Oracle_Retail_Cloud_Services_FAQ_External_OCT_28_2021

1. Frequently Asked Questions
Oracle Retail Cloud Services
Calendar Year 2022
1 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.

2. Safe Harbor Statement
The following is intended to outline our general product direction. It is intended for information
purposes only, and may not be incorporated into any contract. It is not a commitment to deliver any
material, code, or functionality, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions.
The development, release, timing, and pricing of any features or functionality described for Oracle’s
products may change and remains at the sole discretion of Oracle Corporation.
2 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.

3. Table of Contents
4 Changes in 2022
5 Cloud Terminology
6 Continuous Delivery
19 Hot Fix
3 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
21 Blueprint
22 Deprecation Policy

4. Changes in 2022
4 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates
Standardized Calendar and
Cadence
To simplify the Continuous Delivery process,
all Cloud Services will deliver Cloud Updates
aligned to the same calendar and cadence.
Mandatory Updates
The Opt Out Policy will be phased out across
all remaining Cloud Services to comply with
security and performance guidelines.
Accelerated Verification
Verification periods will be shortened to
accelerate updates deployed to all
environments.

5. Cloud Terminology
5 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
On-Premise Term Cloud Term
Product = Service
Major Release = Major Update
Patch Release = Service Update or Critical Update
Hotfix = Hotfix
Upgrading or Patching = Updating
Testing or UAT
(User Acceptance Testing)
=
Verification or MAT
(Minimal Acceptance Testing)
Pre-Production or UAT
Environment
= Staging Environment
Production Environment = Production Environment
Development Environment =
Development or Non-Production
Environment (NPE)
• Terminology varies between
Cloud Services and On-
Premise Solutions.
• Using consistent cloud
terminology will ensure
everyone is talking the same
language.

6. Continuous Delivery
6 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
What is
Continuous
Delivery?
Continuous Delivery is the ongoing deployment of cloud updates, designed to
progressively increase security, performance, and productivity levels of cloud service
subscriptions to maximize Customers’ return on investments in Oracle Retail Cloud
Services.
Continuous Delivery consists of processes and policies that support cloud update
availability, scheduling and deployment.
Is Continuous
Delivery related
to On-Premise
solutions?
No. Continuous Delivery only applies to Oracle Retail Cloud Services.

7. Continuous Delivery
7 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Are all cloud
Customers
included in the
Continuous
Delivery process?
New subscribers of a cloud service onboard to the Continuous Delivery process
when provisioning of all environments is complete.
Existing subscribers of a cloud service who are qualified to receive cloud
updates will onboard to the Continuous Delivery Process through a coordinated
launch plan.
Are Customers
who are in the
Implementation
phase included in
the Continuous
Delivery process?
Yes. Customers in the implementation phase are included in the Continuous
Delivery process.

8. Continuous Delivery
8 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
What is the
Continuous
Delivery Calendar?
The Continuous Delivery Calendar is a synchronized quarterly
schedule across the Oracle Retail Cloud Services portfolio to deliver
cloud updates to customers on a frequent and predictable basis.
Where can
Customers view
the Continuous
Delivery Calendar?
The Continuous Delivery Calendar and its supporting processes and
policies are outlined in the Cloud Services Blueprint document on
My Oracle Support (MOS).
When are cloud
updates available?
Cloud updates are available on a quarterly basis in January, April,
July, and October.

9. Continuous Delivery
9 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
When are cloud
updates
scheduled?
Cloud updates are scheduled to be deployed between 10pm-6am local customer time, weekdays,
unless an alternative customer scheduling preference is specified and can be accommodated.
Customer scheduling preferences are not guaranteed.
Major and Service Updates will not be scheduled during Oracle change freeze periods (for example,
Holidays). This does not prohibit any emergency changes Oracle determines are necessary that may
come up during these periods.
When are cloud
updates
deployed?
Cloud updates are deployed to Staging environments within 60 days following cloud update availability.
Cloud updates are deployed to Production environments following the defined verification period.

