June, 2015 Oracle s Siebel CRM Statement of Direction Client Platform Support

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1 June, 2015 Oracle s Siebel CRM Statement of Direction Client Platform Support

2 Oracle s Siebel CRM Statement of Direction IP2016 Client Platform Support Disclaimer This document in any form, software or printed matter, contains proprietary information that is the exclusive property of Oracle. Your access to and use of this confidential material is subject to the terms and conditions of your Oracle Software License and Service Agreement, which has been executed and with which you agree to comply. This document and information contained herein may not be disclosed, copied, reproduced or distributed to anyone outside Oracle without prior written consent of Oracle. This document is not part of your license agreement nor can it be incorporated into any contractual agreement with Oracle or its subsidiaries or affiliates. This document is for informational purposes only and is intended solely to assist you in planning for the implementation and upgrade of the product features described. It is not a commitment to deliver any material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. The development, release, and timing of any features or functionality described in this document remains at the sole discretion of Oracle. Due to the nature of the product architecture, it may not be possible to safely include all features described in this document without risking significant destabilization of the code. 1

3 Purpose This document highlights the planned client platform support included in Oracle s Siebel CRM product roadmap for IP2016. It is intended solely to help you assess the business benefits of upgrading and to plan your business and IT projects. As a result of the obvious benefits of the Open UI client platform s ability to meet a broad set of use requirements with a single technology stack offering low total cost of ownership (TCO), Oracle will offer only the Open UI client starting with Oracle s Siebel Innovation Pack This will assist in simplifying the deployment of Siebel for current and future customers. Since the Siebel release, Oracle has provided a new leading client platform, Siebel Open UI, which has evolved to provide a modern user experience that now extends from the desktop to mobile devices, supports employee, partner, and customer-facing users, and can be used for connected and disconnected operations. This new client supports accessibility and uses only standards to provide a very modern user experience. The Open UI client can easily be deployed on any modern browser or mobile device using only credentials and a URL. The Open UI client has gained traction in the Siebel customer base and is now considered the premier path to deploy Siebel. This is due to the features and power it provides in creating a fine-tuned customer experience through its extensibility options, its strong heritage in 100% open standards, and customers desire to move to modern browsers. The Oracle s Siebel High Interactivity (HI) client became available as part of the Siebel release in It has been a leading client platform for the delivery of a productive CRM user experience for almost fifteen years. This client is used primarily for employee and partnerfacing applications and is built using ActiveX, Java, JavaScript, and HTML4 technology. The Siebel Standard Interactivity (SI) client has been available since Siebel 6.0 to provide a customer-facing portal to engage customers. This client uses primarily JavaScript and HTML4 technology. Siebel Handheld & Wireless clients have been available since Siebel 6.0 & Siebel 7.0, respectively, to enable Siebel applications on small screen devices, typically phones. Siebel handheld uses the Windows Mobile platform, which is no longer supported by Microsoft, and Siebel Wireless uses the Standard Interactivity (SI) client. 2

4 Microsoft Internet Explorer 8, which is the primary platform for Siebel HI and SI clients, will leave mainstream support by Microsoft on January 12th As customers upgrade to modern browsers, they will want to implement Open UI clients in place of HI and SI client deployments, as these are the only supported options that support Internet Explorer 11 and other modern HTML5 browsers. For information about how to migrate existing deployments to Open UI, see Oracle Support Document (IP2014 Siebel Open UI Best Practices - Deployment Guide) on My Oracle Support (MOS) which covers many aspects of implementing Open UI, as well as Siebel Bookshelf. For customers on existing releases of Siebel Industry applications, Oracle recommends updating to the latest available Innovation Pack and Patchset to take advantage of Oracle s Error Correction Policy. Siebel HI and SI client components will continue to be supported in Innovation Packs 2014 and 2015, including through the Patchset process, as detailed in the Error Correction Policy. Oracle recommends updating to the latest available distributions and migrating to Open UI clients before the release of Oracle s Siebel Innovation Pack 2016 and the end of support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 8. Note: Information about supported clients and software is provided on the online support portal at Supported clients are listed under the Certification tab. Siebel CRM Support Timelines For more information regarding support for Siebel CRM, see Lifetime Support Policy for Oracle Applications on My Oracle Support. 3

