On to the results...
Total Responses 329
The percentages may not add up to 100% as all questions were optional and some were multiple choice.
Have you experienced problems with My Oracle Support since November 9, 2009?
| Yes | 88% |
| No | 11% |
What kind of issues have you experienced with My Oracle Support since November 9, 2009?
| Unable to login | 64% |
| Unable to access site | 61% |
| Able to access site, but session errors/performance issues | 60% |
| Search fails | 44% |
| Able to access site, but user/CSI information missing/incorrect | 29% |
| Unable to access documents | 28% |
| Previous SRs not available | 25% |
| Unable to access patches/upgrades | 21% |
| Open SRs not available | 17% |
| Unable to access eTRM | 10% |
Have you been able to access My Oracle Support and use the site without problems since November 13, 2009?
| Yes | 42% |
| No | 55% |
Before November 06, 2009, did you do any of the recommended pre-conversion activities?
| Online Training | 20% |
| Validation of Single Sign On | 80% |
Which versions of the site are you using/attempting to use?
| Flash | 93% |
| Non-Flash (HTML) | 47% |
Please rate your experience with My Oracle Support site since November 09, 2009
| Excellent | 4% |
| Acceptable | 11% |
| Poor | 26% |
| Unacceptable | 57% |
Please rate your experience with Oracle Support communications/interaction since November 09, 2009
| Excellent | 2% |
| Acceptable | 21% |
| Poor | 28% |
| Unacceptable | 33% |
Please rate your experience with Oracle Corporate communications/interaction regarding My Oracle Support since November 09, 2009
| Excellent | 1% |
| Acceptable | 13% |
| Poor | 28% |
| Unacceptable | 43% |
Selected Comments
The reason I am saying Oracle Corporate communications/interaction"unacceptable" is BECAUSE it is N/A. Given all the problems, there needed to be much more effort on Oracle's side to keep the user community informed as to what they were doing to mitigate this fiasco.
They should have:
1) Load tested the site prior to go-live
2) More completely bug-tested the site prior to go-live
3) Had a fallback plan in place and executed it once it was evident that the system wasn't going to be available by Monday
4) Left the old Metalink available as read-only until the new site was stable
5) Provided a migration status page for better communication to users
6) Apologized publicly and taken full responsibility for the issues rather than trying to blame it on untrained users
I'm in the Flash version now, and search results are unpredictable. I first searched for dataguard, and had two results under the 'installation' subcategory. I went in there, and of course was unable to go back, so I clicked the "Clear all" and started a new search for dataguard. This time I got 8 hits under the 'installation' subcategory.
Performance and usability should have been the targets for this upgrade. That probably would have precluded the use of flash and too much graphic-oriented content.
My SSO details have been lost, my bookmarks gone and am told they are "lost forever", lost useful SR information (which admittedly we knew was on the cards, but still can't understand why this had to happen), the occasionally useful Metalink forum entries have been removed altogether, Flash is a problem, the performance of even the HTML site is terrible, and I've spent all afternoon trying to raise an SR only to be repeatedly told "Server Not Found" or on one occasion "Unable to create Tech SR. Please send the key for retrieving actual error, 09.11.13-12:49:44.577-1290, to the application administrator".
The performance of the new My Oracle Support is unacceptable. In addition, the Flash based support site is and was slow (prior to Nov. 9) and has a poor interface. Using Flash presents security problems. I understand that metalink needed to be retired, but why couldn't Oracle wait until HTML 5, avoiding Flash, to implement it's cartoon/game-like interface is a mystery. Flash is a joke, and so is paying for this poor level of support.
Seems like this was done without our input as to what we wanted and needed to do our jobs, with predictable results.
Never expected such poor and shoddy service from Oracle. Maybe, they will offer "Classic metalink" as a paid option soon !
All of my CSIs are gone.
I entered a severity 1 ticket on 11/9 at 11 AM for a down production database and didn't get a response from Oracle until 11/13 around noon.