10. Continuous Delivery
10 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
What
environments are
updated and in
what sequence?
All environments are updated and in the following sequence:
Dev → Stage → Production → Test & Other NPEs
How and when
will customers be
notified of a
scheduled cloud
update?
Customers are notified by email 10 business days prior to each
scheduled cloud update. Notifications will be sent from:
no-reply@oracle.com

11. Continuous Delivery
11 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
What is the scope
or contents of a
cloud update?
Major Update: New features, potential architecture and configuration changes, integration changes,
translation updates, defect fixes, change management, Critical Patch Update. Minimal Acceptance
Testing (MAT) recommended and may involve business users, system administrator and system
integrator.
Service Update: Minor new features and user interface enhancements, administration feature changes,
translation updates, defect fixes, Critical Patch Update. Less impactful to user community. Minimal
Acceptance Testing (MAT) recommended and may involve business users and system administrator.
Critical Update: Critical Patch Update and critical fixes released since the previous cloud update.
Hot Fix: Ad hoc urgent defect fixes released before next service update. Only system administrator
required to verify update.

12. Continuous Delivery
12 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
What
documentation
accompanies a
cloud update?
Major Update: Release Value Proposition (RVP), Advance Release
Notification (ARN), Release Readiness Guide or Release Notes, full
documentation update, and enablement materials.
Service Update: Advance Release Notification (ARN), Release Readiness
Guide or Release Notes, minor documentation updates, and enablement
materials, as needed.
Critical Update: Advance Release Notification (ARN), Release Readiness
Guide or Release Notes, minor documentation updates, and enablement
materials, as needed.
Hot Fix: Release Notes

13. Continuous Delivery
13 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
How and when is
documentation
published for a
cloud update?
Advanced Release Notes (ARNs) that outline the contents of a cloud update are published to My Oracle Support (MOS) at
least 10 business days prior to the update being available. Other documentation associated with the update is published
when the update is available. Customers may opt in to receive notifications when ARNs are published for Major Updates
or Service Updates by adding the ARN Alerts article to their favorites list in MOS and enabling the Hot Topic E-mail
subscription features. See steps below.
Once in My Oracle Support (MOS), display the ARN Alerts article.
https://support.oracle.com/epmos/faces/DocumentDisplay?id=2704051.1
1.Click on the star icon to the left of the article title. This will add the ARN Alerts article to your favorites list.
2.Select My Account on the drop down list next to your name in the top right corner of the MOS portal.
3.Select Hot Topics E-Mail from the left navigation bar.
4.Under Delivery Options, verify the Activation is set to Send With Selected Options.
5.Under Content to Include select Documents I've marked as favorites.
6.Click Apply.

14. Continuous Delivery
14 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
How is
documentation
versioned for a
cloud update?
Major Update: All documents associated with the cloud service are released under the same number as the code. For example, all
19.0 documents correspond to the 19.0 initial code release. A new Oracle Part Number is also issued for each document.
Service Update: Applicable documents associated with the cloud service are released under the same number as the code. For
example, applicable, scoped 19.1 documents would correspond to the 19.1 initial code release. A new Oracle Part Number is also
issued for any updated document.
Critical Update: Applicable documents associated with the cloud service are released under the same number as the code. For
example, applicable, scoped 19.1 documents would correspond to the 19.1 initial code release. A new Oracle Part Number is also
issued for any updated document.
Hot Fix: Release Notes are published to the Documentation Library using the code’s hot fix version number. Applicable documents
associated with the hot fix are released under the same number as the Major Update or the Service Update code number. The
updated version of the document is indicated by a change to the Oracle Part Number on the cover page, as well as potentially the
print date (month and year). An updated version uses the same Part Number, with a higher-numbered suffix. For example, Part
Number E123456-02 is an updated version of a document with Part Number E123456-01, and so on. The scope of documents for a
hot fix is at the discretion of Oracle.

15. Continuous Delivery
15 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Can a customer
provide
scheduling
preferences?
Yes. Customers may submit scheduling preferences to CSMs. Scheduling
preferences are considered in a best case effort and not guaranteed. For
example, a scheduling preference may be a regularly scheduled maintenance
window that occurs on a weekly basis, not a specific date and time.
Can a cloud
update be
rescheduled?
No. A cloud update cannot be rescheduled.
Can a cloud
update be
skipped or
cancelled?
No. Cloud updates are mandatory in order to comply with and maintain
security and performance requirements.

16. Continuous Delivery
16 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
What is a
Verification
Period?
A verification period is a defined time period to allow a Customer to test a cloud update in the Stage environment prior
to the cloud update being deployed to the Production environment.
It is important to start the verification process as soon as the cloud update is applied to Stage with focus on verifying
existing functionality first and reporting issues promptly to allow time to resolve issues or determine remediation plans
within the verification period.
How long is the
Verification
Period?
The verification period is two weeks for a Service Update and Critical Update, and four weeks for a Major Update.
The actual number of days between Stage and Production updates can vary slightly due to such factors as resource
availability, holidays and Customer scheduling preferences.
Can the
Verification Period
be shortened or
extended?
No. The verification period cannot be modified.

