BREAKING NEWS: EPM 11.1.1.1 Is Available (AKA Hyperion on All Platforms with Bug Fixes)

Oracle EPM 11.1.1.1.0 - Generally Available

Well, that certainly took long enough.  On July 12, Oracle released the newest version of Hyperion (so called 11.1.1.0.0) and all was great and wonderful except for one thing.  For the first time in my recollection, it was only released for Windows platforms.  The versions for other platforms (Unix and the like) were supposed to follow shortly after.

Then months went by with only Windows to keep us warm.

Finally, during the wee hours last night approximately 4 months after the Windows release of Hyperion 11x, we now have the full platform release.  To download the other platforms, go to http://edelivery.oracle.com/ and click on the product pack for "Oracle Enterprise Performance Management System."  You'll now see that there are multiple platforms available:

• HP-UX (32-bit and 64-bit)
• IBM AIX (only 64-bit)
• Linux x86 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Sun Solaris (only 64-bit)
• Windows (32-bit and 64-bit)

Lots of bugs are fixed

You'll also notice that the Windows media packs now come in two versions: 11.1.1.0.0 and 11.1.1.1.0.  The version with the extra "dot one" has patches for some of the more egregious bugs.  I've read the Read Me file for 11.1.1.1.0 and there are 8+ pages of defects fixed in this release.  Some of them seem fairly major.  There are still 13+ pages of known issues in this release.  Personally, I like when the list of bugs fixed exceeds the known bug list, but with a version this major, I'm just happy as can be that they're actively fixing the major bugs.

For those of you who already installed 11.1.1.0.0, Oracle has been kind enough to allow us to install the patched version (with the extra "dot one") without reinstalling (hallelujah, by the way).  If you've already installed the initial 11 release, just make sure you select the "Apply Maintenance Release" option when you rerun the EPM System Installer.

New Features

You may be surprised to find out that there are some new features in this version (minor, but they're there).  I'm going through the Read Me files right now, but here are the new features I've spotted so far:

• Essbase
• Block storage cubes can now have the same date/time member intelligence that ASO began supporting in 9.3.  This also means that there are some new block storage calcs to work on these members: @DATEDIFF, @DATEPART, @DATEROLL, @FORMATDATE, and @TODATEEX.
• When Essbase log files reach their maximum size (normally 2Gb), the log file will begin writing to a second file (or more than that).  This is simple but impressive.  Older versions of Essbase would just crash when the max file size was reached, but now they will keep generating new log files while preserving the old ones.
• Visual Explorer is dramatically enhanced and now supports perspectives, has enhanced workspace capabilities, enhancements to dashboards, and most impressive of all, can be used to generate data mining scenarios (it even writes MDX for you).
• Also, there is at least one feature that's been removed in this version: reference cubes are no longer supported for speeding up of @XREF calculations.  
• Essbase Studio
• Netezza is supported as a data source.
• Migration is now supported (of metadata) from EIS (Essbase Integration Services) to Essbase Studio.
• Financial Data Quality Management
• Drill back from HFM, Strategic Finance, Essbase, and Planning to FDM.
• Drill back from FRM to Oracle eBusiness Suite.
• Support for Shared Services for user provisioning and authentication.
• New adapters for Strategic Finance and Oracle eBusiness Suite.
• Other random front-end enhancements.
• Hyperion Financial Management (HFM).  So far as I can tell from the Read Me, there are no new features.
• Hyperion Planning.  The Planning Outline Load utility has been updated and may now actually be helpful for building dimensions.
• Profitability and Cost Management.  There are pages and pages of new features for HPCM.  I'll refer you to the hpm_11111_readme.pdf for more information on this.  Needless to say, someone was very busy adding features to HPCM since its initial release in July.
• Reporting and Analysis (FR, IR, SQR, WA).  Nothing, so far as I can tell.
• Smart View
• Firefox is now supported for the web client.
  
• Essbase substitution variables can be used in Excel spreadsheet retrieves.
• There's a new "Disconnect All" menu item that disconnects from all data sources.
• There's a new POV Control that can be used in the Report Designer (the new dashboard-like interface in Smart View 11x).  The POV control allows for greater member selection capabilities than the Slider control.  POV controls and sliders cannot both be used on the same report (they're mutually exclusive).

There are also some enhancements to some of the more minor supporting products that I didn't bother listing.  As you can tell, there aren't a lot of impressive features, but there are more than you'd think considering the minor updating of the version number.

