PeopleSoft Next Release 1+1 policy

If you're wondering how long your current PeopleTools version will be supported by Oracle or you want to plan your next upgrade, you always want to keep yourself informed about the latest PeopleTools support policy. 

You probably know that Oracle has recently committed to support PeopleSoft application for at least 10 more years until 2023, so you can expect more PeopleTools upgrades in future.

Learning about PeopleTools support policy can help you make an informed upgrade plan that meets your organizational budget and aligns with other software upgrade projects. 

What is Oracle 'Next Release 1+1' Policy?

I knew about the Oracle PeopleTools support policy but wasn't aware that there is a name for that.

It's called 'Next Release 1+1' policy.

It means that PeopleTools will be fully supported until the next minor release, then full support for an additional year, and critical fixes for an additional year.

'Oracle Software Technical Support Policies' document provides details on how Oracle's support applies to different products including PeopleSoft.

For PeopleTools, it says that "Patches and platform certifications for a PeopleTools minor release will be provided until 12 months after the next minor release is made generally available or Oracle announces that no future releases will be made."

What is PeopleTools Support Policy?

Below is the PeopleTools Support Policy (last reviewed July 2022).

As per the below table, you can see that support for PeopleTools 8.57 ended on Dec 18,2020 and critical updates were last delivered on Jan 17, 2022. Similarly, general patch support for PeopleTools 8.58 ended on April 2022 and critical update will be delivered until Apr 2023.

• General Availability refers to the date when the PeopleTools version was made available for the most customers (excludes early beta release in Update Images or PeopleSoft Cloud Manager). 
• Last General Patch Available is when the last PeopleTools patch was released for that PeopleTools version. 
• Last CPU delivered refers to the last critical patch update for that PeopleTools. 

What are Oracle CPUs?

CPU (Critical Patch Updates) are a set of security patches for Oracle products. It is to help customer lower their security management costs by providing a fixed, publicly available schedule. 

You can view the latest CPUs for Oracle products on CPU, Security Alerts and Bulletin page.

For PeopleTools, you should review the CPUs and fix any security vulnerabilities that may impact your PeopleTools version. 

When is the last CPU available for your PeopleTools version?

As per Oracle, CPU (Critical Patch Updates) for a PeopleTools minor release may be provided up to 24 months after the next minor release is made available.

But this timeline can vary sometimes. 

In the case of PeopleTools 8.56 last CPU update should have been around Sept 2020 (PT 8.57 release date i.e. Sept 2018 + 24 months), but it was actually April 2021.

You can read more about CPU patches here.

Knowledge of support policies can help you plan your PeopleTools upgrade well in advance. It also gives you the time to review new PeopleTools features that you want to implement in your application.

CFO (Cumulative Feature Overview) Tool is the resource that can be used to not just view new features between PeopleTools version but can be used to learn about the new features in different PeopleSoft Update Images that are delivered every few months. 

Also Read : Find solutions super fast on Oracle Support