Happy New Year!

As we bid farewell to an extraordinary and rewarding year, we reflect on the multitude of exciting developments that unfolded in 2023 within the EPM family. The past year has been marked by the introduction of a host of new features that have enhanced the overall EPM platform experience.

 

As we eagerly step into the promising landscape of 2024, let’s take a moment to hit the pause button and delve into a comprehensive review of the key features that have significantly contributed to the evolution of both the general EPM platform and the Planning side throughout the dynamic journey of 2023. Join us in celebrating the strides we’ve made and anticipate the continued growth and innovation that lie ahead in the realm of EPM.

 

Forms 2.0 and Dashboard 2.0

The revamped Form and Dashboard 2.0 unquestionably rank high on my list of favorites. Stay tuned for an upcoming post dedicated exclusively to delving into the exciting realm of these enhanced features. Get ready for an in-depth exploration of Form and Dashboard 2.0, where we’ll uncover the intricacies that make them stand out in the world of innovation and functionality.

Forms 2.0 features:

• Forms runtime-only improvements
• Usability improvements
• Better scalability and enhanced performance
• Standardized menus for performing global actions on forms, setting POV preferences, and a new Quick toolbar for performing such actions as Adjust, Spread, and adding Comments
• Greater consistency between Web forms and Smart View forms
• Sophisticated POV member selection with Jet Member Selector
• Easily switch from Forms 1.0 to Forms 2.0 and back using a new Forms Version setting in Application Settings
• Users can now use calc on the fly in the web and in Smart View, available when administrators enable a new Grid Properties setting
• Vertical and Horizonal Scroll in Form Grid are enhanced for easy maneuvering and better user experience
• New Line Item Details with improved capabilities in place of Supporting Details

Dashboard 2.0 features:

• Revitalized Dashboard Designer
• New Grid chart type that renders Forms 2.0 inside Dashboard 2.0 which supports data write-back
• New URL and Commentary types of Dashboard objects
• Conversion utility to easily convert 1.0 to 2.0 individually or at a folder level on the Dashboards page
• New user interface for associating business rules
• Ability to display multiple Gauge, Pie, and Doughnut charts inside one Dashboard component
• New menu options for opening and editing forms in Dynamic Tabs directly from the Dashboard
• New Information icon for the Dashboard and all Dashboard components
• Sophisticated POV member selection with Jet Member Selector
• Increased supported tiles from 6 to 10 in one component, and increased number of components on a dashboard from 9 to 12
• Enhanced Designer to include a Style property which renders the Dashboard in Default, Light, and Dark background colors with just one click
• Introduced new “Edit without Data” option
• Introduced a Save option at the Dashboard level which will write-back Grid Data updates. Also, Associated Business Rules will be run by enabling User to input Run-time Prompts
• Complies with defined Valid Intersections in Dashboard POV Member Selections
• Text Editor option introduced for formatting the Dashboard title
• Data limits for charts can be configured in the designer to support asymmetric grid shapes
• Option to hide Dashboard component borders for seamless display of various charts

 

Pipeline Feature in Data Integration

As the transition of Data Integration from Data Management continues, fresh enhancements are being incorporated into Data Integration.

Within Data Integration, a newly introduced Pipeline feature enables the seamless orchestration of multiple jobs into a unified process. Moreover, this empowers you to orchestrate EPM cloud jobs across instances from a centralized location. Leveraging the Pipeline provides enhanced control and visibility throughout the entire extended data integration process, encompassing preprocessing, data loading, and post-processing jobs.

A Pipeline contains multiple stages each of which includes jobs that can be run in serial or parallel. A Pipeline can include the following job types for multiple target application:

• integrations
• business rules
• business rulesets
• open batches (by file, location, and name)
• objects to and from the Object Store
• substitution variables

 

Enabling Task Manager within Existing Planning Applications

Should you presently utilize task lists in Planning or opted for the Task List task flow type when creating your Planning application, you have the option to activate Task Manager within the Planning application.

Some things you’ll need to consider before enabling Task Manager:

• After enabling Task Manager, you cannot convert back to task lists.
• You cannot migrate existing tasks and task lists to Task Manager. You must delete your tasks and task lists before enabling Task Manager.
• Enabling Task Manager is only supported if Redwood Experience is enabled.
• You must log out and log in again to see the newly enabled Task Manager.

