In our last blog, we explored how the introduction of Oracle Cloud Enterprise PCM (EPCM) impacts our allocation solution architecture by investigating some of the key architecture challenges experienced in Oracle Cloud PCM, how they could have been mitigated in previous solutions, and how the architecture of our future solutions will change when implementing in Oracle Cloud EPCM.
In this blog, we are going to start looking at a more granular level of the impact of Oracle Cloud EPCM by exploring the changes and implementation impacts in master data management when comparing Oracle Cloud PCM to Oracle Cloud EPCM.
What Changes?
There are some significant changes when we look at how we manage our master data (dimensions, hierarchies, and members) in Oracle Cloud PCM vs Oracle Cloud EPCM. There are some obvious impacts to dimension management that originate from having a multi-instance solution vs a single instance solution, as we explored in the previous blog, but let’s start with the basic requirements:
| Dimension Type | Oracle Cloud PCM | Oracle Cloud EPCM |
| System Dimensions |
Rule Balance |
PCM_Rule PCM_Balance |
|
Point of View (POV) |
1 - 4 User Defined POV Dimensions | 4 POV Dimensions (Years, Period, Scenario & Version) |
| Entity Dimension | Not Required |
Required |
| Account Dimension | Not Required | Required |
| Business Dimension Requirements | 1 - 14 Business Dimensions | 1 - 12 Business Dimensions (in addition to Entity and Account) |
If you are familiar with Oracle Cloud PCM, the above table illustrates some pretty big changes between Oracle Cloud PCM and Oracle Cloud EPCM. In Oracle Cloud PCM, we have always been lucky to have very few restrictions placed on us from a dimension outline perspective. This changes somewhat in EPCM with Oracle’s desire to create a more consistent user experience across the different Oracle Cloud EPM modules. As such, we can no longer customize our Rule and Balance dimension names, pick and choose the dimensions that go into our POV, and we no longer have a choice in whether we have an Entity and/or Accounts dimension in EPCM. However, Oracle has recognized that with the increased number of required dimensions, some clients may need more dimensions to accommodate their requirements. That said, our total allowed number of dimensions goes from 17 in PCM to 20 in EPCM.
Another major change in Oracle EPCM is how we manage dimensions, hierarchies, and members. Since Oracle Cloud PCM was released, we have always had a unique dimension management UI and have been limited to the replace option when importing dimensions through flat files. That all changes in Oracle Cloud EPCM where we can take advantage of the benefits of the common Oracle Cloud EPM dimension management options. This of course means we share a dimension management UI with Oracle Cloud Planning and Consolidation modules, can maintain dimensions in SmartView, and now have an option to append rather than replace on our dimension imports.
Finally, Oracle Cloud PCM is not currently fully integrated with EDM. Soon, Oracle Cloud EPCM will be fully integrated with EDM in a very similar fashion to the other Oracle Cloud EPM modules.
There is an additional change to the Rule dimension and its management that we will explore in a future blog!
What is the Impact?
The impact of these changes on our implementations is quite dramatic when comparing Oracle Cloud PCM to Oracle Cloud EPCM:
- Master Dimension Data maintenance within a single instance:
- Master Dimension Data is maintained within a single instance which is significantly easier to maintain post go-live
- Dimension loads can be partial:
- This mitigates the need for complex EDM requirements, work arounds and/or automation
- Improvement in dimension uploads and deployments time
- Reduction in overall maintenance effort and common mistakes
- Common EPM Platform Dimension Management:
- Multiple dimension management options for greater flexibility in the approach
- Simplification in deployment approach
- Shared Knowledge between application owners:
- Common EPM Platform functionality for dimension management with multiple options available. Clients can leverage existing EPM platform knowledge
- Future EDM Integration:
- Limited use of workarounds and/or partner specific knowledge on how to connect EDM to Oracle Cloud EPCM
Conclusion
Although there will be individuals who push back on some of the dimension outline requirements within EPCM, the move to a more standardized application profile combined with the large number of new functionality and options ultimately has a positive impact on our allocation solution implementations.
The common Oracle Cloud EPM platform’s dimension management’s ease of use and functionality has for years outperformed Oracle PCM’s abilities and it’s great to see Oracle Cloud EPCM assimilating into the platform with access to all those features, functionalities, and all that may come.
For comments, questions, or suggestions for future topics, please reach out to us at infosolutions@alithya.com. Visit our blog regularly for new posts about Cloud updates and other Oracle Cloud Services such as Planning and Budgeting, Financial Consolidation, Account Reconciliation, and Enterprise Data Management. Follow Alithya on social media for the latest information about EPM, ERP, HCM, and Analytics solutions to meet your business needs.