With security and user experience advantages, adding single sign-on (SSO) in EPM Cloud is a likely next step for your organization. As part of Quest’s 2019 Cloud Webinar Series, Joyce Hanson, Principal Business Analyst at Oshkosh Corporation, shares Oshkosh Corporation’s firsthand experience with implementing SSO in EPM Cloud to inform the organization’s planning and implementation of this process. As a publicly held company with a segment that is a defense contractor, Oshkosh Corporation prioritizes technology processes that are both vigilant with financial information and rigorous to special data security requirements. Single sign-on in EPM Cloud has allowed their organization to meet these objectives while also enhancing their user experience.

About Oshkosh Corporation

Oshkosh Corporation is a leading provider of specialty vehicles and is made up of four segments:

1. Fire and emergency – fire trucks and emergency response vehicles
2. Commercial – cement mixers and garbage trucks
3. JLG – boom lifts and scissor lifts
4. Defense – vehicles for the military

Oshkosh Corporation has over 10,000 employees worldwide. The company is over 100 years old and is the only top 20 defense contractor without any ethics violations. In fact, Oshkosh was recently named one of the world’s most ethical companies for the fourth year in a row.

Why Oshkosh Corporation Chose Single Sign-On

There were a few reasons behind Oshkosh Corporation’s decision to implement single sign-on in EPM Cloud:

• Oshkosh Corporation is a public company
• Oshkosh Corporation is a defense contractor
• The Oshkosh Corporation security group is tough
• Improved user experience

Being a publicly held company means that Oshkosh Corporation has to remain compliant and remain vigilant with its financial information. Having a segment that is a defense contractor means that there are extra requirements for data security. The Oshkosh security group requires an extensive secured solution document for every application that Oshkosh implements. The document is very detailed, and the security group is strict about compliance regulations and requirements. In addition, Oshkosh Corporation tries to do everything possible to enhance the user experience. It is a delicate balance between strict rules and a pleasant experience.

How Single Sign-On in EPM Cloud Works

Hanson provided a list of actions to help people better understand how single sign-on in EPM Cloud works:

• A user opens or clicks to log in to the application
• The application communicates with the company active directory
• Company active directory validates the user
• Company active directory communicates the user validity to the application
• The user is granted or denied access into the application

Roadblocks that Oshkosh Corporation Encountered

While implementing single sign-on in EPM Cloud, the Oshkosh Corporation team encountered a few roadblocks.

• Oshkosh Corp. found the documentation for implementing SSO in EPM Cloud online but couldn’t get it to work. After submitting an SR, Oshkosh discovered that they were not allowed to set up SSO without the help of Oracle.
• Since Oshkosh Corp. had Fusion ERP, the SSO functionality for EPM had to run through the Cloud ERP. This was complicated because all of the EPM users who did not use the Cloud ERP had to be set up in the ERP system.
• Oracle was telling Oshkosh to test the single sign-on set up on the test domain before Oracle set it up on the production domain. The challenge was that the test environment for EPM is on the production domain, but the test environment for ERP is on the test domain. Since Oshkosh only utilized its Cloud ERP system for Supplier Portal, a patch had to be applied to ERP so that suppliers would bypass the SSO screen and not even see it.
• Originally, since the SSO functionality was on ERP, users would have to click on the company sign on twice – once for ERP and once for EPM. Oracle has since changed this design, so the problem went away.

First Steps for Implementing Single Sign-On in EPM Cloud

The Oshkosh Corporation team established the first steps for implementing single sign-on in EPM Cloud for others to follow:

1. Open an SR with Oracle: Begin your SSO implementation process by contacting Oracle to open an SR. While clear documentation is available online for setting up SSO in EPM, Hanson and others found they were unable to do this on their own. They had to work directly with Oracle.
2. Confirm if you are on a Fusion version: Whether or not you are on Fusion ERP determines how you will proceed to implement your SSO. Fusion or not, Hanson maintains contacting Oracle to start.
3. Utilize your IT: While Hanson agrees that going into the cloud changes your organization’s needs for IT, she highlights the benefit of IT’s role in working both with Oracle for setting up SSO, as well as with users for support.
4. Determine your security needs: Given Oshkosh Corporation’s security needs, they were able to add additional control by requiring users to be within the Oshkosh network in order to be logged on with valid active directory credentials.

For more information about how to implement single sign-on in EPM Cloud, check out the SCM Cloud Day presentation attached below. To access the rest of the recordings from EPM Cloud Day and the rest of the 2019 Cloud Webinar Series, check out the Cloud Webinar Series landing page.

Additional Resources

COLLABORATE 20 will take place April 19-23, 2020 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada! Don’t miss this chance to share inspiration, insights, and solutions with your peers, vendors, and the Oracle team! Register before March 6, 2020, to take advantage of Early Bird pricing.