Blue Stack Deadline Looms for JD Edwards Shops

July 20, 2016 Alex Woodie

In just over two months, JD Edwards shops that run EnterpriseOne ERP software on the “Blue Stack” of IBM middleware, including DB2 and WebSphere products, will no longer be able to get technical support for those products from Oracle. Customers have had nearly six years to prepare for the September 30 deadline, but there are those who have yet to make a decision. Luckily, Blue Stack stragglers still have options available to them.

We told you about Oracle’s decision to kill Blue Stack support just after it announced it way back at the end of 2010. It’s been about two-and-a-half years since Oracle stopped selling new licenses for the Blue Stack, which is officially called the EnterpriseOne Technology Foundation and consists of DB2 for Linux, Unix, and Windows (LUW), WebSphere Application Server, and WebSphere Portal. And on September 30, it will cease providing technical support for those products.

It’s not surprising that Oracle would use hardball tactics with its customers. The technology giant is known to use aggressive tactics regarding licensing issues with its customers. It’s not that SAP, Microsoft, and IBM don’t do the same thing. It’s just that Oracle seems to do more of it.

But the fact that Oracle was still selling the Blue Stack on behalf of IBM through the end of the 2013, and will support the Blue Stack through the end of September 30, is actually a sign of reasonableness. The company could have killed the products and forced customers to shift to its own Red Stack much sooner, just as it gave zero notice when it ceased providing IBM i binaries for the MySQL database back in late 2010. Yes, abruptly killing the Blue Stack would have angered many JDE customers. But business is business, as they say, and selling and supporting your closest competitors’ software doesn’t make a lot of sense.

In any event, the end of Blue Stack support means JDE EnterpriseOne shops that run the EnterpriseOne Technology Foundation must make a decision. They have several options open to them regarding the EnterpriseOne components, including application servers and databases, that run on Windows, Linux, or Unix platforms. It’s worth noting that Oracle will continue to support EnterpriseOne running on IBM i and the DB2 for i database, as well as Windows Server and SQL Server. And it’s also worth noting that none of this impacts JDE World shops, which run the whole kit and caboodle on the IBM i platform. (Oracle seems to know it would face a major backlash if it tried to completely separate JD Edwards from its AS/400 roots.)

So, what are the options for Blue Stack users? Let’s go through the list.

First, they could switch to the Red Stack from Oracle, consisting of the Oracle Linux, the Oracle database, and WebLogic or Oracle Fusion. This would entail new licensing costs, as well as the hassle of a major migration of core parts of an ERP system, and potentially new server and operating system expenses as well. It’s also worth knowing that Oracle requires Blue Stack customers who are moving to Red Stack to upgrade to the latest versions of EnterpriseOne (versions 9.1 / 9.2). For customers who value the “one throat to choke” mentality, going all in on Red could be worth it. But putting all of one’s chips on Red may also cost the customer some bargaining power down the road. And it’s essentially the definition of complete vendor lock-in.

Second, they could get technical support, functional and regulatory updates, and maintenance for the products directly from IBM. This is a fairly feasible option, considering that there are no major software migrations involved. The customer continues to use the software as is, and the only big change is tech support and maintenance comes from IBM. The one potential “gotcha” here could be troubleshooting any problems that arise involving the interaction of Oracle’s ERP system and IBM’s middleware (not to mention a third party’s operating system). One could foresee Oracle and IBM pointing the finger at each other, and saying “there’s nothing wrong with my software–it’s the other guys’ software that’s causing the problem.”

Third, they could go without a tech support contract and try to support it themselves. This is probably the riskiest maneuver, but it’s one that many JDE shops have tried over the years, as they seek to escape the 22 percent annual maintenance fee. It doesn’t hurt that Oracle has referred to this fee as its “birthright.” Plenty of customer are looking to escape the grips of legacy ERP software vendors who no longer provide value for the millions in annual fees they extract from customers. Oracle is by no means alone in this department, but it has the most to lose.

Fourth, Blue Stack customers could tap a third-party support provider, such as Rimini Street or Spinnaker Support, to get the needed technical expertise. Considering that these vendors typically charge at least half what Oracle charges for support–and provide what some customers call superior customer service–this could prove to be a very feasible option for EnterpriseOne customers still on the fence about what to do.

Ray Grigsby, vice president of Global JD Edwards Service Delivery for Las Vegas, Nevada-based Rimini Street, says EnterpriseOne shops need to be aware of their options. “By switching to Rimini Street independent support services, for example, licensees can continue to run their existing JD Edwards applications with full support for Blue Stack, along with interoperability and customizations,” Grigsby tells IT Jungle via email. “All JD Edwards support issues are managed and resolved through the Rimini Street Primary Support Engineer (PSE) saving time, money, and resources.”

Regardless of which approach an EnterpriseOne customer chooses, it doesn’t change the fact that it will need to make a decision soon. The clock is ticking.

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