Release Notes

The Spring 2021 FINDINI 4.0.19 release will be available to users on Monday, April 26, 2021.

Please continue to review updated release messages and outage information that will be posted in the e-news articles, on the Oracle Financial splash pages, and on the sites listed below.

SUMMARY:

Key deliverables during the timeline of the Spring 2021 FINDINI 4.0.19 Release include:

• Testing & Delivery for the Network Security platform upgrade to Cloud Shield 2.0 for CPATH (implemented to PROD 2/3) & EBS (to be implemented to PROD 6/12)
• Upgrade of the Weblogic software to v14.1 for EBS
• Upgrade of the Oracle EBS APEX software from v19.1 to v20.2 (IE Browser no longer supported for APEX forms)
• Several new CAPs enhancements
• 2020 Tax Reporting Year updates for Foreign Individuals & Entities (implemented to PROD mid-March)
• Design & testing of the new APEX form process for GL Payroll Cost Redistributions (GL-PCR to be implemented in PROD by end of June)
• Upgrade of the OATS database to 19c
• Several B2P enhancements such as re-writing & testing of the B2P to Oracle interfaces from MuleSoft to Apigee (to be implemented to PROD by end of June), migration to the new B2P UI, rollout of Supplier Portal Invoicing, enhanced reporting, & the B2P Release to version 21.1
• Continued Discovery & Analysis for the EBS application upgrade project from v12.1.3 to v12.2.10 (implementation planned for Spring 2023)
• Applying the standard software security patching, weblogic upgrading, and database patching to keep the EBS, OATS, & CPATH systems up to date with many industry security regulations and requirements. These will include the January-2021 updates for PSU, CPU, JDK, JRE, Weblogic middleware, & Linux Operating System patching

The Oracle EBS Financial systems will be unavailable from Friday, April 23 at 6:00 p.m. until Monday, April 26 at 7:00 a.m. to complete the installation of this release. The Oracle EBS Financial systems that will be offline during this time include:

• Accounts Payable
• Accounts Payable Adjustment Form for Assets
• Accounts Receivable
• iReceivables & Collections
• CAPS
• Cash Management (CMRA)
• Chart Security Maintenance Application (CSMA)
• Chart of Accounts GL Validator
• FedEx
• General Ledger
• Oracle Assets
• HCOM & iProcurement
• PCard
• Web ADI
• Web Reimbursement

CPATH (Capital Planning at Harvard) will be unavailable during this release window. DMS Financial Data Warehouse & HART reporting environments will also be offline at times during this release outage. The HDW load from EBS Financials will NOT take place Friday night 4/23. Instead, a special cycle will be run Saturday night, 4/24, and once that completes DMS Financial Data Warehouse & HART reporting environments will have up to date data from EBS.

The FINDINI 4.0.19 release will include a Java JRE update to 1.8.0_281. For Mac desktop users only, when logging in for the first time after April 26, those users will be required to download this updated Java JRE. This is needed for Mac users who rely on the Safari 11 browser using Java JRE plug-in to open Oracle Forms. Please note, that Safari 12 and higher used on the Mac, no longer supports Java JRE plug-in, thus Oracle forms will not open using this browser. Any Safari browser can be continued to be used for any Web-pages/HTML based modules in Oracle EBS, however, Safari browsers on the Mac are currently incompatible with Java Web Start Technologies. Firefox version 60.x and greater will now allow Oracle Forms on a Mac to open using Java Web Start Technology as long as the base level of JRE 1.8.0_201 is installed. The Firefox browser can also be used for any Web-pages/HTML based modules in Oracle EBS. If users receive a popup message that a more recent version greater than 1.8.0_281 is available, they should NOT act upon the request.

Windows PC desktop users will no longer have to install Java JRE updates for Oracle Financials due to the Java Web Start technology. Oracle Forms will no longer prompt Windows PC users to update their Java JRE. All universal browsers, including Safari, will successfully open Oracle Forms on a windows PC using the Java Web Start technology.  At a minimum, they must have JAVA JRE 1.8.0_141 which was pushed to them several FINDINI releases ago. If needed for other applications, there is no harm for those users to update to JAVA JRE 1.8.0_281 after 4/26.

Further information regarding Java Web Start Technologies can be found at Oracle Financial System's User Resources.

PLEASE NOTE:

Always clear your browser cache and cookies if you encounter any screen issues or errors logging into Oracle Financials. Please follow the cookie clearing instructions found at Oracle Financial System's User Resources.         

Oracle Financials desktop standards can be found on site Enterprise Application Supported Desktop Configuration document under the Enterprise Application Supported Desktop Configurations section. These desktop standards will be updated for this release during our cutover. Further helpful tips & release information can be found on sites Oracle Financial System's Popular Resources & Oracle Financial Systems's Releases & Oracle Financial System's User Resources.

It is highly recommended for all users to subscribe to the HUIT Service Status Dashboard page. This will enable status alerts and notifications to be received by the users regarding all HUIT applications, as well as our specific Financial Applications. All Financial System links can be found HUIT Finance Systems Page.

Click here for further E-news publication information regarding this release:

February Edition: FINDINI 4.0.19 Release - Upcoming April System Outage for Oracle Financials Systems

March Edition:  FINDINI 4.0.19 Release - Upcoming April System Outage for Oracle Financials Systems

April Edition:  FINDINI 4.0.19 Release - Upcoming April System Outage for Oracle Financials Systems

For questions please contact the HUIT Service Desk at ithelp@harvard.edu or call them at 5-7777.

APPENDIX:

See Attachments for Summary of release changes and Training Tips: