Oracle Forms 14.1.2 was released after a long period of time at the end of last year. Compared to the most previous versions in the past for me this release has the most powerful improvements since the architectural change from pure client/server architecture into a Java based application.
The list of new features and improvements is definitely worth considering
https://www.oracle.com/a/otn/docs/oracleforms-1412-newfeatures.pdf

We as PITSS have seen tons of Forms applications in the past. Many of them look as if they were put into a coma 20 years ago and are now on artificial respiration until a final decision will be made. This is not necessary! Forms 14 allows you to revitalize your application into a modern and agile application!

Sure, your application was maintained over decades and perhaps you’re afraid of having a not well documented application which does not support consistent inheritance. Don’t be afraid of that! Oracle Forms still provides Java and C-API which allows you to mass analyse and change your application. If you perhaps like the dynamic sort order of a block, which is a pretty good feature for UX enhancements, the API allows you to rollout that into your entire application.

Taking into account that your application exists for decades, we could assume that also the former architects and developers of the first breath of your application are close to rest or even left the team. Writing this, the manpower of your team may decrease and for the new team members it’s getting harder to get a deep understanding of the application with perhaps outdated documentation.
The time with Forms 14 is perfect to think about refreshing your documentation with a retrograde dynamic approach and to onboard new members for the next decade of further maintenance of your application.
We as PITSS see that with a good base of SQL and PL/SQL know-how developer is fast in reading, understanding and developing Oracle Forms based applications.
All the infrastructure stuff with WLS, FMW Components and perhaps SSO is a one time affair, which could be outsourced very well.

Whenever we are asked to take over maintenance support for an application, we use our own product to draw the overall architecture of the application, to close the gap between the forms modules and the database objects and use the powerful search capabilities to navigate on ease through a totally unknown application. It takes us a twinkle of an eye to answer dependencies between components, which may “exist” in the brain of the designer of the application.

But Forms 14 doesn’t open the door only for UI/UX improvements. Especially the new REST-API allows a very good integration into other applications and data sources.

This may bring your business onto the table.
The new possibilities provide you with arguments and tools to discuss with your key users about process improvements and enhancements.
Keeping in mind, once again, that your application is settled for multiple years, it’s not unlikely that the actual version of your application is feature overloaded and no longer streamlined to the actual business processes. Think about considering the various trace capabilities of your infrastructure, to recognize how the application is used. For us, this is a very helpful source to identify the use cases and their strengths and weaknesses.

With the help of PITSS.CON we are able to identify the business processes inside your application only out of the sources of the logfiles and your code. This helps us to design and implement new and changed business requirements very quickly and efficiently.

Sure, Oracle Forms is not turned into a native, responsive web application, so it might be that the one or the other enhancement request is not feasible to implement. Don’t be afraid of this! In combination with Oracle APEX you will have a strong buddy next to Forms 14 which can assist on improvements like e.g. mobile device support, dashboards, excel like grids, etc.
Both of them can share the same data, the same logic and integrate from a user interface perspective.

We as PITSS can support you at any stage of your personal journey. Whether you like to regain control, externalize your support, request selective implementation power, improve the overall user experience of your app – feel free to reach out.

If you have any technical questions, please use calendly to arrange a virtual coffee with me.