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Pivoting to 3rd Party Support for JD Edwards World

Posted by Dave Kravitt, CPIM

Pivoting to 3rd Party Support for JD Edwards WorldJD Edwards enjoyed a longtime working relationship with IBM, resulting in many companies that rely on IBM i to run ERP solutions like JD Edwards World, OneWorld, and Enterprise One (with World running exclusively on IBM i).

Oracle’s 2004 acquisition of PeopleSoft (which included the JD Edwards software portfolio) left some JD Edwards users wondering if these applications would be supported long-term. Oracle, however, promised to continue supporting JD Edwards software. And in the nearly two decades since, many organizations continue to employ JDE as a business-critical ERP application.

More recently, however, the limits of Oracle’s support for JD Edwards World have become clear. 

These changes have big implications for businesses that rely on this software.

Fortunately, third-party support provides these organizations with the flexibility to move forward with an approach that’s tailored to their own business requirements. We explore how in this blog.

Oracle Support for JD Edwards World is Coming to an End

In April 2020, Oracle released roadmap documents that show the impending end of vendor support for EnterpriseOne (which will run through 2031) and World (with extended support expiring in April 2025, and premiere support even earlier, in April 2022). 

IT Jungle provides a more detailed account of this news here. They surmise that, with updates for World only scheduled to continue through the premier support timeline, “don’t expect a major new release of World, and don’t expect any new functionality or application enhancements after April 2022.” While Oracle’s roadmap promises continuous improvement through non-major updates to the current version of this software (released back in 2015), the announcement is a clear sign the Oracle is looking to back away from on-premise JD Edwards users.

This timeline is incredibly short for companies that rely on World running on IBM i. The end of vendor support is a clear indicator that these businesses face an urgent need to re-evaluate their long-term ERP strategy. With no new major functionality on the way for World users after 2022, the value proposition for premium vendor support is rapidly dwindling.

The Value of Pivoting to a Third-Party Support Model for JD Edwards World

Oracle is seeking to push JD Edwards users to upgrade to the latest version if they want to maintain access to vendor support. In the long-term, they likely hope to move customers toward their cloud-based products like NetSuite.

Many organizations, however, are continuing to receive excellent value from their existing JD Edwards implementations (in many cases, using a version that’s already out of date). If the business doesn’t require new functionality that can only be attained by upgrading to the latest version, upgrading doesn’t always make sense, even with vendor support set to expire.

We always recommend pursuing a technology strategy that is closely aligned with ground-level business requirements. And for many businesses, the cost, disruption, and risk of a major upgrade simply aren’t worth it. 

Third-party support means that businesses that rely on JD Edwards World still have strategic flexibility. An expert third-party provider can ensure continued access to cost-effective service and support for business-critical applications. 

A quality third party ERP support provider should:

  1. Prevent you from paying for unnecessary upgrades simply to retain support.
  2. Allow your business to manage critical applications on your own timeline, not your software vendor’s roadmap. 
  3. Continue enhancing and customizing your onsite application to meet new business requirements.
  4. Provide access to a roster of experts that would be cost-prohibitive to maintain in-house
  5. Keep business-critical applications aligned with strategic business priorities; this should mean working to understand how your business uses its ERP software and how it could work better.

Learn More About ERP Support from PSGi

PSGi has extensive experience supporting businesses that rely on business critical ERP applications running on IBM i/Power i. 

Whether it’s working to maximize the full potential of software you already own, integrating third-party apps to seamlessly add new functionality, or simply providing reliable support,  we offer the technical knowledge and implementation experience needed to ensure success.

That’s how the PSGi team helps clients build the ERP they’ve always wanted.  If you’re interested in learning more about leveraging PSGi’s knowledge to build a better ERP, you can get in touch with us here.

Reach Out to the ERP Experts