Oh no, not at all!
There are a
huge number of changes for the web client that come with upgrading the Tools Release from 8.96 to 8.98. I am doing this at the client now.
For one thing, you have the Server Manager to deal with. For another, you'll have to look at the Application Server you are using. For 8.96, you are likely using WebSphere 5 or 6, or maybe Oracle Application Server 10.1.2. None of these are supported for Tools Release 8.98. You would have to install WebSphere 6.1 or 7, OAS 10.1.3.x, or WebLogic 11g.
The look is very different. They've redone the grid drawing routines so they are much faster, and so is Excel import/export. Heck, to see what all the changes are, you'd have to search Oracle's site for the Release Value Proposition documents for 8.97, 8.98, 8.98.1, 8.98.2, and 8.98.3.
And on top of that, you have all the required ESUs to support all the new features. You have the Planner ESU, the System Admin Tools Baseline ESU, the ESU to implement BI Publisher Phase 2 ...
I hadn't meant to scare you, but if you are not that proficient with JDE yet (by your own admission), I suggest that your CNC consultant handle this one.