KScope 2024: Oracle EPM Innovations, AI Integration, and Cloud Updates from Nashville

Kscope is one of the premier Oracle conferences, hosted by the ODTUG organization, and taking place this year in Nashville, TN at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center.  The learning kicked off on Sunday the 14th of July with sessions led by partners Applied OLAP and Oracle.  It was a full house from the start and the turn-out was one of the best of recent years.

Some interesting notes from the opening sessions:

·       AI is becoming more integrated in EPM and the Oracle offerings are stronger than ever and growing.

·       Essbase 21c is coming to SAAS in 2025

·       SmartView is coming to Google Sheets

·       EPM will stay on the current patch cycle, with no major install releases currently slated for 2025.

·       EPM on-premise support continues through 2035

After the Sunday kick-off, the rest of the week was filled with fun and sessions.  I personally spent the bulk of my time in EPM and OCI sessions. 

Some interesting takeaways from those were:

·       Learning ways to leverage Planning outside of Finance, and especially for the Sales force.

·       A fascinating Oracle led discussion about DR and the importance of immutable storage.  We’ll be addressing this in our iArchive DR process                       moving forward

·       A better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of Oracle OCI’s FSDR.

·       LOTS of cool things can be done with Essbase 21c and Groovy, and it’s an area I intend to dive into in the coming month.

The conference was a great time to reconnect with old colleagues, meet customers and make new friends.  If you have the opportunity, you should go next year.  The conference is growing again, there is a great EPM presence, and it is going from strength-to-strength.

If you should have any questions about the Kscope experience, or need any assistance with your cloud platforms, EPM systems, or just want to say ‘Hi’, reach out to iArch Solutions; we’re here to help.