As an ERP implementer, while there is huge value I bring based on my experience working in a variety of industries and across multiple modules, I still have to stay current on certifications.
Oracle Cloud brings new features to market four times a year, and each client may make use of a different mix of functions. Certifications help ensure that implementers like myself stay current with the rapid growth and expansion of new features.
What kinds of new features? Here are some examples from the latest quarterly release in Procurement!
-Additional API’s, with more fields we can use in integrations, or with Oracle’s Visual Builder Excel tools
-New functions for the still-new Compliance Checklists feature on purchase orders; now you can provide default values, create drag and drop reports, and provide a deep link directly to the checklists
-New functions for the still new tool to create Items directly from BPA import, now you can also link to Trading Partner items. Who here remembers when you had to create items in PIM first?? Seems like it was so long ago!
-New “Special Handling” requisitions, which lets you default values like the Negotiated flag, B2B communication bypass, buyer review before auto generating PO’s, and auto receipt on 3 way match lines. While it may have been built for healthcare, this is a cool new tool that can work elsewhere!
-New features for Business Rules for Supplier Registration pages, making it easier to customize the supplier experience for faster registration
-Create Negotiation cover pages through AI, cutting down your typing time (don’t worry, no AI involved in writing this post!)
That’s barely a quarter of the full list of new features! Many of those build on features that were only released 3 or 6 months before, the pace that Oracle is putting out new features is truly impressive. Every quarter, there is atleast one thing my clients love, and a long list of new tools for implementers to learn how to implement.
Speaking of changes, this year there are big changes continuing to Oracle’s certification process! You may have noticed last year how they shifted away from Pearson-Vue to Oracle self hosted exams. The sign up process changes were frustrating, but overall the process is easier now, even if the messaging at the time was less than perfect.
Now, enabled by this shift, Oracle exams include more than just multiple choice questions, with a series of hands on tasks performed real time, in a real Oracle instance.
The multiple choice section is still largely rote memorization, with little bearing on day to day operations. The hands on section, tackles many common configuration tasks with clear and relatively applicable examples. I was concerned it may be a bit like UPK, Oracle’s old EBS training tool, which enforced an incredibly strict order of clicks, and zone for clicking, making it very easy to accidentally select the wrong step even when you know the process. But because it’s done live in a real instance, it is no different than actual configuration. It was a refreshing change, and I think the process is now more challenging and fun at the same time; and I’m looking forward to more re-certifications coming up soon!
Have you gotten an Oracle certification recently? How was it? Have you experienced any new Oracle features that made your day?