The article discusses the challenges faced by Oracle EBS users due to Microsoft Office upgrades breaking the Oracle Web Applications Desktop Integrator (Web ADI), particularly for those using outdated versions, while promoting the More4apps EBS Toolbox as a reliable alternative that ensures compatibility and functionality with current Office versions.
Secure, verified, and supported Excel integration for Oracle EBS users should be the norm
Unfortunately, a Microsoft Office upgrade impacted thousands of EBS users who employed Oracle Web Applications Desktop Integrator (Web ADI).
This is especially problematic for people who are still using R11i, as Oracle only supports Excel through 2013. For those using R12, the frequent Office and Oracle updates can render Web ADI inoperable. Added to that, regression testing becomes difficult with frequent software updates.
Luckily, the More4apps EBS Toolbox is packed with solutions that are compatible with Microsoft Office and Oracle updates. But first, let’s explore what Oracle Web ADI is and why it is prone to breaking during a Microsoft Office update.
What is Oracle Web ADI?
- Web ADI offers a suite of readily available MS-Word and Excel based solutions for desktop computers
- End users can complete EBS tasks and data input activities more quickly using the MS-Office tools
- Users can copy and paste data from external sources and upload data
- There are 300+ Web ADI template documents users can choose from
How did a MS-Office update break Oracle Web ADI?
One of our newer customers, a transportation and shipping company upgraded its Microsoft Office 365. Immediately after, they noticed that Web ADI didn’t work with their Oracle EBS 11i.
Data is a crucial part of any business. With that being said, the transportation and shipping operation loads 6,000 lines of data into Oracle EBS daily.
As a result of Office 365 breaking Web ADI, the company had to downgrade over 30 employees’ Office suite. Reverting to the older version would get Web ADI to work again but it left the users with an unsupported, less secure version of Excel. Additionally, when they did upgrade to R12.2 they again had issues with Web ADI and compatibility with Excel. There were a series of patches they could deploy, but all of this led to more downtime.
Web ADI’s incompatibility with Microsoft Office upgrades means businesses are forced to rely on IT support rather than Oracle or Microsoft support.
The Limitations of Web ADI
Web ADI doesn’t cater to the specific needs of a business. For instance, Web ADI delivered templates don’t provide the flexibility to customize the layout or have the ability to reference personalized extension packages or sheet templating functionality. These features help users adjust what they want the integrator to do and importantly, what not to do.
Also, the templates lack the functionality that most companies need.
The Web ADI setup process requires a lot of interaction between the IT support team and the end user. This is a setback because delays could occur before users can operate the software.
Some users have complained about Web ADI’s inability to upload large amounts of data, often requiring additional support, which leads to more patching.
Oracle EBS Customers Find Instant Success with More4apps Solutions
As an example, Web ADI provides a journal loader. Here at More4apps, we have the GL Wizard, a solution from our Oracle EBS Toolbox. The GL Wizard is fully compatible with Microsoft Office 2013 to Office 365, EBS 11i and R12 (11g database and higher). Your users can keep up to date and, more importantly, your organization secure using the latest version of Excel.
The EBS Toolbox GL Wizard works for you and provides the functionality of Web ADI without the difficulties
GL Wizard is more adaptable and performs better, capable of loading large data sets using a flexible Excel interface.
GL Wizard Benefits:
- Create journals and journal attachments.
- Create actuals, budget journals, and amounts.
- Users can operate on many ledgers and data sheets at once.
- Use many periods, categories, and sources in one Excel worksheet.
Our EBS Toolbox products are constantly upgraded to work with the latest releases of Oracle and Microsoft Office.
Save yourself the time and effort of regression testing or at worse downgrading Excel for your users with each Office or EBS product update.
Contact us today to learn more about the GL Wizard and other solutions.
