Oracle Forms & Reports

MaineIT Fusion Middleware Forms and Reports Managed Service

FY2024 & FY2025 Summary

Overview

Oracle Forms, a component of Oracle Fusion Middleware, is an established technology that has been popular for building data applications for decades. Today, there are several approaches for building such applications. This page details how you can use Oracle APEX to modernize your Oracle Forms-based applications.

Oracle Forms and Oracle APEX have numerous similarities, making for a smooth transition. They are both:

• Database-centric
• SQL and PL/SQL based
• Capable of utilizing all Oracle Database features and database objects
• Using declarative frameworks to aid development.

However, there are also some key differences. Oracle APEX:

• Runs completely through a web browser and requires zero client-side tools or browser plugins (for both development and runtime).
• Saves app definitions using a metadata repository eliminating the need for file generation
• Includes out of the box theming.
• Produces fully responsive apps that run on any device.

Oracle Reports is currently only supporting existing legacy applications. Premium support for Oracle Reports 12cR2 is available until August 2022. The recommended option for customers looking for reporting for new or existing applications, is the Oracle Analytics Cloud. If there is a need for more interactive reporting with the Oracle database, APEX may be a better solution.

If you have any questions or would like more information regarding these exciting new tools, please reach out to the Oracle Middleware team.

Included

• One URL is allocated for a standard build. Please note this will be configured on a minimum of two managed servers which is required to provide high-availability and disaster recovery.
• Enterprise monitoring, including monitoring the health of the system.
• Administration of the Oracle Forms, Reports, and WebLogic hosting software and platform.
• Oracle Reports published to the internet include the Imperva Web Application Firewall which adds an additional layer of protection to analyze traffic for malicious activity and also prevent DDoS Attacks.
• Deployment self-service for Oracle Forms/Reports.
• Collection of managed server logs for isolated applications.
• Quarterly patches for Oracle Forms/Reports, WebLogic, JDK, and the operating system to enhance features, functionality, and reduce security vulnerabilities when/where available.
• Assistance with the monitoring and troubleshooting of Load Tests.
• Enterprise Backups: Backups occur each night at 10:00PM with the following Standard Retention utilizing the Azure Gov Cloud.
  
  • Daily backups are taken at 10:00PM, stored in the SOM data centers, and retained for 15 days.
  • Weekly backups are taken every Friday at 10:00PM, stored in the SOM data centers and in the Azure Gov Cloud Tenant, and retained for 35 days.
  • Monthly backups are taken the first Friday of each month at 10:00PM, stored in the Azure Gov Cloud Tenant, and retained for 365 days.
  • All hardware purchases and maintenance costs.
• All software licensing and maintenance costs.
• Server housing costs (power, backup generator, UPS, network connection, operational monitoring, etc.).
• Customer Support Center for problem reporting. (Internal use only)
• Operations/Unix Support Specialists.
• Middleware Administrators to provide administration functions to keep the applications operational.

Excluded

• Local PC Administration of Oracle Forms and Reports, WebLogic, and/or the JDK.
• Administration for standalone Oracle Forms/Reports Servers. This rate covers the shared Oracle Middleware WebLogic environment only and is currently only available on the LINUX operating system.

Service Level Targets and Availability

• Please note that the Middleware environment is extremely large and requires patching of non-production environments during normal business hours due to the complexity. If an outage can’t be sustained in pre-production during these times it will require a minimum of two managed servers.
• Standard business hour coverage is 7:00AM – 5:00PM Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, please contact MaineIT Operations (207-624-7700).
• If service is required for non-production systems outside of the standard business hours, prior arrangements will be required with the director of this service area.
• Production systems are supported 24x7 365 days a year. If a critical production issue occurs during non-business hours, please contact the Oracle Middleware Team on-call support at 207-624-7700.
• Platinum patching is a 24-hour process and occurs during business hours for all environments.

On the Bill

Oracle Forms and Reports Managed Service

Service Code = MWFORMS
Service Category = Oracle Database Services
Service Full = Oracle FORMS/REPORTS (MWFORMS)

Sample NICUS 350 Report:
Columns A-I (click on the image to enlarge report)

Service Rates: Please see the MaineIT Rate Table 

Options Available for Additional Charge

• Local PC Administration of Oracle Forms and Reports, WebLogic, and/or the JDK.
• Administration for standalone Oracle Forms/Reports Servers.

Customer Expectations

• Individual users follow State of Maine IT rules and policies, including all security policies.
• Provide a contact person and backup at a minimum, but an email group is preferred. This group will receive updates and work with the Middleware team to configure and stand up the application.
• Report any issues or problems with this service to the MaineIT team as promptly and with as complete information as is feasible.
• With the new security climate, it is critical that teams validate patching in the pre-production environments prior to moving to production. If the applicant is unwilling or the application is unable to stay current on the Enterprise Data Services Shared Oracle Forms and Reports environment, they will have to move to a standalone configuration. This will incur the cost of the server; WebLogic support costs and additional licensing may also apply. This includes but is not limited to the Operating System, WebLogic and, JDK software.
• The applications deployed will be developed and compiled by application development teams. The expectation is the applications will be initially deployed on a copy of Oracle Forms and Reports utilizing WebLogic that has been deployed on their PC. This version will be using the same version and patch set of WebLogic and the JDK as the Enterprise Data Services enterprise hosting environment. The application will be working fully where possible prior to deployments completed on the enterprise hosting environment. The expectation is that most of the development and debugging will occur on the local development environments prior to deployments to the Enterprise. It is the responsibility of development teams (external and internal) to create and support local development environments. Deploying untested application code to Enterprise Oracle Forms and Reports environments is highly discouraged. 
• There is a requirement for at least one pre-production environment for every production environment.

To get help, or to order this service

• Call MaineIT Service Center at 207-624-7700 and assign to the Oracle Middleware team. 
• For application projects (new projects, major enhancements, or upgrades), contact the MaineIT Project Management Office (PMO).
• An Assyst ticket is required for all non-production work requests. All production work requests require an authorized RFC. If applicable, a billing code is required for those items that are not part of the base published rate.
• For new Middleware environments, please send an email to the Oracle Middleware team to schedule an intake discussion. Once complete, we will request and/or create a Footprints ticket requesting the environment. Most requests will be completed within two weeks of receiving of a completed request.
• If the published Service Level Agreement is not met, the issues can be escalated to the next priority level by contacting any of the following individuals: 
  • The Enterprise Data Services or your friendly Account Managers.
  • MaineIT Operations will engage the On-Call Core Technology Duty Manager if necessary. 
• For after-hours production break fix, contact MaineIT Operations at Customer Support 207-624-7700.

Priority Levels for monitoring

• The standard production published service level agreement can be viewed at the following link: Standard SLA Maine IT Production Services.
• Standard business hour coverage is 7:00AM – 5:00PM Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, please contact MaineIT Operations.
• If service is required for non-production systems outside of the standard business hours, prior arrangements will be required with the director of this service area and associated fees will apply.