I watched the most recent webinar on Oracle Fusion HCM last week. As someone who works in the trenches of HCM/HRIS every day, I must say I was impressed with what I saw and heard. There are still a number of unanswered questions, but those will likely be explained over the next couple of months and most certainly at this year’s Oracle’s OpenWorld.
The Fusion Human Capital Management (HCM) modules being offered do not represent what you would consider a full suite of HCM products (for instance, there is no Recruitment module), but it’s a beginning — a strong beginning. The message about co-existence (implement Fusion modules that solve a business problem and use the delivered integration with your existing PeopleSoft system) is a savvy — and logical — first move. Already this message is making hay with some of the prospective Fusion clients (who are also PeopleSoft customers) I’m talking to.
One thing you hear from up-and-coming and niche vendors is that when the RFP is issued, Oracle can’t check yes to all of the boxes with Fusion because they are still building out functionality. With the co-existence strategy they are talking about, Oracle Fusion HCM can not only check ‘yes’ on all of the RFP requirements, but they can now go head-to-head with an HCM SaaS offering. It’s that compelling. No longer can Fusion be dismissed as vaporware before moving to the next topic on the meeting’s agenda.
What was of most interest for me regarding the SaaS offering is that, unlike some other vendors, Oracle is allowing for “upgrade protected” personalization and extension of the application using the “Composer Tools.” More on this will be revealed in the months to come, but from what I saw it was pretty impressive.
So while there still remain questions, the testimonials by the Oracle HCM Fusion early adopter clients prove that Fusion HCM applications are here, and are real.
Time to start thinking about what Fusion means to your organization. Do you have serious plans for Fusion? If so, on what timeline? We’d love to hear your views in the comments.
(Naturally, if you want to discuss the future of your HCM system as it relates to PeopleSoft and Fusion, I’m happy to chat with you. Drop me an email and we’ll get going.)
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