We’ve seen it dozens of times.  An Oracle Cloud project starts with enthusiasm, clear goals, and confident timelines. Twelve months later, the team is exhausted, the budget is blown, and nobody’s quite sure how to move forward.  Here’s the thing: getting lost doesn’t mean you did anything wrong. Oracle Cloud is vast, complex, and constantly evolving. Even experienced teams can find themselves off course.

Inspired by SARDA Wales, the volunteer organisation whose expert search and rescue dogs guide lost hikers safely through Wales’ challenging mountains, we’ve launched a new blog series. Just as SARDA focuses on getting people home safely, our SARDA-inspired methodology helps organisations rescue Oracle Cloud projects that have lost their way.

In Part I of the series, we explore the five warning signs that indicate your project may need expert guidance to get back on track.


1. “We’re 18 Months In and Still Not Live” 

What we hear: “We thought we’d be live by now. Every milestone gets pushed back. Our internal team is exhausted, and we’re not even sure what ‘done’ looks like anymore or how much it will eventually cost us”

Why it happens:  Oracle Cloud implementations are complex. Scope creep is common. Requirements evolve. Without experienced guidance, projects expand indefinitely while teams chase perfection instead of progress. A proven delivery methodology is also required to ensure that a comprehensive project plan can be created that is easy to track, understand and with inbuilt quality check points.

The rescue: We conduct a rapid health check assessment to identify what’s blocking go-live, separate “must-have” from “nice-to-have,” and create a realistic path to production. Often, organisations are 80% there but can’t see what remedial steps are required to reach the finish line. We help you reach it.

A recent example:  A leading technology company was reaching the point of no return with a critical set of HCM and Payroll deliverables, critical to enabling the business to function. de Novo completed a comprehensive Health Check. re-planned the immediate deliverables, and developed a roadmap aligned to the overall Enterprise Architecture. For the immediate priority project, de Novo worked closely with the customer to ensure that key payroll and integration changes were successfully delivered on time, within 12 weeks.


2. “The Budget Has Doubled (or Tripled)” 

What we hear: “We estimated £200K. We’re now at £500K and counting. Every change request costs more than expected. We can’t afford to finish, but we can’t afford to stop.”

Why it happens: Initial estimates often underestimate complexity. Scope expands. Hidden dependencies emerge. Without fixed-price milestones or expert oversight, costs spiral unchecked.

The rescue: We audit what’s been built, what’s been spent, and what’s actually needed. Then we create a fixed-price completion plan. No more surprises, no more endless change requests. Just a clear path to completion with a price you can budget for.

A recent example: An international production company had spent an additional year attempting to rationalise certain countries of operation onto Oracle Cloud EPM. de Novo was engaged to review the existing plan and approach, assess the resources assigned, and evaluate the solution’s alignment within the overall Enterprise Architecture. As part of the review, de Novo was asked to produce a revised project plan that the customer could confidently stand behind. Upon completion, de Novo was then tasked with project-managing the entire deliverable, including multiple customer workstreams, which was executed on time and within budget.


3. “Our Original Implementation Partner Has Gone Quiet” 

What we hear: “They were responsive during sales. Now we can’t get callbacks. Support tickets take weeks. We’re paying for maintenance but getting nothing.”

Why it happens: Some consultancies focus on landing new projects rather than supporting existing ones. Once implementation fees are collected, attention moves elsewhere. You’re left maintaining a system you don’t fully understand.

The rescue: We become your ongoing Oracle Cloud partner through our Value as a Service™ (VaaS™) model—a next-generation managed service that goes beyond traditional ticket-based support. You’ll have complete transparency into your ROI at every stage, with proactive monitoring, regular health checks, strategic guidance, and responsive support. We specialise in taking over projects others have abandoned and transforming them into measurable success stories.

A recent example: A local authority that was struggling to get their Oracle Redwood implementation over the line with their existing partner. De Novo stepped in to perform a comprehensive Redwood readiness assessment, identifying gaps and immediate improvement opportunities. We then initiated a phased, agile sprint project to accelerate the transition while delivering early value. Throughout the process, we worked collaboratively with the local authority’s team to embed best practices, optimise processes, and ensure a smooth adoption of Redwood—turning a stalled project into a successful transformation.


4. “Our Team Doesn’t Really Understand What We’ve Built”

What we hear: “The consultants built it, but they didn’t really explain it. Now they’re gone, and we’re afraid to touch anything in case it breaks. We’re paying for a system we can’t confidently use.”

Why it happens: Many implementation partners focus on technical delivery without satisfactory knowledge transfer or the business change element of the programme has not stuck. The SI has built a system that does not empower teams and the business change team has not engaged properly with the user base. When they leave, you’re dependent on expensive support contracts.

