EPM 8.9 is a set of analytic applications that helps companies track operational execution to strategic objectives. The suite bundles in a set of pre-packaged business content (analytic models, maps, and over 200 metrics and performance indicators) that covers key business areas like customer management, financial management, workforce analytics, and supply chain management.
Significantly, version 8.9 unifies data from PeopleSoft Enterprise, JD Edwards Enterprise One and JD World applications data in a single data warehouse model. This means that both PeopleSoft and JD Edwards customers can now use all the EPM modules. PeopleSoft acquired rival business applications software maker JD Edwards & Co in June 2003 for $1.7bn.
Conspicuous by its absence right now is Oracle’s E-Business Suite. Oracle was not available to comment on whether support would be forthcoming in the near future.
With 8.9 customers also have the option to license application-specific data warehouses and data marts and deploy them separately.
In line with Oracle’s recently announced Project Fusion product integration plans, EPM 8.9 exposes its 200 or so predefined performance indicators as consumable web services by third-party applications like Microsoft Office. Users can also build custom performance indicators and metrics using web services and embed them directly into applications.
This web services approach is part of Oracle’s adoption of a service-oriented architecture (SOA) and the evolution towards the convergence of Oracle, PeopleSoft and JD Edwards applications into a single product line. Oracle has not set any definitive timelines for when this will finally happen.
EPM 8.9 also tightens up several internal suite components. The Planning and Budgeting modules have now been merged to support both top-down and bottom-up planning as a single process and a real-time modeling engine has been added to the Activity Based Management module for cost and profitability analysis. The real-time capability will allow users to perform modeling and what-if analysis without having to batch-load data first.
There is also tighter integration between EPM and PeopleSoft Internal Controls Enforcer, a compliance and risk management solution. Upgrades have also been made to the PeopleSoft Global Consolidations module, a GAAP and international accounting reporting solution that allow users to capture activities that affect account balances and generate audit trails.
The rest of the functional improvements in EPM 8.9 focus on rapid deployment, usability enhancements around ease of navigation, and the introduction of individual scorecards and planning workspaces to drive greater personal productivity.
At the infrastructure level 8.9 offers new metadata management console for managing and maintaining EPM data warehouse structures and content. In addition, the underlying infrastructure of the suite has been simplified with a single more optimal data integration and movement tool sourced as an OEM from Ascential Software Corp.
The last point is significant. EPM could well have become a political hot potato for Oracle since Ascential was acquired earlier this year by IBM which is a fierce competitor of Oracle in the database market.
Up to now both PeopleSoft (under Oracle) and Ascential had been suspiciously quiet about their existing relationship. But it seems, for the time being at least, both companies have struck and accord.
Pete Fiore, vice president of information integration at IBM said that the roll out of EPM 8.9 validates a long term commitment to the continued, consistent support of PeopleSoft customers. Fiore said that Ascential’s DataStage ETL product and MetaStage metadata management (which has now been rebranded under IBM’s WebSphere brand) will continue to provide an open data integration backbone for EPM.
However many industry pundits expect Oracle to eventually respond to IBM’s data integration play and seek out an acquisition of its own. Informatica Corp is the most obvious target which would be ironic since it was Ascential that ousted Informatica from its long-standing OEM relationship with PeopleSoft EPM in February last year.
