Critical Updates from Oracle CloudWorld

Oracle CloudWorld is known for unveiling exciting updates and innovations in enterprise resource planning (ERP). This year was no exception as Liam Boyd and Jeff Colvard took the stage to share the latest roadmap for Oracle Cloud PPM, explicitly focusing on Project Management across various industries. These updates promise to revolutionize how businesses manage their projects, streamline operations, and achieve greater efficiency. Let’s dive into the details of what’s on the horizon.

Over 80% of the enhancements identified came from the Idea Lab which supports Oracle’s User Base enhancement and new feature requests.  Near Horizon improvements include:

Project Management for Professional Services in Oracle Cloud ERP

Near-term Horizon:

1. Automated Real-Time Record of WIP Bill Transactions: Real-time visibility into work-in-progress (WIP) bill transactions is a game-changer, allowing organizations to make informed decisions promptly.
2. Milestone Billing: Simplify project billing by introducing milestone billing, ensuring accurate and timely invoicing.
3. Mandatory Qualifications for Assigning Resources to Projects: Enhance resource management by implementing mandatory qualifications, ensuring the right talent is assigned to the correct projects.
4. Hours-by-Day Assignment Tracking and Schedule Approvals in Gantt: Streamline project scheduling and approvals with a user-friendly Gantt chart interface.

Long-term Horizon:

1. Enhanced Professional Services Billing: Expect improvements in billing processes that improve accuracy and efficiency.
2. Labor Billing in Non-Hour Units of Measure: This feature provides flexibility in billing for non-hourly projects.
3. Project Staffing Efficiency with AI: AI-driven staffing optimizations promise to revolutionize resource allocation.
4. Payroll Cost Integration to Projects for Project-Related Timecards: Seamlessly integrate payroll costs into project management for more accurate cost tracking.
5. Generate Summaries for Program and Project Reporting: Simplify reporting with the ability to generate summaries for program and project data.
6. Generate Task and Resource Plans Based on Similar Projects: Leverage historical project data to streamline project planning and resource allocation.

Project Management’s Future in Healthcare & Higher Education: Strategy and Innovation

Near-term Horizon:

1. Cloud Payroll Integration with Labor Distribution: Improve labor cost tracking with seamless payroll integration.
2. Budgetary Control on Project Task: Enhance budget control by applying it to specific project tasks.
3. Enhanced Timecard Integrity Validations Upon Awards: Ensure the accuracy of timecard data with enhanced validations.
4. Oracle Analytics: Grants Award Funding: Gain insights into grants and awards funding through Oracle Analytics.

Long-term Horizon:

1. Effort Reporting and NIH Salary Caps: Compliance with NIH salary caps and improved effort reporting.
2. Labor Encumbrances: Streamline labor encumbrances for better financial control.
3. Position Budgeting: Optimize staffing and budgeting with position-based budgeting strategies.

Project Management for Asset Intensive Industries in Oracle Cloud ERP

Near-term Horizon:

1. Budgetary Control for Project-Based Expense Destination Transfers: Enhance control over project-based expenses with budgetary control.
2. Budgetary Control for Direct Procurement of Goods/Services Manufacturing & Maintenance Work Orders: Improve budget tracking for direct procurement related to manufacturing and maintenance work orders (WO).
3. Change Order Automation for Budget Impacts: Streamline change orders with automated tracking of budget impacts.

Long-term Horizon:

1. Cross Charge for Capital Projects: Simplify cross-charging for capital projects within your organization.
2. Dropship Support for Project Sales Orders: Enhance support for dropshipping within project sales orders.
3. Plan and Execute Material/Equipment: Streamline material and equipment planning and execution within projects.
4. Automated Close for Projects & Contracts: Automate project and contract closure processes for increased efficiency.

What does this mean?

The future of Oracle Cloud ERP is continuously evolving, with these updates paving the way for enhanced project management across various industries. Whether you’re in professional services, healthcare, higher education, asset-intensive industries, or others, Oracle Cloud ERP is evolving to meet industry-specific needs. These upcoming features transform how businesses operate, manage projects, and drive success in the cloud era. Speak to a consultant today.