What's Missing?

EPM/Hyperion 11.1.1.1.0 is still English-only.  The last road map I saw in a public forum (i.e., that I'm able to talk about) said that the localized versions of the product should be out by the end of 2008.  With there being only 6 weeks until the end of 2008 and Oracle just getting around to the platform release in English, I seriously doubt we'll see Hyperion in Spanish, Japanese, and the like until the first quarter of 2009.

Also, there's no 11.1.1.1.0 version of either Strategic Finance or Performance Scorecard.  I have no idea on when these will be released.

How long until Oracle informs everyone?

If you want to amuse yourself, see how long it takes for Oracle to let their users (and their own sales force) know that the full platform release is available.  I'm betting it's not until at least next week (if at all).

EPM 11x - Generally Available

After months of development, testing, and delays, it looks like "Oracle EPM System, Fusion Edition" (also known as EPM 11x or Hyperion 11.1) has officially been delivered:

http://edelivery.oracle.com/

First of all, unlike all prior Hyperion releases, you don't select "Hyperion Performance Management and BI" as the product pack. There's a new product pack for "Oracle Enterprise Performance Management System." Once you select this, there are two platforms available. Both are for Windows: the only difference is in 32-bit vs. 64-bit. The other platforms should be out towards the end of this quarter and possibly not until Q4.

According to the eDelivery site, the full 32-bit media pack is ~11 Gb and contains 29 parts (64-bit media pack is 17 parts and 7.3 Gb) . Hyperion 9.3.1 was 57 parts making up 14 Gb. Anyone have any idea how they added more features, more products, and somehow shrunk the download size? All I can think of is that it's because it's only English, and the download will grow once they add the localized versions to the mix.

The Read Me's (and Installation documents) are only 33 Mb. I encourage everyone to download part #V-13499 just to learn more about the new 11x features. It's amazing what you stumble across in Read Me files. For instance, I just now discovered that Strategic Finance is missing along with all the integrated Crystal Ball functionality. The Read Me says that for Strategic Finance, you should "see 9.3.1 media pack" which I guess means that there isn't a Strategic Finance 11.1.1.0.0 at the moment.

I haven't had time to read all of the Read Me files. I opened the Essbase one first. There are 3 1/2 pages of Known Issues with Essbase 11.1.1.0.0. Some of them are kinda surprising to me. For instance, the MDX Parent function has this problem (yes, this is an exact quote):

Running the MDX Parent function does not return the member's parent.

Well, on the one hand, I guess I'm glad someone noticed. On the other hand, what the hell does this function do if not to return the Parent? This known issue is also kinda fun (it's an issue between the Spreadsheet Add-In and Windows Vista):

Launching Query Designer from Spreadsheet Add-in causes Excel to terminate abnormally.

I guess we'll either not use Vista or just tell our users not to click on Query Designer.

That said, there are hundreds of positive features and bug fixes in "Oracle EPM System, Fusion Edition" (rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?). For instance, here are the bullets from the 16 page New Features in Essbase 11.1.1.0.0. Read Me. Each one of these items summarizes paragraphs of new features and this is just Essbase:

• Installation and configuration
• Lifecycle management
• Typed measures
• Format strings
• Varying attributes
• Strategy for backing up and restoring BSO databases
• Methods for clearing data from specific regions of ASO databases
• Environment variables used in the calculation scripts and formulas of BSO databases
• Optimization of the replication of ASO databases
• Grid expansion during queries of transparent partitions
• Log transaction response times from transparent partition target
• Grid size limits for ASO transparent partition target
• Batch insertion as data is exported to relational databases
• Unicode support for ASO
• Common logging
• Implied share override
• XOLAP
• Performing multiple SQL data loads in parallel to ASO
• Calculation functions (13 new functions)
  
• MDX functions (12 new functions, 1 new clause, 1 new directive)
  
• Report writer commands (7 new commands)
  
• Essbase.CFG configuration settings (12 new settings)
  
• MaxL statements (11 new statements)
  
• API Functions and structures (60 new functions and types)
  

And Essbase isn't the only product with a boatload of new functionality. The Planning new features PDF is 12 pages long. HFM has 8 pages of new features. Performance Scorecard has 16 pages of new stuff. Hyperion Reporting & Analysis (what they used to call "BI+) has 16 pages. Smart View has 8. Even Shared Services has a couple of pages of new features. This is definitely the most important Hyperion-wide update in this millennium (far more relevant than the helpful to the planet than the release Hyperion System 9).

