11 barriers to the adoption of Oracle solutions

a. Organisational factors

1. Strong variability across business functions and corporate cultures 🧑🏻‍💻​👷‍♀️​🧑‍🍳

Finance departments, accustomed to structured processes, generally adapt more easily to Oracle’s application logic. In contrast, operational teams often perceive the tool as too rigid or disconnected from their day-to-day needs. As one participant summarised: “We are not talking about the same world“, highlighting the difference in maturity between business populations. This diversity of practices makes it more difficult to implement a homogeneous adoption strategy, requiring an approach tailored to each business function.

2. Lack of continuous training and internal champions after Go-Live 🧑‍🏫

Once the project has been deployed, support often fades away, leaving users without guidance as the tool evolves. Without regular updates to their skills, functional mastery gradually erodes, slowing the adoption of best practices and reducing team autonomy. Several participants highlighted the same challenge: “It’s a change in infrastructure, not yet a change in habits.“.

3. Lack of clear governance and strong sponsorship 🏆

Alongside the lack of internal champions, governance is often insufficiently structured, with no strong sponsor to drive the adoption initiative. Without clearly defined leadership, projects lack both direction and collective momentum. As one participant noted: “In France, change management is still seen as the fifth wheel of the carriage.“. Yet visible and committed leadership is essential to unite teams, give meaning to training initiatives and embed the use of Oracle sustainably within the organisation’s culture.

4. Distrust between integrators and clients 🤔​

Another major barrier highlighted by Oracle users lies in the often complex relationship between integrators and clients, which is too frequently characterised by opposition rather than collaboration. Differences in objectives or pace can create misunderstandings and slow down project success.
Yet a relationship built on trust and co-construction is essential to align expectations, anticipate risks and transform the integrator–client relationship into a genuine partnership for success.

b. Cultural Factors

5. Adapting the product to the business rather than the other way around

From a cultural perspective, AUFO members highlight a significant difference between French and Anglo-Saxon approaches. In France, organisations tend to adapt the solution to their business processes, favouring customisation. In the United States, the preferred approach is to align business processes with the product, following a logic of standardisation and efficiency.

6. Change management” in decline, despite its critical role in success 📋

Often reduced to a simple phase of communication or training, change management is losing its strategic role in supporting organisational transformation. Several participants regretted that:“Ten years ago, it was systematically mentioned; today, it is almost as if it has been forgotten.”. This decline weakens user engagement and adoption dynamics, even though a structured approach to change management remains essential for embedding new practices and ensuring the full adoption of Oracle solutions.

7. Communication around the “Why” of change is often overlooked ​📢

Users often understand what is changing, but rarely why the transformation is taking place or what benefits are expected. This lack of clarity weakens engagement and can create mistrust towards the project. As one participant pointed out: “When employees understand why the change is happening, they are far more willing to accept how it will happen.“. Clearer, more educational and transparent communication is therefore essential to align teams and strengthen a culture of adoption.

c. Humans factors

8. Underestimating the emotional factor 💛​

Fear of change, the loss of familiar reference points, or the overload created by new tools often generate resistance that participants believe is underestimated. Without proper listening and tailored support, these barriers slow the transition and weaken user engagement.

9. Lack of managerial champions and identified Key Users 🔑​

According to the Oracle users surveyed, without these local champions to support the transformation, users lack guidance and reference points when adopting the tools. Yet their role is essential: they relay the strategy, promote best practices and help sustain a long-term adoption dynamic.

10. Lack of hybrid skills 🔀​

According to AUFO members, the lack of hybrid skills combining business expertise and product knowledge is also a recurring barrier to adoption. Functional and technical teams still too often operate in silos, making it more difficult to translate business needs into effective solutions. Developing these “bridge” profiles is therefore essential to improve collaboration and strengthen the adoption of Oracle tools.

11. Multiple Parallel Projects and Team Overload 🤯

Finally, teams are often involved in several initiatives at the same time, leaving them overwhelmed and with little time to properly master new tools. This overload weakens engagement and slows the development of skills. As one participant pointed out: “Tools evolve faster than organisations can absorb them“, highlighting the need to prioritise and better coordinate projects.

What solution can you implement to overcome these barriers and secure the adoption of your Oracle tools?