5 Frequently asked questions Q: I need assistance in migrating to Open UI; where do I go? A: Your starting point is the latest Oracle Support Document (IP2014 Siebel Open UI Best Practices - Deployment Guide) on MOS. The reference section provides Oracle and partner contact information that can assist with upgrading to an Open UI-capable release and with migrating to Open UI. Q: Executives are asking us to support tablets, such as ipads, for our internal users. Is this a lot of effort as we move to Open UI? A: There is no additional effort required. When you move to Open UI on the latest releases, the configuration you already have will render on tablets. Customizing the configuration for a fine-tuned tablet experience may require additional effort. Q: Does Open UI do everything my current client does? A: Open UI provides largely equivalent functionality and in some cases far surpasses the prior UI. It is more customizable, is fully accessible, and can be used on tablets or desktops. Oracle documents the difference between HI and Open UI in the Open UI Deployment Guide. Q: I am currently using the HI client and I am happy using it. Can I continue to do so? A: Yes, you can continue to use the HI client on Innovation Pack IP2015 or prior. Please review the error correction policy to understand the support options and timelines for older releases. Q: I am using the SI client for partner- and customer-facing applications. Will I need to purchase license keys for new products to migrate to Open UI? A: No additional licenses are generally required: Siebel Partner Portal applications are available in Open UI without additional license requirements Alternatives for Siebel esales, eservice, ecustomer, emarketing, Helpdesk & esupport will be available in Open UI without additional license requirements Some industry partner applications, such as the Finance and Communications products, may require manual conversion to Open UI, but do not require additional licenses Q: I am using the Siebel Mobile Web Client (Remote) today with the HI client on a Windows Tablet. Can I migrate the Mobile Web Client to Open UI? A: The Mobile Web Client continues to function with Open UI. Only the rendering mode needs to be switched from HI to Open UI for existing users as per the documentation in Siebel Bookshelf. Q: I have heard I can run the HI client on Internet Explorer 11. Is this true? A: No. Though many features may work, there are also features that will not and Oracle cannot support any service requests on unsupported platforms. Oracle provides a summary of why this does not work and examples of anecdotal reports of items that don t work and cannot be addressed here: Known Issues for Siebel HI Client with unsupported Internet Explorer 9, 10, and 11 versions (IE9, IE10, IE11) (Doc ID ) 4

6 Frequently asked questions (continued) Q: Under what circumstances do I need to purchase a Siebel Mobile license? A: Siebel Mobile is a new offering for customers who wish to use Siebel applications in disconnected mode on ios or Android based tablets. Note that migration pricing is available for customers who have previously purchased Siebel Handheld, Siebel Mobile Web Client (Siebel Remote), or the Mobile Sales Assistant. Please contact your Oracle Account Representative for detailed information relevant to your particular licenses. Q: I am currently using the Web Client Automation Server for integration between an external product and Siebel. Can I continue to use this component as long as I stay on Internet Explorer? A: No. The Web Client Automation Server is based on a browser plugin (ActiveX), which is not supported in Open UI. Customers should look for integration solutions with Siebel using other integration points, such as Siebel EAI or the Siebel COM Data Control/Server, which will continue to exist as server-based integration points. 5

7 Statement of Direction Siebel IP2016 June, 2015 Author: Holger Herbert Contributing Authors: Darshan Kumar Oracle Corporation World Headquarters 500 Oracle Parkway Redwood Shores, CA U.S.A. Worldwide Inquiries: Phone: Fax: oracle.com Copyright 2015, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is provided for information purposes only, and the contents hereof are subject to change without notice. This document is not warranted to be error-free, nor subject to any other warranties or conditions, whether expressed orally or implied in law, including implied warranties and conditions of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. We specifically disclaim any liability with respect to this document, and no contractual obligations are formed either directly or indirectly by this document. This document may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without our prior written permission. Oracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Intel and Intel Xeon are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. All SPARC trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. AMD, Opteron, the AMD logo, and the AMD Opteron logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group. 0113