The results are in. Quest recently surveyed its PeopleSoft community to identify which key projects companies are prioritizing for the next 12-18 months. We were interested to understand who was focused on PeopleTool upgrades, how important Kibana analytics are to customers, who was deploying delivered features for HCM and FSCM, how much focus is on PUM maintenance and other big topics.  The responses to these questions and more, will be used to build out Quest’s 2023 programming for the PeopleSoft community.

As might be expected, the response (see Chart 1 above) reflected many recent hot topics from Quest’s recent PeopleSoft Forum at BLUEPRINT 4D and upcoming RECONNECT events. The top 5 priorities for respondents included PeopleTools upgrades (46%), followed by PUM maintenance (41%), HCM and FSCM delivered features (37%), Kibana (32%) and eliminating or isolating customizations (27%). Fluid Navigation (20%), Elasticsearch (17%), Job Modernization (17%) and Real Time Indexing (16%) also made the list.  A lower but visible number of customers reported a focus on extending PeopleSoft to the Cloud (11%), AI/emerging tech (10%), Guided Learning (6%) and OCI (6%).

Top PeopleSoft project priorities for 2023

Based on the feedback received, we have combed through the PeopleSoft Event Hubs to pull together a reference guide for our members featuring recent BLUEPRINT 4D conference sessions featuring the latest and greatest Oracle updates, real-life customer case studies and expert panels presented by the PeopleSoft product teams, Oracle partners and innovative customers.

Project Priority #1: PeopleTools upgrades

Number one on the list for survey respondents was PeopleTools upgrades.  Many were anticipating upgrading to 8.60, while other customers reported plans for 8.59 upgrades. Those looking at upgrades in the next twelve months might find these recent BLUEPRINT 4D presentations helpful.  In the PeopleSoft Investment Strategy Update, Oracle SVP Paco Aubrejuan provided an overview of what’s planned for the new PeopleTools 8.60 release and how you can capitalize on platform-wide enhancements to drive more value with your PeopleSoft applications.  David Bain, head of PeopleTools product strategy, provided additional details in his PeopleSoft Technology Roadmap and Update, while Oracle’s Sasank Vemana discussed How to Get the Most out of PeopleTools 8.59.  Mark Thomas of Hays Specialist Recruitment shared his company’s 8.59 success story:  How Hays upgraded to PeopleTools 8.59  and created an automated framework for future Tools releases. Jim Marion from JSMPROS also shared tips & techniques for getting the most out of PeopleTools new releases.

Project Priority #2: PUM Release Maintenance

Getting/staying current on recent PUM image releases was also a key area of customer focus was.  Some customers were already current and working to maintain, while others alternate implementation of HCMPUM one year and FINPUM the next.   Image upgrade frequency ranged from 6 months to annual updates to every 18 months.  Several respondents reported that they would do both the Image and PeopleTools upgrade for FSCM and HCM at the same time in the next year.  For PeopleSoft FSCM users, the Financials PUG Meeting  at BLUEPRINT 4D covered the latest new features from recent Image updates.  Another good session recently presented by Bill Cage and Saad Mohammed at ERPA dug deep into efficient PUM update practices as part of Selective Adoption.

Project Priority #3: Deploying HCM and FSCM delivered features

Many customers are also prioritizing the deployment of delivered features for HCM and FSCM as a means of adding value to their PeopleSoft investments.  Several BLUEPRINT 4D sessions discussed a wide range of new PeopleSoft functionality.  Oracle’s Robbin Velayadem provided insight into many of these features in his latest HCM, ELM and HR Help Desk roadmap , while Char Jorgenson walked customers through the ERP product roadmap and update. Oracle’s Tammy Boyles provided an overview of the new Remote Worker feature.  Joe Huang explained how customers can deploy a chat interface by leveraging Oracle Digital Assistant (PICASO) in their environments. Tim Durant talked about how the Automated Update and Automated Merge features can help simplify lifecycle processes.  And Greg Kelley reviewed the different delivered monitoring and management tools that can assist PeopleSoft application managers.  Kentucky Community & Technical College System also presented a success story of its recent transition to a PSS environment by taking advantage of key functionality.  SpearMC’s session discussed recent enhancements to Position Management and how to deploy them.  Hennepin County shared how its team implemented PeopleSoft’s eBilling, with custom workflow-enabled Fluid forms.  In this panel discussion customers State of Oklahoma and Advent Health, together with partner MIPRO Consulting, discussed their favorite PeopleSoft features and how a company’s PeopleSoft ROI can be extended by other feature adoption.

Project Priority #4:  Implementing Kibana analytics

Deploying Kibana dashboards to simplify and expand reporting capabilities with friendlier interfaces and more interactive data visualizations remains a priority for customers as well. For PeopleSoft users interested in learning more, a great BLUEPRINT 4D session led by the Oracle product strategy team explained how to get started with HCM Kibana analytics, with demonstration of a cross-section of delivered features including HR Position Data, HR Job Data, Benefits Enrollment, Onboarding and HR Help Desk Cases. Sasank Vemana from Oracle and Nanda Dudala from Robert W. Baird & Co. also shared a customer success story on deploying Kibana Analytics.  Oracle’s Tammy Boyles walked through Kibana analytics for the Benefits Administrator that provides insights into benefits plan enrollment.

Priority #5:  Isolating or eliminating customizations

Configuration and personalization are simple alternatives to costly and difficult customizations.  At BLUEPRINT 4D, Oracle’s Kelly Mills walked through one of the most popular features used by PeopleSoft customers to eliminate common customizations, Page and Field Configurator, explaining how to hide fields on pages, change labels, make a field required or disable entries – all without creating a customization.  For those new to PFC, Kelly also presented an introductory overview session that explains how the feature works and walks through the steps required to change the displays of delivered pages without customization.

Interested in diving deeper into these topics and others?  Visit the BLUEPRINT 4D Event Hub to browse all session replays, including other hot topics like Fluid Navigation, Elasticsearch, Data Archiving, Automation, running PeopleSoft on OCI, making the move to the Cloud, Remote Worker and Campus Solutions.  You might also check out the Quest PeopleSoft Strategic Content Centers built around key areas like Kibana, PICASO, HR HelpDesk, Performance Management, Recruiting, PeopleSoft Test Framework and more.