Cover Oregon Diagnosis: Oracle Overdose - InformationWeek

InformationWeek is part of the Informa Tech Division of Informa PLC

This site is operated by a business or businesses owned by Informa PLC and all copyright resides with them.Informa PLC's registered office is 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG. Registered in England and Wales. Number 8860726.

CIO Insights & Innovation
Security & Risk Strategy
Team Building & Staffing
IT Strategy
Digital Business
Project Management
Programming Languages
Dr. Dobb's
Enterprise Applications
Operating Systems
Productivity/Collaboration Apps
Network Security
Careers & People
Threat Intelligence
IoT
Attacks & Breaches
Application Security
Cloud Security
Endpoint Security
Mobile Security
Perimeter Security
Risk Management
Operations Security
Analytics
Vulnerabilities & Threats
Security & Risk Strategy
Infrastructure as a Service
Platform as a Service
Software as a Service
Cloud Storage
Data Centers
Mobile Applications
Mobile Devices
Mobile Business
Enterprise Mobility Management
AI/Machine Learning
Big Data Analytics
Hardware/Architectures
Software Platforms
IoT
Networking
Wireless Infrastructure
Data Centers
Cloud Infrastructure
Careers and Certifications
Network Security
Government
Healthcare
Wall Street & Technology
Bank Systems & Technology
Insurance & Technology
Industries
Government
Healthcare
Wall Street & Technology
Bank Systems & Technology
Insurance & Technology
IT Life
Careers
Mobile
Mobile Applications
Mobile Devices
Mobile Business
Enterprise Mobility Management
Software
Enterprise Applications
Operating Systems
Productivity/Collaboration Apps
Comments
Cover Oregon Diagnosis: Oracle Overdose
Newest First  |  Oldest First  |  Threaded View
David F. Carr
50%
50%
David F. Carr,
 User Rank: Author
3/14/2014 | 5:00:28 PM
Re: What's your diagnosis of Oracle's role in the Cover Oregon health insurance exchange?
To me, the most damning thing in the report is that Oracle Consulting Services wasn't particularly good at configuring Oracle products to work with other Oracle products. Yes, you might assume that products from the same vendor would work well together, and that consultants employed by the vendor would be the best experts you could get to configure and integrate them.

Doug makes a good point that the report shouldn't be taken as gospel and may contain its own biases. Still, it's a scorcher
Charlie Babcock
50%
50%
Charlie Babcock,
 User Rank: Author
3/14/2014 | 4:50:03 PM
Lack of transparency, over sight; shades of Montclair State University
Montclair State University in N.J. had some similar problems as it tried to automate student registration and other campus functions. There's an element of the two sides not being able to talk to each other, combined, I think, with some arrogance toward the customer that brings these disputes and failures about. See  http://www.informationweek.com/applications/oracle-sued-over-alleged-erp-project-cost-overruns/d/d-id/1097907
David F. Carr
100%
0%
David F. Carr,
 User Rank: Author
3/14/2014 | 1:40:11 PM
Re: What's your diagnosis of Oracle's role in the Cover Oregon health insurance exchange?
The implication seems to be that Oracle took advantage of the opportunity to pack every element of its portfolio into this project, whether it was the best match for the job or not. On the other hand, a friend I discussed this story with made the point that it's Oracle's job to sell as much software as possible -- and the customer's job to know when to say no.
David F. Carr
50%
50%
David F. Carr,
 User Rank: Author
3/14/2014 | 1:36:58 PM
Baltimore switching to Connecticut platform
Story of another troubled project: Maryland may dump its health insurance exchange in favor of one developed for Connecticut, says Baltimore Sun http://buff.ly/1kRtk8d 
D. Henschen
IW Pick
100%
0%
D. Henschen,
 User Rank: Author
3/14/2014 | 1:33:40 PM
Re: What's your diagnosis of Oracle's role in the Cover Oregon health insurance exchange?
Keep in mind that this is a federally funded report, and we saw the same "blame the vendor" reflexes in Minnesota when it came to that state's dealings with IBM. I'm not at all surprised to see an Oracle-centric product mix in an Oracle-led project. The money line in the federal report is this: "...there are other State Based Marketplaces utilizing elements of the Oracle product portfolios, without doubt, but CO has, without doubt, the most complex mix." What I would want to know is what are the pieces that are proven in this role and which, if any, pieces seem to be ill-suited to the task at hand.

Siebel plays in plenty of high-scale, consumer-facing Web environments, but what's really surprising here is the lack of project and development management capabilities and controls -- if the federally funded analysis is to be trusted. CO is ultimately responsible for making sure that it delivers what's promised. The question I have is did it really vet the technologies and vendors the successful state-based marketplaces have used?
David F. Carr
50%
50%
David F. Carr,
 User Rank: Author
3/14/2014 | 12:00:28 PM
What's your diagnosis of Oracle's role in the Cover Oregon health insurance exchange?
I tried to pull out the details most interesting to IT executives and project managers, but I'd be interested in your analysis of what's most significant in the federal report on what went wrong.

The journalists at the Oregonian deserve credit for uncovering this report, the existence of which state officials had been trying to keep quiet. TV station KATU dug up the Oracle case study I cite, mentioned in a January feature on how the state's grand vision complicated the project.


The State of Cloud Computing - Fall 2020
The State of Cloud Computing - Fall 2020
Download this report to compare how cloud usage and spending patterns have changed in 2020, and how respondents think they'll evolve over the next two years.
Download Now!
Editors' Choice
Slideshows
11 Things IT Professionals Wish They Knew Earlier in Their Careers
Lisa Morgan, Freelance Writer,  4/6/2021
News
Time to Shift Your Job Search Out of Neutral
Jessica Davis, Senior Editor, Enterprise Apps,  3/31/2021
Commentary
Does Identity Hinder Hybrid-Cloud and Multi-Cloud Adoption?
Joao-Pierre S. Ruth, Senior Writer,  4/1/2021
Register for InformationWeek Newsletters
Video
Current Issue
Successful Strategies for Digital Transformation
Download this report to learn about the latest technologies and best practices or ensuring a successful transition from outdated business transformation tactics.
Download This Issue!
White Papers
Slideshows
Twitter Feed
Sponsored Live Streaming Video
Everything You've Been Told About Mobility Is Wrong
Attend this video symposium with Sean Wisdom, Global Director of Mobility Solutions, and learn about how you can harness powerful new products to mobilize your business potential.
Sponsored Video
Flash Poll