Future-Proofing with Redwood: Aligning Your Extensions with Oracle’s Roadmap and Innovation Strategy

As Redwood becomes the default experience across Oracle Fusion Applications, many organizations are asking an important question:

“How do we align our customization strategy with Oracle’s roadmap — and avoid rework down the road?”

In this post, we’ll break down where Oracle is heading with Redwood, what that means for your current and future extensions, and how to build smart today so you don’t get caught off-guard tomorrow.

What Oracle’s Roadmap Tells Us About Redwood

Over the last few Cloud World and OpenWorld events, Oracle has been consistent in its messaging: Redwood is not just a theme — it’s the new application platform.

Key trends from Oracle’s roadmap:

• Redwood-first experiences: New Fusion pages (Finance, Supply Chain, HCM) are being delivered with Redwood UI only.

• Embedded AI & Agents: Redwood is the foundation for AI Agents, contextual assistants, and adaptive workflows.

• Unified UX: Redwood is standardizing UX across Fusion, NetSuite, OCI, and custom apps.

• Extensibility via VBCS: Oracle Visual Builder (VB) is the go-to tool for Redwood extensions.

• Low-code & citizen developer focus: Redwood + VB is designed for both IT and business technologists.

This shows a clear direction: if you're building custom UI in Fusion, Redwood is the way forward.

What This Means for You — Practical Guidance

1. Prioritize Extensions That Touch Key Business Users

Start by evaluating your existing customizations:

• Are users dealing with outdated or inefficient interfaces?

• Are there screens or processes that business teams work around?

• Can self-service flows be modernized?

Modules like Order Management, Payables, Procurement, and Inventory are ideal candidates to begin with.

2. Replace Legacy Personalizations Where Possible

Traditional personalizations and OAF customizations won’t migrate into Redwood.

Reimagine these as:

• Redwood VBCS extensions embedded via Page Composer

• AI-guided flows or contextual actions

• Smart dashboards using Redwood patterns

3. Use Redwood Design Patterns

Don’t lift-and-shift the old UI. Use Redwood patterns for better user adoption and upgrade safety:

• List-detail layouts

• Guided flows

• Action cards

• Role-based content panels

These patterns ensure that your custom apps feel native as Oracle updates the rest of Fusion.

4. Keep an Eye on Oracle’s Quarterly Updates

Monitor Fusion’s Release Readiness content, roadmap webinars, and VBCS feature releases:

• Review Redwood-related updates every quarter

• Track which modules are going Redwood-first

• Align internal planning with what’s coming from Oracle

5. Think API-First for Data Access

Use Fusion public APIs or OIC to fetch and push data. Avoid tight coupling to internal tables or processes.

This ensures that as Oracle evolves their data model, your apps remain stable.

A Smarter Adoption Roadmap

Here’s a simple phased approach you can follow to align with Oracle’s Redwood direction:

Start Now by identifying high-value use cases that are ideal for Redwood extensions — for example, simplifying the order entry experience, streamlining invoice tracking, or enhancing procurement approvals.

Over the Next 3 to 6 Months, build Redwood proof-of-concepts (POCs) for these use cases and test them in Fusion sandboxes. This is the best time to experiment with Visual Builder, page embedding, and Redwood design patterns.

Within 6 to 12 Months, start retiring or refactoring legacy personalizations and migrate essential extensions to Redwood. Focus on areas with frequent user interaction or where user experience matters most.

Beyond 12 Months, look at scaling your Redwood adoption. Introduce AI Agents where applicable, unify UX across modules, and standardize extension practices across departments for consistency and long-term maintainability.

Final Thoughts

Oracle’s roadmap is clear: Redwood is the foundation for all future Fusion experiences. Starting now with Redwood — using Oracle-supported tools like Visual Builder and OIC — helps future-proof your ERP while modernizing your user experience.

By aligning your extension strategy to Oracle’s direction, you gain a cleaner architecture, better usability, and access to next-gen capabilities like AI and automation.✔