They had plenty of warning that people were not happy with the new site but forced it through anyway, and apparently without any fallback mechanism when it failed.
As an OnDemand customer we can't use the HTML version since OnDemand features aren't there. We weren't warned ahead of time about the RFCs and they were poorly (read this as INCORRECTLY) migrated from the Metalink SRs. Our SDM did call Tuesday and give me a 1.5 hour lesson/explaination of new processes, etc. which was great, however Support should have taken OnDemand customers into account and communicated more clearly, warning us in advance of new procedures.
The communication is plentiful, but comes across as either condescending or arrogant.
The new site has wayyyyyyyyy too many bells and whistles to be useful. Oracle should really following the KISS principle. The flash features are completely overdone.
HTML version nearly as slow as the flash version.
Production OCM Targets disappeared before the weekend migration.
ALL OCM Targets disappeared during migration.
Zero corporate recognition of the problem is totally unnacceptible.
I've had escalated SR being actively handled during that time. One night we wanted to increase severity to 1 and no communication with oracle was possible. Phone unanswered, SRs were not being read. Once the analyist returned to his shift, management was informed instantly and they reacted very good and very fast -- which is what I'm used to, I think Oracle has the best support organization of any vendor I've encountered to date, if it's handled properly they react very fast and technically competent. It's only a matter of doing it right IMHO... But since the switch, no matter what you did, working with support effectively has become impossible in many occasions.
most unprofessional communication and updates reg the problems with new MOS go live.
- Must have ETRM available.
- Certify not working (still - eBusiness Suite), and harder to use.
- Recommended patch lists not working (still)
- Historical links to notes/bugs on metalink2.oracle.com should forward to support.oracle.com
- Should have option to "Switch to HTML" prominent in Flash GUI and vice versa.
- HTML version should also have been available prior to conversion and more widely publicized
- Conversion status should have been communicated off and on the support site.
- The bulk and contradictory emails prior to conversion should have been fewer and more succinct.
All my existing accounts were stripped bare, no Support IDs came over to the MOS. Subsequently I cannot enter the site since the cut-over. I was able to use it before 6/Nov/09. Same from my collegues, one of whom could never enter Metalink since MOS went on live test (pre-release bug?).
Oracle Support analysts did a great job since 09-Nov-09 to help as good as they can. MOS did not.
In my Case, CSIs are not matched correct to Products. But as the CSIs part of our purchase, I could argue they neglect our active contract. Poor!
Knoledge base article filters do not work anymore
Oracle has shown extreme arrogance and disregard for their customers with MOS and this "upgrade". They act like they have us all by the "short and curlies" and that there is nothing we can do about it but accept whatever they decide and/or do.
I guess, for the most part they are right. Most customers are not going to dump Oracle over this ... just suffer, complain and suffer some more. But, given what Oracle charges for support, one would think they could afford to properly design AND properly test things like MOS and the upgrade.
I've been unable to raise an SR, the phone lines to the support centre are jammed, and when the support site does let me log in, it is unusably slow.
For the first time in my career, I'm wondering whether Oracle is really the technology I wish to be associated with.
There IS/WAS a problem with the mechanism creating SSO accounts for MOS. Just ask the Metalink support desk. They've been trying to sort out screwed up MOS accounts for months. Under my SSO account - that I had been using with MOS for months - when I go to administer users, I see 5 entries for myself in the list of users - all with the same email address. Pretty poor data validation. Anyone heard of foreign keys?
I have been getting by in part by using the HTML site, Flash experience has improved, but still has issues, for instance SRs not listed in the dashboard, I have to zoom in to find them, and on occasion they still do not appear.
Flash is for Games, not business.
I have been able to use supporthtml.oracle.com via my own laptop, but corporate desktop is locked down with incompatible flash version - major problem!
I am not a heavy user of ML/MOS but when you need it you really need it. Poor show Oracle...
