5 Things for 2021

5 Things to do in 2021 if you work with PeopleSoft

Happy New Year  !  

When we say this to one another, we hope that this year, this new year will be a happy one.  But no one can know what will happen this year and I don't think that by me wishing anyone a "happy new year" that it will indeed be a happy one.  So what do we really mean when we say "happy new year"?

Well, the word happy comes from the old Middle English word hap which means lucky or fortunate.  So, "happy new year" becomes a wish for someone to have a "fortunate new year".

Hmmm...?  I still have a problem with that.  Are my words magical in some way?  If I wish that someone has a fortunate year does it mean they will?  I don't think so. But I can still hope & try.

I hope that you and I together will try and contribute something positive to bring about a happy new year, in some small way, in our corner of this amazing planet and hope for a more kind, more helpful, more happy, more fortunate and more thankful world.

So, philosophical ramblings out of the way.... down to PeopleSoft business.

As a PeopleSoft professional what should you be doing this year?    Well, I'll tell what I'm going to be doing.  Maybe this will be helpful to someone.

(1) Upgrade to the latest PeopleTools release.  Right now (January 2021) that means PeopleTools 8.58.  But, have you read about some of the exciting things coming in 8.59?  Check it out here http://www.peoplesoftpfe.com/.  Lots of exciting things planned for the next Tools release.  And when will PeopleTools 8.59 be released?  Well, I don't know. But, the average gap between PeopleTools releases since 8.51 has been 468 days (yes... I know... I really did work it out).  8.58 landed 18 December 2019 so add 468 days to that and you get 30 March 2021.  I'm just playing an averages game here.  It could be earlier and it could be later.

Anyway, why should you get onto the latest PeopleTools release?

• Take learn about and take advantage of new features.  For example you don't get Kibana without 8.58.
• Stay supported 

• 8.57 is already out of platform and fix support.

• Stay Secure

•  8.57 CPU patches will end Jan 2022
• If you're on 8.56 then, due to COVID-19, Oracle have extended CPU patching support until April 2021.

(2) Get involved in the PeopleSoft and Oracle Community.     It's all about the people ! 

Oracle PeopleSoft SIG 2020 - Bangalore, India

Get online... join a user group.... attend online events.... connect with the community.  Here's just a few suggestion.

Oracle Community Forums

Quest Community User Group

Get involved with Oracle Partner community events like Version 1 's Oracle Apps Day and the PeopleSoft Innovation Summit from PeopleSoft security specialists, Appsian.

All the content from 2020 event are online

17 - 18 February is the next event

If you're a PS Admin then join in the fun at

And if you're interests are also in the Oracle technology that underpins PeopleSoft then the UK based UKOUG, the India run AIOUG with their fabulous Sangam and Yatra events or the Asia Pacific user group APACOUC will have something for you.

Tune in often to countless community bloggers. You'll find a few on my Blogroll to the right of this post.  

And sign up for the free PeopleSoft Weekly newsletter.  It'll contain everything you need to know and more!

(3) Explore the value of running PeopleSoft in public cloud infrastructure.   There are many benefits to utilising cloud services for IT systems and PeopleSoft has been designed for running in the cloud. Public cloud might not be for you so make sure you use a trusted partner to help with assessing the benefits.  https://www.version1.com/erp-pps-peoplesoft-cloud-hosting/

https://www.version1.com/webinar-peoplesoft-in-the-cloud-is-it-better-is-it-cheaper/

(4)  Exploit the Power of PeopleSoft for positive impact

Create Positive Impact

Q: Why does any company have a computer system?  

A: To secure and manage business data.

Q: What if your chosen information management system doesn't manage this data in a way that's useful to your business?

A: Modify the information system.  (I could modify my business but why should I compromise!)

Q:What should I do if my information management system can't be modified in exactly the way I need?

A: You either compromise, miss opportunities, lose revenue or incur cost.  Or, if you're happy/fortunate/lucky enough to be running PeopleSoft then you can extend and modify it in order meet those business demands.

The ability to change the delivered system to create value for my business without seriously damaging my ability to take new releases from the vendor is a powerful feature of any information system.

Exploit the power of delivered frameworks: Guided Self Service, Approval Workflow, Search, Related Content, Activity Guides, Page & Field Configurator, Chatbot Integration Framework, Kibana Dashboards, Push Notifications, to name a few.

(5) Learn something new each month.  

One thing you learn very quickly in the IT industry is that nothing stands still very long.  There's always something new, some new feature, new application, new method, new module, new script, new programming command.  Why is there so much change?  I believe it's because so many people in the IT world are innovators and creative types who are always looking for opportunities to improve life, the workplace, to save money, make money, improve customer quality, product quality, service delivery and so on.  This creativity inevitably means we live in a constantly evolving ecosystem.

Struggling to keep up?  You're not alone. Join the club.  (in fact action item (2) above and join a community group).

How best to keep up and learn?  Here's my 5 point plan for 2021

A) I'm going to get access to PeopleTools 8.59 once it's GA and use that to learn. (see 1 above)

B) I'm going to contribute the best I can to the PeopleSoft community. (see 2 above)

C) I'm going to install, access and develop PeopleSoft in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. (see 3 above)

D) I'm going to pick a few of the new 8.59 features and understand their potential value (see 4 above)

E) I'm going to learn a little at a time and often.  (see 5 above )

Dan and Kyle, from psadmin.io, discussed the power of incremental improvement or "marginal gains" in their October 2020 podcast.  Highly recommend it (both the podcast and the idea).  The basic premise is that if you make a 1% improvement each week in something, like learning, then you might not notice to start with but incrementally start adding up all the 1% improvements and before you know it you'll be an expert in something.

Have a 2021 full of hope, learning and connecting with people.

I'll leave you with a few of my lockdown memories of 2020.

My workspace for most of 2020.

My Dad's 60 year old bureau desk

Fits my laptop just perfectly.

Finally get out of the house.  Working lunch by the Skatepark

Joining in virtual community events

Version 1 Oracle Apps Day with Robbin Velayedam 

Escaping to the hills

Early morning walk by the river Thames