The rescue: We reverse-engineer what’s been built, document it properly, and train your team to own it. Our goal is always to make you self-sufficient. We provide ‘teach to fish’ consulting, not dependency.

A recent example: We partnered with a local council that came to us with an over-customised and under-optimised Oracle Cloud Payroll system and limited internal understanding of how it worked. Our team conducted a full system assessment, identifying and implementing over 80 improvement recommendations to optimise performance and compliance. A key milestone was reverting a heavily customised BACS process back to a fully supported Oracle standard solution, reducing risk and simplifying maintenance. We developed a clear optimisation roadmap, delivering enhancements at a pace the council could absorb. They are now fully live, operating smoothly, and out of “project mode”— with a system their team understands, owns, and can confidently manage going forward.


5. “We’re Not Sure This Was the Right Solution” 

What we hear: “We’re live, but it doesn’t feel like it’s working for us. We’re doing more workarounds than we expected. Maybe Oracle Cloud wasn’t the right choice?”

Why it happens: Often, Oracle Cloud is absolutely the right platform – but it’s been implemented incorrectly. Configured to match old processes instead of embracing new capabilities. Over-customised when standard functionality would work better. Or simply the wrong modules for your needs.

The rescue: We conduct an honest assessment. Sometimes we recommend sticking with Oracle Cloud but reconfiguring it properly. Sometimes we recommend different modules. Occasionally, we’ll help you simplify rather than expand. Our loyalty is to your success, not to selling you more.

A recent example: A global logistics company sought an expert partner to advise them on the optimal use of Oracle Recruitment Cloud across a large part of their business. de Novo’s implementation methodology focuses on maximising the utilisation of out-of-the-box functionality. By leveraging this approach, we have helped the customer maximise their return on investment in Oracle while ensuring the speed and cost of implementation is optimised.

de Novo Solutions Partners with SARDA Wales

You’re Not Alone in the Mountains 

Here’s what we want you to know: getting lost doesn’t mean you failed. It means you’re in challenging terrain.

SARDA Wales’ dogs don’t judge why someone lost the path. They just focus on bringing them home safely. That’s exactly our approach.

We’ve rescued Oracle Cloud projects that were:

    • 24+ months behind schedule
    • 300% over budget 
    • Abandoned by previous consultancies 
    • Built to be overly complex and needing reconstruction 
    • Technically functional but operationally useless 

Every single implementation is now successfully running, delivering value, and has teams who understand and own their systems.

What to do next

If your Oracle Cloud project shows any of these five signs, it’s time to bring in expert guidance. Start by assessing what’s working and what’s blocking progress, separating the critical tasks from the “nice-to-haves,” and creating a clear, realistic plan to reach go-live. Rebuild understanding within your team so they can confidently operate the system, and ensure ongoing support and governance are in place. With the right approach, even stalled or over-budget projects can be rescued and turned into successful, fully functional solutions.

This is where our proven rescue methodology comes in—structured, practical, and focused on getting projects back on track efficiently and sustainably. 

Our Proven Rescue Methodology
    • Exit gate governance at every project stage — ensures accountability, identifies issues early, and enables course correction before problems escalate. 
    • Comprehensive documentation — detailed implementation handbooks and user-friendly high-level designs documenting every methodology step, process owner, and design decision, giving your team a clear roadmap to follow.
    • Knowledge transfer focus — building your team’s capabilities so you own the system, not just use it. 
    • Honest assessments — our loyalty is to your success, not Oracle.  We’ll tell you if different modules would work better, if simplification is needed, or if enhancements will add real value.
    • Actionable plans for go-live — practical steps to unblock progress, separate critical from optional tasks, and create a realistic path to completion.

If you’re experiencing any of these five signs, you don’t need to struggle alone.

de Novo specialises in bringing lost or failing projects home safely—with exit gate governance, honest assessments, and a proven rescue methodology that turns stalled, over-budget, or underperforming projects into successful, fully functional solutions.

Get in touch with Helen: helen.crisostomo@de-novo-solutions.com

Because every project has a path forward. Sometimes you just need someone who knows the terrain.

Get in touch: helen.crisostomo@de-novo-solutions.com.

In this four-part series, we’ll guide you through the complete journey.

Read the full series

SARDA Wales – Search and Rescue Dogs in WalesAbout SARDA Wales

SARDA Wales is a volunteer organisation training search and rescue dogs and their handlers to find missing people in mountains and rural areas. Operating 24/7, 365 days a year, the charity receives no government funding and relies entirely on donations to continue their life-saving work across Wales.

If you’d like to help support SARDA Wales and their incredible volunteers, you can make a donation via our JustGiving page here.

For more information about SARDA Wales, please visit:  https://www.sardawales.org.uk.