Lack of budget, lack of skills, or just plain lack of interest? Whatever the reason, Oracle customers are not upgrading to the current 11i version of the company’s E-business Applications software, according to Phil Huntley, managing director at DSP Global, a third-party consultancy that specialises in implementing Oracle technology.

This is despite the fact that Oracle says it will end support for the earlier, 10.7 release from June 2003. “Companies are sitting tight,” says Huntley, who estimates that only 35% of Oracle sites have made the move to 11i. “Oracle upgrades,” he adds, “have become more and more technically demanding with each release, requiring increasing levels of technical expertise and involvement which many companies simply don’t have in-house.”

But there are some genuine benefits to be gained from 11i, he adds, including more effective reporting and analysis capabilities, an Internet architecture that lowers cost of ownership, and closer integration of individual applications.