 

Operational Dashboards for Tasks, Alerts, Supplemental Data, and Enterprise Journal

New operational dashboards offer enhanced visibility into the operational data within your business processes, granting immediate access to tasks, alerts, supplementary data, and enterprise journals information. Each dashboard can accommodate up to four distinct views, each with a unique design and layout tailored to specific needs. The flexibility allows for the combination of diverse operational data sets; for instance, you can seamlessly integrate two views for tasks, one for supplemental data, and another for enterprise journals, all within a unified dashboard.

 

Reports Support for Valid Intersections

In the EPM Cloud Platform business processes, Administrators can enable applications to include valid or invalid intersection rules. For example, you can specify that certain Products are valid only for certain Entities.

Valid intersections also provide Point of View (POV) member filtering between dimensions where valid intersection rules are defined.

When previewing a report in Reports, grid data will only display for valid intersections and POV member filtering is enabled for genuine intersections.

Moreover, when reviewing a report, users have the option to observe all members in a POV dimension, inclusive of invalid members, by choosing “Show Invalid Members” in the POV drop-down list or the POV member selector for the dimension.

You can also show valid or invalid intersections by selecting or deselecting the Show Only Valid Intersections preference in the report preview, using the Reports Actions menu. This preference is not selected by default and applies to all reports connecting to the same data source for the user.

 

Support for Calendars and Events in IPM Insights, Auto Predict, and Predictive Planning

When establishing IPM insights, Auto Predict predictions, and executing Predictive Planning via web forms, you now have the capability to designate a calendar and events linked to the prediction. Events, often singular or recurring occurrences, historically contribute to fluctuations in data. You have the flexibility to consider these events in predictions, ensuring that historical spikes or declines are factored into future projections. For instance, a North American calendar may encompass a Christmas event, while an APAC calendar might feature a Diwali event, signifying sales spikes during these periods.

 

Incorporating historical data spikes into predictions allows for a more accurate reflection of anticipated data spikes, facilitating proactive planning for volume or leveraging opportunities. Without considering events, data spikes or declines are normalized and evenly distributed over the prediction period, potentially compromising prediction accuracy. Alternatively, you can opt to exclude historical data spikes or falls entirely, resulting in the event data being excluded from the prediction process.

For example, the upper chart shows the same historical data, which includes several spikes. The lower chart shows the prediction results with events. Notice that the spikes are evident in the predicted data. In this example, using events significantly improves the prediction accuracy.

 

Direct Drill From Summary Members Enabled For Agent Drill Type URLs

When using Direct Drill to drill down to source data using an EPM Integration Agent query, customers can now drill down from summary members in a data form or report and Smart View to the detail source data that makes up the number.

 

Enhanced Connected Planning with Sales Planning and Strategic Workforce Planning – New Application Types in Planning

Sales Planning and Strategic Workforce Planning are now introduced as distinct application types within the EPM Enterprise Cloud Planning business process.

Sales Planning stands out as a purpose-built application tailored to address specific functional requirements, encompassing sales target quota and territory planning, advanced sales forecasting, and key account planning covering sales and promotion strategies. This application is designed to streamline the sales planning, forecasting, and reporting processes, incorporating cutting-edge AI technologies to enhance the accuracy of sales forecasts.

On the other hand, Strategic Workforce Planning is a purpose-built application addressing particular functional needs related to full-time equivalent (FTE) supply and demand planning, skills assessment, and labor cost planning. This application streamlines the strategic workforce planning process, ensuring alignment between your people (employee) strategy and business objectives, ultimately ensuring that you have the right personnel at the right cost to meet your business goals.

Previously, Sales Planning and Strategic Workforce Planning were available only as separate products—Oracle Sales Planning Cloud Service and Oracle Strategic Workforce Planning Cloud Service. With this change, these applications are now offered in EPM Enterprise Cloud licensing to enhance connected planning across Finance, Sales, HR, and other business functions.

 

In upcoming posts, I’ll delve into the intricacies of some exciting new features. We’ll also explore key considerations and upcoming updates. Keep an eye out for more!

 

Wishing you a Happy New Year, and a heartfelt thank you for joining me on this fantastic EPM journey for yet another remarkable year. You have truly made the ride even more enjoyable. Cheers to the adventures ahead!