Forbes Marshall accelerates patching with OCI Fleet Application Management

By Avigail Ofer, senior manager, OCI product management at Oracle, and Kellsey Ruppel, customer marketing director at Oracle.

Overview

Since its establishment in 1926, Forbes Marshall has been a leader in engineering innovation, with 37 offices, 6 manufacturing units, and 18 distribution centers to serve 8,000 customers worldwide. Facing challenges in managing complex environments for Oracle applications across large footprints of distributed infrastructure, Forbes Marshall worked with Oracle technology partner 1218 Global to implement Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) Fleet Application Management to simplify full-stack patching across environments for several Oracle technologies. This included Oracle Linux, WebLogic, Java JDK, and other components common in Oracle Application stacks deployed across the company.

Challenges

Forbes Marshall wanted to streamline the complex patch operations of various components, including WebLogic, Java, and databases, hosted on OCI. Manual patching processes were time-consuming, error-prone, and lagging behind security vulnerability patches that had to be applied on an on-going basis. In addition, the company sought a centralized solution that would support not only Oracle technologies but also other third-party software components, to future-proof and standardize patching operations across all technologies and environments.

Solution

1218 Global implemented OCI Fleet Application Management to automate and standardize operations of Oracle applications environments, like PeopleSoft, along with other custom applications. Key features included:

• Real-time software insights: With OCI Fleet Application Management, the customer gained auto-discovery of the software inventory deployed across environments, as well as the patch compliance data for each component in the Oracle application stacks, underlying operating system, and related software. For example, the reports automatically identified components of WebLogic, Java, Linux, and Oracle Database Cloud Service environments, and indicated their version numbers versus the most recent available patches, enabling proactive gap resolution. Additionally, the Fleet Dashboard offered a real-time compliance snapshot—clearly displaying which fleets were fully patched and which ones needed attention.
• Intuitive IT automation: To meet their specific operational needs and business requirements, Forbes Marshall used the service’s GUI editor to customize some of the prebuilt runbooks to tailor automation processes such as patching, backups, and compliance checks. They also reused some of their existing scripts by triggering them from runbook tasks, orchestrating them into end-to-end workflows. These automation processes were fine-tuned to their environment—including precheck tasks to validate patch readiness, proper instance restart sequencing, blackout monitoring alerts, and integration with their internal IT service management software. Runbooks were executed automatically during scheduled maintenance windows (e.g., nightly patches) or on-demand by support administrators without requiring coding knowledge, as validation and other technical checks and processes were handled by the service.
  
  For example, using prebuilt runbooks and the Scheduler, they initiated unattended, automated WebLogic patching during nighttime maintenance windows. OCI Fleet Application Management brought down services, backed up the target repository, executed the patch, and restarted services seamlessly. Notifications kept stakeholders informed of job initiation, completion, or failures, and teams were automatically alerted to any changes in fleet configurations or deployment jobs—ensuring transparency, auditability, and rapid response to anomalies.
• Recurring automated maintenance windows and patching schedules: The company enjoys timely updates to enhance security and reduce risk, complete with all necessary runbook tasks to minimize downtime, validate updates and environment health, and meet regulatory and auditability requirements.
• Simplified centralized management at scale: Grouping cloud resources and environments into fleets allows the company’s IT admins to easily patch, manage, and report on thousands of resources with a single click.

Benefits

1. Improved patch compliance: Forbes Marshall saw a notable uplift in patch compliance post-implementation. Coverage improved from an estimated 40–50% to over 90% across key Oracle components within the first few months. Automation also helped shift patching cadence from quarterly or ad hoc cycles to a consistent monthly rhythm, reducing the risk of missed updates and improving overall security posture.
2. Increased IT productivity: Forbes Marshall experienced measurable gains in IT productivity after implementing OCI Fleet Application Management. The time required for full-stack patching dropped from multiple days to just a few hours per cycle, thanks to automated runbooks and scheduled maintenance windows. This shift reduced manual effort by an estimated 70%, allowing IT teams to reallocate focus toward strategic initiatives. Using prebuilt, ready-to-deploy runbooks for patching across technologies like Oracle Linux, WebLogic, and Java streamlined execution and eliminated the need for specialized expertise across each layer. The centralized management, visibility, and standardized automation ensured even complex patching scenarios could be handled with minimal intervention, improving overall agility and accelerating response times.
3. Reduce security risk: Frequent, painless, and reliable patching helps defend against risks and the surge in software vulnerabilities.

1218 Global’s Role

As a trusted Oracle partner, 1218 Global provided end-to-end support, including:

• Assessing Forbes Marshall’s infrastructure to identify automation opportunities.
• Configuring OCI Fleet Application Management for seamless operations for Oracle applications.
• Customizing runbooks to meet operational objectives.
• Delivering ongoing support to maximize benefits.

Conclusion

Forbes Marshall’s adoption of OCI Fleet Application Management, facilitated by 1218 Global, underscores the value of centralized cloud services in optimizing enterprise application management, improving IT productivity, and helping to reduce compliance and security risks. This partnership has enhanced Forbes Marshall’s efficiency, security, and competitive edge, setting a benchmark for managing complex IT environments.

Learn more about OCI Fleet Application Management and try it for free!