One of the perhaps somewhat counterintuitive challenges with at least the initial stages of adopting Fusion Middleware is the fact that there is too little work in terms of administration.

On the one hand, Fusion Middleware administration entails quite a bit, starting with WebLogic Server

and typically extending to one or more FMW components:

all of which the administrator – or rather the administration team – needs to deal to with. Typically even around the clock to ensure the availability required by the business.

On the other hand, the actual workload for FMW administration for a small number of applications, services and processes does not justify a dedicated resource. This proves a serious problem for many organizations: 24/7 availability requires 3 FTE while the effort is on average less 0.5 FTE.

Organizations can adopt several strategies to address this challenge, as is illustrated in the next picture.

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