17. Continuous Delivery
17 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
What is Minimal
Acceptance Testing
(MAT)?
Minimal Acceptance Testing (MAT) is the recommended testing to be
performed on a cloud update deployed to the Stage environment
during the verification period.
How do Customers
report an issue
identified during
the verification
period?
Customers should submit a detailed Service Request (SR) on My Oracle
Support (MOS) that outlines any business-critical impacts.
If a business-critical
issue is validated,
will the cloud
update be applied to
Production?
If a business-critical issue is validated by Oracle Retail, Oracle Retail will
work with the Customer to determine the best course of action,
including when to update Production.

18. Continuous Delivery
18 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
What are Minimal
Acceptance Testing
(MAT) guidelines?
Minimal Acceptance Testing (MAT) guidelines outline the testing scope, roles and responsibilities, and entrance and exit
criteria recommended for a MAT plan to ensure business continuity when a cloud service update is applied.
They are designed as both a planning and a communication tool to ensure testing owners thoughtfully consider how
testing will be conducted, what needs to be tested, and who will be conducting the testing.
Customer project teams should collaborate on the MAT Plan to ensure testing design meets the needs of all key project
team members.
The MAT Plan should be at a level of detail that will enable key project team members to develop test cases and test
scripts.
Testing timelines should be defined within the verification period for the cloud service and commence as soon as the
cloud update is applied to the non-production Stage environment.
MAT Guidelines are available in the Product Libraries for each Cloud Service on My Oracle Support (MOS).

19. Hot Fix
19 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
When are hot fixes
applied?
Hot fixes are applied on an ad hoc basis for urgent issues by request.
If a hot fix is released
between a cloud
update to multiple
environments, what
version is applied to
subsequently
scheduled
environments?
Environments are maintained at parity. Therefore, the cloud update that is applied to the
Stage environment is applied to all environments.
If the cloud update to the Stage environment does not include a subsequently released
Hot Fix that the Customer desires, then the Hot Fix will need to be requested separately by
the Customer through a Support Request (SR) on My Oracle Support (MOS).

20. Hot Fix
20 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Is a cloud update
combined with
the latest
available hot fix?
Yes. The latest hot fix available at the time of the Stage update is combined with the cloud
update and applied to all environments.
The release notes for the cloud update and the release notes for the hot fix remain
separate documents that can be found on My Oracle Support (MOS).
Is a hot fix
cumulative,
meaning does it
include fixes
released in
previous hot
fixes?
Yes, hot fixes are cumulative and include fixes released in previous hot fixes for that
specific version of a cloud service.
For example, if three hot fixes are released for cloud service version 20.0 …
•20.0.01
•20.0.02 - Includes bug fixes for Hot Fixes .02 and .01
•20.0.03 - Includes bug fixes for Hot Fixes .03, .02, .01

21. Blueprint
21 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
What is the
Blueprint?
The Blueprint is a document that outlines Continuous Delivery and Cloud Operations processes and
policies across the Oracle Retail Cloud Services portfolio.
How is the
Blueprint used?
Customers may use the Blueprint to understand cloud processes and policies, as well as prepare for
events that may occur while subscribing to a cloud service.
What information
does the Blueprint
contain?
The Blueprint includes Continuous Delivery common guidelines and best practices to prepare for cloud
updates, including the Continuous Delivery Calendar and Minimal Acceptance Testing (MAT)
recommendations and responsibilities. Additionally, the Blueprint details Cloud Operations processes
including monitoring, maintenance and support.
Where is the
Blueprint
published?
The Blueprint is available on My Oracle Support (MOS).

22. Deprecation Policy
22 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.
What is the
Deprecation
Policy?
As part of the continuous delivery model for cloud services, features and technical components
of a solution may be removed or replaced to enhance the security, performance, and overall
quality of the cloud service. When this occurs, the deprecation of a feature or component will be
announced in advance, allowing Customers sufficient time to anticipate the change and
transition to any enhanced replacement feature/component. After the deprecation is
announced, the deprecated feature or component will remain in the solution until the planned
removal date and will not be enhanced or made compatible with other new features.
Where is
information
published about
deprecated
features?
A full list of declared deprecated features may be found in the My Oracle Support (MOS)
Documentation Library for each cloud service.

23. 23 Copyright © 2021 Oracle and/or its affiliates.