I hear at Oracle OpenWorld next month it will be acknowledged that Fusion apps will be delayed through 2009 at the earliest. Not surprised - it was always a moonshot.
But disappointed to hear John Wookey, who headed development, may be a casualty as a result. Development will likely be split - with new Fusion going under Thomas Kurian, and legacy (including PeopleSoft other acquired products) under another exec with more of a support background.
The latter is not a surprise either. No major enhancements were planned for the acquired products. Putting them under a support umbrella just makes it official.
As I wrote in The New Vaporware, legacy (acquired) customers should again ask - if all we will get is tweaks to existing product, and Fusion apps will take a while to be rolled out, why exactly are we paying Oracle full maintenance?
When they go to San Francisco for the conference, a meeting with third party maintenance firms like Rimini, NetCustomer and others may be a good investment.
Update: Dennis Howlett reports an internal email confirms John Wookey's departure
I have posted a follow up blog here
Josh Greenbaum speculates Oracle will say "what delay?". True, since there is no clear specification of what exactly Fusion Apps will look like.
