What’s in the Future for Oracle EPM Cloud

Oracle recently held a Customer Connect seminar that included upcoming plans for new and updated features in their EPM Cloud platform. Many of the ideas for these changes come from Oracle’s EPM Cloud Platform Idea Lab, which can be found here: https://community.oracle.com/customerconnect/categories/idealab-erp-epm-platform (Oracle account required). This was a great presentation, and I’m happy to share some of these plans here as a simple list, with expanded commentary on those that are the most interesting or important. Of course, the Oracle Safe Harbor Statement always applies, which is intended to outline general product direction.

Ease of Use and User Interaction

• Direct Access to EPM Artifacts from External Applications (Q1 CY24)
  Direct Artifact URLs will be available to copy and paste within Navigation Flows and on web pages of any external application or web page, such as in email or on Slack, Teams, etc. Access is based upon login credentials and security defined within the EPM application.
• Simplify User Variables Set-Up
  Allows an administrator to set default User Variable values, ensuring that forms open if the user has not done so first.
• Updated Simplified Dimension Editor
• Formatting Support on Grids
• SmartPush On Dashboard Global Save
• Save Adhoc Grids as Reports/Forms
• Ancestor On Top in Forms
• Search & Filter Listing Pages: Dashboards, Data, Reports, Documents, Rules
• Cell Range Analysis from Forms
• KPI Tile with Chart on Dashboard
• Action Menus and Adhoc from Charts

Functional Updates

• New Application Granular Roles
  This feature will allow granular security roles across many of the application’s features, allowing decentralized ownership of many of the administrative-type functions, and will be implemented in phases in CY24.
• Default Ancestor Access Setting for Members
  This feature will allow an administrator to select the visibility mode of ancestors that are outside a user’s visibility as defined by metadata security. The current behavior hides the ancestors entirely; new modes “Default” (user can see the members but not the data), and “Read” (user is granted read-only access to the ancestors’ data). This will be an application-level setting.
• Design Time Formatting on Forms
  The enhancement will allow segment-level formats and support expand/collapse. Both data and metadata can be formatted, including conditional formatting, and become part of the Data Validation Rules framework. It can be merged with user-driven custom formats in Smart View and will be available in both web forms and Smart View.
• Run Business Rule from Adhoc Cell Context
• Add Attributes When Account Is Sparse
• Approval On Web Forms
• Show Approval Status in Web Forms
• Display Cell Level Comments, Attachments, Job Console Records After a User ID is Deactivated
• Flex Forms on Web
• Formula Drill Down for Adhoc
• Associate Attribute for Shared Members Like UDA
• Job Cloning and Change Job Details
• Open Reports and Books in Excel Via an Icon
• Improved Scaling on Forms

Integration – Data Maps

• Cross-Application Data Maps
  This will allow data exchange across applications, including Close, Tax, Planning, EPCM and FreeForm. Performance optimizations have also been made.
• Attribute Support for Data Maps
  This will allow member selection in Data Maps to leverage attribute values on members as selection criteria.
• Write To Read Only Versions
• Copy Data Within Cube Using Data Maps

Redwood Theme

• Compact Cards and Consistent Search, Filter, and Sort on Listing Pages
  The application layout will be optimized into top-of-page tabs with subfolders (instead of icons with text requiring expansion) and will incorporate a standard artifact listing and search function.
• Dark and Light Options
• Dynamic Tab, new form grid support for Strategic Modeling
• Dynamic Tab Support across other components
• Enhanced Job Listing Page

Infrastructure

• Essbase 21c
  Essbase 21c is becoming the OLAP version utilized across the EPM family of products. The first phase of the transition will likely be in H2 CY24 (Classic Mode, with data stored on disk and calculations performed in Essbase), and continue in CY25 (Federated Mode, with data stored in relational tables with calculations also pushed to these tables). Expect expanded and more detailed information about these changes as they near implementation.
• TLS 1.3 Support
• IDCS Groups for Application Role and ACL Assignments
• Performance Validation Tool for Concurrent Usage
• Transfer Files To/From SFTP Server
• Essbase Block Analysis Report
• Custom Email Sender Support

If you have questions about these features, EPM Cloud, or any other Oracle EPM-related questions, please contact us for more information.

PARC Consulting – EPM Solutions by EPM Experts