2

 Now here are the major additional features you’ll get with EBS 12.2.x:

  • Online Patching – which allows the E-Business Suite to be updated while the system is still running.
  • Hundreds of New Features – including enhancements to new business apps across the board
  • WebLogic Server – Oracle Containers for the Java (OC4J) application server used in EBS 12.0 and 12.1 are replaced with the Oracle WebLogic Server, improving the system administration experience.
  • Streamlined Installation – EBS 12.2 can be installed to existing database servers, and existing Real Application Clusters environments

Clearly 12.2 has newer features and the online patching is a game changer for many of us – but 12.1.3 has been around for longer and has the assurance and security of thousands of customers.

So when should you go for 12.2? Here’s what experts from Oracle suggest:

You Should Choose EBS 12.2 if you:

  • Need the high availability provided by Online Patching
  • Want the functional enhancements that are in 12.2 only
  • Prefer to invest in a single project to upgrade directly to 12.2

Ok, so what about EBS 12.2.3 that was just released?

EBS 12.2.3 is a Release Update Pack (RUP) released in December 2013 that can only be applied from EBS 12.2. So either way, you’ll need to upgrade to EBS 12.2 first and then patch to EBS 12.2.3. If you’re good with this, here’s what you can gain by taking that extra step and upgrading to EBS 12.2.3:

EBS 12.2.3 – Key Features:

  • Statutory and regulatory updates
  • Error corrections for stability, performance, and security.
  • User Experience Modernization, including:

    – A new look & feel: the UI is lighter and fresher with reduced gradients and light colors
    – A rich table interaction: users can scroll through a table if its width exceeds the browser’s width, detach a table and work with it as a separate component, and re-size and reorder table columns.
    – A worklist header icon: can be used as an alternative to including a worklist region in the Oracle E-Business Suite home page. When selected, the icon displays a summarized list of recent notifications.

EBS 12.2.9 Upgrade Factsheet

EBS 12.2.3 – The Disadvantages

Of course, EBS 12.2.3 is brand new and you’re putting yourself on the line by opting for a release that is, as yet, untested by the masses. Great for those of us that want to stay on the cutting edge and are keen to benefit from these features – but maybe not for the fainthearted!

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