Oracle Application Integration Architecture (AIA) Process
Integration Packs (PIP) is a concept that was created by Oracle to provide out
of the box integrations between their various ERP systems. Their initial intention was to create a
marketplace where Oracle partners could create PIPs and sell them to Oracle customers. This concept initially led to several PIPs to
be created but as time has gone on many of the Oracle partners have limited or
stopped supporting the PIPs that they have created. There are a couple of
things to consider when evaluating the use of PIPs:
- Do you have vanilla installations of your ERP systems or do they have a lot of customizations? If your ERP systems have been customized, then the PIP will need to be modified to support the customizations. This includes something as simple as adding additional fields to the records that need to be integrated.
- How often to you upgrade your ERP systems? If your upgrade cycle is slow, you run the risk of using a PIP that is no longer supported. If your upgrade cycle is fast, you run the risk of needing a PIP version that has not been created/updated yet.
- The Oracle partner that created the PIP is also a very important because each partner has different support levels, including discontinuing support.
- The Oracle PIP marketplace never really gained much traction so it will be interesting to see how long Oracle still supports and pushes PIPs.
