Oracle Releases EPM On-Premise version 11.2.6!

Oracle dropped 11.2.6 this week and I'm working on a sandbox install but I wanted to get some quick highlights out for everyone.  We're familiar with 11.2 updates by now, and this one is not any different, the release is both a  complete install package, and also a maintenance release for previous 11.2.x installs.  It's important to note that Oracle has stated "you can directly apply an update to the previous two updates" - meaning you have to be at 11.2.4 or later to apply the update.  Oracle has said this in the last two updates, so they seem to be pushing everyone to stay current or plan on more work when it comes to the update process.  With a quarterly release cycle this means we should be targeting a patching/maintenance regimen of at least 1 every 6 months for EPM customers. Oracle has stated, EPM System updates are released on a quarterly basis, generally in January, April, July, and October.

NOW the NEW STUFF! WooHoo - 

• MsSQL 2019 is officially certified
• The installer now automatically handles patches/updates to the Fusion Middleware with "Apply Update" and its not a manual post install process anymore.
• Support for ANY identity management product that supports header-based authentication
• Updated HTTP Client
• Planning is now certified with OGNL 3.2.18
• And the documentation now outlines the procedure on how to change the DB passwords.
• Planning supports a Custom Grid Spread
• Profitability and Cost Management have a few new rest API's

Some other things to note with this drop that stand out from previous 11.2.x versions…..

• Oracle clearly states in the document that WebLogic has to be installed on same OS across the board in a distributed environment. This means if you have HFM and Essbase, the only component that can go on Linux is Essbase.
• Essbase Studio is not included with 11.2.6 and has ben removed from future distribution
• FDMEE support for scripting in Visual Basic is officially not supported. Customers need to port to Jython, if they have not already. It will not be available from a functional standpoint beginning with 11.2.7
• And if you've been waiting for it - you should know the FDMEE SAP adapter "will be certified", though they do not give a date, but it will be a third-party plugin for FDMEE available from Bristlecone Labs.

Over the next few days, I will be kicking the tires on the install and config so check back to see my take on how this new version works and if I run into any "gotchas" along the way....