Oracle 2011 Annual Report Download - page 13

Applications Unlimited
Our Applications Unlimited program is Oracle’s commitment to offer customers that purchase software license
updates and product support contracts a choice as to when, and if, to upgrade to the next generation of the
products they own. Until our customers reach a decision to upgrade to the next generation of the products they
own, we protect their investments in their applications by offering them the ability to purchase software license
updates and product support contracts for their existing products. Our applications are designed to help customers
extend the benefits of their IT investments in our applications, reduce their investment risk, and support their
evolution to the next generation of enterprise software that best fits their needs. For example, our Oracle
Application Integration Architecture provides an open framework for creating adaptable, cross-application
business processes. In addition, our applications software products are offered as integrated suites or on a
component basis, and all are built on open architectures that are designed for flexible configuration and open,
multi-vendor integration. Our applications are also available in multiple languages and support a broad range of
country specific requirements, enabling companies to support both global and local business practices and legal
requirements.
We strive to protect our customers’ investments in Oracle Applications by delivering new product releases that
incorporate customer-specific and industry-specific innovations across product lines. Since announcing our
Applications Unlimited program, we have delivered major releases on all applications product lines. Our
applications software products combine business functionality with innovative technologies such as role-based
analytics, secure search, identity management, self-service and workflow to deliver adaptive industry processes,
business intelligence and insights, and optimal end-user productivity.
Oracle Applications enable efficient management of core business functions, including:
• Enterprise Resource Planning;
• Customer Relationship Management;
• Supply Chain Management;
• Enterprise Performance Management (EPM);
• Business Intelligence Applications (Analytic Applications);
• Enterprise Project Portfolio Management;
• Web Commerce; and
• Industry-Specific Applications.
Enterprise Resource Planning
Companies use our ERP applications to automate and integrate a variety of their key global business processes,
including: supply chain planning, manufacturing, logistics, order fulfillment, asset lifecycle management,
purchasing, accounts receivable and payable, general ledger, cash and treasury management, travel and expense
management, human resources, payroll, benefits, and talent management. Our ERP applications combine
business functionality with innovative technologies such as self-service applications that enable companies to
lower the cost of their business operations by providing their customers, suppliers and employees with self-
service access to both transaction processing and critical business information.
Customer Relationship Management
We offer a suite of CRM applications that are engineered to help our customers manage their selling processes
more efficiently, integrate marketing campaigns and content into their selling processes more effectively, and
deliver high quality customer service across multiple channels including call centers, web and mobile devices.
Our CRM products also provide many industry-specific features designed to support the specialized needs of
users in key sectors, such as communications, consumer products, financial services, high technology, insurance,
life sciences and the public sector. We also offer Oracle CRM On Demand, which is a subscription-based
offering that provides customers with sales, marketing and services features of our CRM software in a cloud
environment.
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