Communication has been non-existent (apart from the mail suggesting that everything is down to not validating user accounts - don't try to blame us Oracle, my account works but the site is mostly down or slow, and I have lost most of our supported products against my CSI. The response to the escalated sev 2 SR on this has been dreadful).
A vendor support website should be easy to use, intuitive, quick and powerful. MOS is none of these things. When a vendor offers training for CUSTOMERS to use the Support site, that should be a huge red flag, a harbinger of rocky roads. When a vendor forces all clients to use a support center that is awash in chaos, fronted with ill-trained or under-experienced employees and charges several million dollars for such "support", clients will and are looking at other sources for practical help.
Can we have metalink back until this is fixed?
I was stunned at how badly the migration was implemented. Incredibly bad service. When attempting to use the support number of the phone instead a similarly poor level of service was received.
There is a certain amount of irony in watching a log on screen for >5 minustes saying "faster" "more reliable" only for the system to eventually kick you out with a 503 error message.
Finally what on earth were they thinking with this flash rubbish anyway. If the change was an improvement the problems might be forgivable but the new version is just terrible particularly in the area of SR creation/monitoring and yes I have been trying to use the flash version since it was first introduced alonside the original.
I had to find an another browser to use w/ My Oracle Support. I now use Chrome simply because it's the only browser with which I was able to see my screen, view documents and print them. When I submitted an SR re: this, I was asked to revert to an old version of IE (v 6!) and see if the functionality worked there.
The flash product is slower than the html product, NO ONE I KNOW LIKES IT BETTER THAN THE HTML product and yet Oracle corp has unilaterally dictated this change to your customer base. I am just trying to get my job done and I want a online support platform. I don't care about your fancy updates and I don't want to have to retrain just to use the support site. I want to get my job done and I want oracle support to help me do it, not get in my way. Since my client is paying a 6 figure number for support, that seems to me to be an entirely reasonable desire, and yet oracle support seem determined to get in the way and to make things harder and then to charge 6 figure values for doing so.
My experience with the site since the transition to the new model is that availability was intermittent and that key services such as searching the knowlege base were unavailable at times. In the past, I have found Metalink to be VERY useful and hope that it is restored to that level of service soon.
My Service Request experience remains poor. I think the very first reply of EVERY SR absolutely MUST be the analyst's re-statement of the problem. This, at least, will prove that they've actually READ the SR. My team uses Oracle Support as an absolute LAST resort because of the frustration of repeating instructions to every analyst who works the SR. This is a simple communications fix that Oracle must make to give any semblance of reasonable support.
I find it very shocking that they have not had the decency to apologize for the disaster. It is like they don't care about customers.
How is it not possible for a database company to migrate certain information successfully (SR history, SR profiles, bookmarks)?
I thought Oracle's support was very good until this. But now I wonder where all that money we paid for support is going.
Bring back Classic Metalink.
The current version of Metalink is dead slow compared to the older version. I cannot find the documents that i am looking for at times.The back button takes me out of metalink and i have to login again.
All kinds of errors suddenly seem to pop up. I have created 2 accounts - one is unable to login at all, the other continually get the message "Account setup still in progress, try again later".
When the conversion to Flash was announced last winter, I filed an SR. I was called by one of the managers who told me that the old version of Metalink was not going away. Yeah, right.
I did use the Flash version one time from another person's computer. I really enjoyed getting recommendations on the health of our 150+ databases based on an SR that was filed for one database a year ago.
The "dashboard" is full of crap that I care nothing about. All I want is a facility to search for problem resolution, patches, and SR creation. Google does a much better job when searching for relevant documents. For example, a search for "ora-00600" retrieves ONE document.
The people who run Metalink obviously didn't listen to many customers when designing My POS.
I have worked in IT for over 20 years and this migration experience ranks right at the top as one of the worst I ever experienced. I'm more than disappointed. I'm amazed at the utter incompetence displayed by Oracle Corp. in this process. I didn't think it was possible for a company the size of Oracle to do such a poor job on a area that is so critical for its customers. Oracle's credibility hit rock bottom as far as I'm concerned.
