Oracle's Apps Message: SimplifyOracle's Apps Message: Simplify

Seeking to slow steep declines in its application software business, Oracle next week plans to introduce more than 20 software packages aimed at automating specific slices of customers' businesses.

Oracle's new Business Flow Accelerators, available now, bundle enterprise resource planning modules, installation service, training, and technical support into fixed-price packages aimed at narrow areas of a business, such as procurement or financial reporting. For example, a Procure to Pay package includes purchasing, procurement, and accounts payable software from Oracle's E-Business Suite, plus consulting and support, for a starting price of $102,000. An Accounting to Financial Reports package includes general ledger, accounts payable and receivable, and expense reporting software, and starts at $135,500.

The approach aims to simplify how customers buy and install Oracle's applications by focusing on specific processes, instead of pitching whole-hog deployments. During Oracle's second quarter, ended Nov. 30, sales of new application licenses in North America fell by 50%, to $51.5 million. Worldwide applications sales fell 34%, to $108.1 million. "No question, these applications aren't easy to implement," marketing VP Fred Studer says.

Oracle will make the announcement at its AppsWorld conference in San Diego next week. CEO Larry Ellison is scheduled to give a keynote address there Jan. 21.