If you are going to upgrade your development environment to 11.1.1, here are the current supported paths:

• 9.2.0.3 to 11.1.1
• 9.2.1 to 11.1.1
• 9.3.x to 11.1.1

Per the documentation, if you're on an earlier version, you must go to one of these three versions first, and then upgrade from there. Now to point out the blatantly obvious, please don't use any of the new 11x products in production YET. Wait for a patch or two (or three or...) to come out before you spring this on your end users. In the mean time, download and install EPM 11x, and then come back here to discuss your findings. If you're crazy enough to install this new version in anything other than a very limited development environment, may God have mercy on your soul.

Downloading Hyperion Just Got Easier

For the last several years, Hyperion has used SubscribeNet to host the downloads of it's software. For the moment, it's still there:
http://hyperion.subscribenet.com/
The problems with this site were too numerous to list, but let me try:

• You had to have a super-secret ID and password to get into the Download Center. What products you could download were determined by what someone at Hyperion Towers granted you the rights to see. If you bought Strategic Finance but the Tower People didn't want you to download it, you couldn't see it until you screamed really loudly at the right people. Half the time, the screaming just made the Tower Protectors drop boiling oil on your head.
• Products often appeared under different names depending on what marketing called them when they were released.. At one time, I had access to products called Hyperion Essbase, Essbase Standard Edition, Essbase Classic, Essbase XTD, and System 9 BI+ Analytic Services each one of which contained a version (or several) of Essbase... and those are just the sections I remember.
  
• You had to go through several unnecessary screens to get to the actual links to download product. No one ever thought to ask you all the questions (products, operating systems, and so forth) all at once, so some screens only existed to ask a single question.
  
• If you wanted to install System 9, you had to go to several different products to download the installation guides (and the installation files themselves). There was no one "master" place to download all the guides at once, so you never quite knew where to begin. This made installing System 9 something that should only be undertaken either by highly priced (but deservedly so) consultants or people with a lot of time on their hands to try to figure out the correct installation order.

On July 1, Oracle did something deliciously unexpected and killed off the Download Center. The old Download Center is still there (though older versions of many products have been pulled due to Oracle's "quality control" processes). The new and much improved location for downloading is Oracle's eDelivery site. Once you get through the "Export Validation" silliness, click on the “Hyperion Performance Management and BI” product pack to get to all the Hyperion products.

Why do I love the new site? Let me count the ways:

• Simplicity of login. No longer are the products you can download tied to your ID. Feel free to visit the link above and start downloading Hyperion products to your heart's content. You don't need to request access from any people in any towers. The only people who should theoretically have trouble are those in evil countries not allowed to download from Oracle (I'm guessing here, but presumably Iran and North Korea are on the "no download" list).
  
• Simplicity of interface. There are three basic steps for downloading all products (Export Validation, Search, and Download). Every product is also now contained under a "Media Pack" that has all relevant installation files for every product grouping. There are currently 5 Media Packs (though the one most of us want is the top one) for Windows 32-bit (my example):

1. Hyperion Performance Management and BI (9.3.x)
2. Hyperion Performance Management and BI (9.2.x)
3. Hyperion Enterprise Release (6.4.1)
4. Hyperion Business Modeling (4.0.5)
5. Hyperion Application Link (9.x)

• All installation documentation in one place. Once you get into, say "Hyperion Performance Management and BI (9.3.x)", the very first option is "Hyperion System 9 (9.3) Start Here: License File and Installation Documents". If you download this 83 Mb file, you'll see that it contains ZIPped copies of every single installation guide for every single System 9 product. Nirvana! No more highly priced (but deservedly so) consultants showing us where the install guides are hidden!
• All product documentation in one place. From the HPM & BI media pack, click on "Hyperion System 9 (9.3) Product Documentation" and you'll download all of the documentation for all System 9 products wrapped up nicely in a 150 Mb box.

Well, there you have it. Stop what you're doing and go download your a copy of Oracle Hyperion System 9.3. You can't use it legally, of course, but there's something inherently fun about being able to tell all your friends that you have your very own 8.7 Gb copy of Hyperion. One day, you can brag that you can afford a license so you can actually install it.

Dare to dream, boy. Dare to dream.