The support team does not seem to have a good handle on the new system. I've been calling nearly every day since the rollout. the only issue that's been resolved is my Admin capability, which really doesn't do much. no more user maintenance.
Some communication from Oracle would have been nice. We certainly received some before the conversion, how about an update?
Been using the flash version for a while - the half implemented timeout issues are annoying - it seems to be working but does not update.
WHen the site is working, I have observered a couple worthwihile new features: (1) "Open in new tab, as well as saving/sending URLs works, which it did not in the old flash version (2) SR update emails actually contain the update, not just a message that the SR has been updated. Trying to look at the positive side of things.
Oracle Corp did not even have the courtesy to let us know there is an issue - this is just not acceptable
I've sent several messages using the 'Contact Us' link on Oracle Support and never got a response. I've phoned Oracle Global Suport, chose the non-technical queue and, severl times now, had to give up after waiting an hour or more on hold with no one picking up. THIS IS NOT SUPPORT; SOMEONE SHOULD BE FIRED FOR THIS!!!!.
worst software upgrade I have ever seen in 35 years!.
If there has been any Oracle Corporate response, I haven't seen it. Oracle seems to be ignoring their customers and the needs of those customers. Can't believe that they are continuing this "migration" - I'm sure that if I had the same issues that the site has had, my customers would have shown me the door by now. I can't imagine the lost productivity costs that the customer base has incurred due to the poor planning of this conversion..
Luckily I didn't have any clients doing upgrades or requiring help during this time. If they did I would have insisted that they approach oracle for large discounts in their support costs. There is no excuse not to have the old classic metalink available during this disaster.
An interesting email from Oracle support was received today reminding people that to access My Oracle Support people need to use their Single Sign On logon. This tip immediately followed the statement that some customers are experiencing issues with registration and access for the new site. The statement also followed the statement that many of Oracle's customers are experiencing benefits from the next-generation support platform. This, of course, implies that it is the customer's fault that the customer cannot access the support site. Just another case of someone not seeing the trees from the forest.
Oracle needs to step up and admit public how bad things were. Do not cover it up. Just admit to it and go on and fix it.
I do not have to use metalink much these days... I feel bad for production support DBA's etc who rely on the tool to work
One of the uglier rollouts I have seen in my 25+ year IT career.
They should have done SSO separately from the Flash upgrade. They should have been aware they most government workers couldn't use flash due to restrictions. Should have had more buy in from community before going live with flash. Gotten dedicated users to test and give constructive feedback for flash
havn't been using site alot this week luckily. I'm just waiting it out to see if I can just come back and the issues resolved. One more week, and a week vacation is the plan.
I used the flash version prior to conversion and even though I hated it it worked. Expected it to continue working post conversion. It worked in Firefox before conversion, not after but is now working fine..
I raised Sev2 SR and it has been in their queue for over 2 days without any response.
My experiences have been inconsistent. Sometimes I get in, sometimes I don't (the error always being different). I've not gotten all my CSIs back despite following the instructions from the support person on the phone. I have yet to have the same level of experience on MOS as I did with MetaLink prior to the change. .
I have been using the "Flash" version since soon after it became available, and it was usable prior to the upgrade. I tried to link my MetaLink account with my OTN single sign-on account, but was unable to do so without errors, so I stopped trying to do so and ignored the banner after login. At present, I am attempting to login to MOS in order to copy/paste the error message from Siebel that I always receive upon login, but I am again unable to login with the Flash banner stuck at 90%. Please be advised that the MOS upgrade is the most poorly implemented change that I have ever witnessed in my 25 year IT career, considering past experience with upgrades of both internal-facing applications as well as external-facing applications. Oracle Corporation has botched this badly and needs to re-assess their ability to manage IT infrastructure and re-evaluate their management policies and procedures. This is not a failure of rank-and-file technical support -- this is a failure of project management. .
Has been mostly O.K. for us.
