PeopleSoft 9.2: Where On-Premise Meets the Best of the Cloud
(Editor’s note: Jeff Micallef is a co-founder and managing partner of MIPRO Consulting.)
Oracle released the latest version of PeopleSoft (9.2) in March of 2013 and since then has also released nine new PeopleSoft images. From where we sit, over the past eighteen months the impact and advantages of 9.2 have become clearer.
Simply put, Oracle is focusing on delivering the same benefits for PeopleSoft, an on-premise solution, which many have touted as advantages of the newest cloud offerings. In other words, Oracle is bringing some key functionality found in cloud applications to an on-premise enterprise suite.
With PUM (PeopleSoft Update Manager) and the new PeopleSoft Selective Adoption approach, the total cost of ownership for an on premise solution has been dramatically lowered, rivaling the low cost advantage of a cloud solution.
Productivity enhancements such as Global Search, Dashboard and WorkCenters have significantly improved how users interact and get work done within the PeopleSoft application. Like many smart enhancements, these might seem mundane on paper, but they represent big workflow improvements.
And most recently, the addition of the PeopleSoft Fluid User Interface, Activity Guides and Train Stop functionality is giving PeopleSoft the most current, state-of-the-art user interface in the market today. It was a massive topic at OpenWorld, and sessions about Fluid UI were packed, and QA sessions saw hundreds of engaged clients.
But above all, the most impressive endorsement for how far Oracle has come with PeopleSoft 9.2 came from a customer I had a conversation with last week. Two years ago they replaced PeopleSoft HCM with Workday and they are currently upgrading their PeopleSoft Financials and Supply Chain applications to 9.2. Commenting on how impressed they were with PeopleSoft 9.2 they said, “Had we known what features and functionally 9.2 had to offer two years ago, we never would have switched to Workday. PeopleSoft 9.2 is a great product.”
That’s quite a testament, and one we’re hearing about PeopleSoft 9.2 with increasing frequency.
