Time for the August 2026 Oracle EPM updates. As usual, these are the updates that I found interesting, check out the full Oracle document for others. Updates will go to test environments August 7th and prod environments August 21st.
Redesigned Alias Tables Page with Redwood
While this isn’t a groundbreaking enhancement, I do like it when changes are made to modernize different pages in the application like this. The alias tables page is being updated to Redwood so it will match most of the rest of the application. And it will be accessible directly from the home screen instead of going through the navigation menu.
Redesigned Variables Pages with Redwood
Similar to the above, the variables page is being updated to Redwood, too. This will affect user variables and substitution variables pages.
Comprehensive Documentation on Implementing EPM Assistants in AI Agent Studio
I am looking forward to reading this improved documentation. Anything that can help me (and others) to learn and use AI Agent Studio more effectively is a very good thing. I believe Oracle has gotten better the last few years with their documentation, it is easier than ever to read and understand across the entire EPM landscape than it once was.
New REST API to generate an Application Diagnostics report
This new REST API will allow us to generate an Application Diagnostics report whenever needed (on demand). You can also specify output file names and whether to overwrite existing files.
Ability to Create Application Diagnostics as a Part of Cube Refresh Operation Using REST API
Related to the above REST API for the Application Diagnostics report, the Cube Refresh REST API now supports generating the diagnostics report directly instead of having to run it on its own.
New Insights REST APIs for Agentic AI Interactions
REST APIs are now available for accessing Insights for agentic AI interactions. This will help in the building of smarter workflows and using Insights efficiently across applications.
Updated EPM Books Extension for Smart View
There is an updated EPM Books extension for Smart View. As always, I recommend updating Smart View extensions when they are available.
Data Integration Job Queuing
A new setting called Max Parallel Jobs will control how many jobs can run at the same time in Data Integration. This will help reduce performance issues by allowing administrators to configure concurrent jobs for efficient processing. Settings are from 1 to 30 with the default at 30.
New Version for EPM Integration Agent
I do not remember the last time the EPM Integration Agent was updated, but I think it has been a while. Key updates include needing Java 17 or higher to run and Resource Scope support for OAuth 2.0 authentication being added. Before updating to this new version, verify your environment can support it.
Remote Integration Support for Task Manager in FreeForm Applications
We can now include FreeForm tasks in Task Manager across multiple EPM Cloud environments. Cross-environment business processes are awesome and one of my favorite things about Task Manager, so finally adding FreeForm into it is a great improvement.
Scrollable Dashboards
This new layout option will allow dashboards to extend vertically and be scrollable. I need to see this to understand it fully, but I guess in my mind I can now have big dashboards with many forms that will not be squished into a small screen. One big limitation: this must be enabled when creating a new dashboard, it cannot be applied to existing dashboards.
Sankey Charts
A new chart type is available: Sankey. I am not familiar with this type of chart, per Oracle, it is a visual way to show data flow, contribution, and relationships between row dimension members. I’m all for new types of charts, the more, the merrier. But I wish Oracle would have included an example in the update documentation. Here’s what my friend Claude produced when I asked what a Sankey chart looks like:
This may or may not be what Oracle is providing, we won’t know for sure until August 7th.
Treat Missing Values as Zero in Grid Formulas
I like this improvement a lot. The new grid property “Treat Missing as 0 in Formula” will treat missing values as zeroes during formula evaluation. Previously, the missing value caused errors in formulas.
IPM Insights, Advanced Predictions, and Auto Predict: Support for Sibling-Related Functions
Cool enhancement! We can now use sibling-based functions when defining the data slice for the insights and predictions. The functions include LSIBLINGS, ILSIBLINGS, RSIBLINGS, and IRSIBLINGS.
Updated Narrative Reporting Extension for Smart View
There is an updated Narrative Reporting extension for Smart View. As always, I recommend updating Smart View extensions when they are available.
PCM Agent: Enhanced PCM Agent
This updated agent is replacing the original PCM Agent, which will become unavailable in the October (26.10) update. The new agent will allow better interaction within the current workflow to create and modify models and rules, run calculations, and perform POV operations.
Expanded Value Range for Allocation Precision in PCM
The application setting for Allocation Precision is being expanded to +12 and -12. This will make rule balancing more consistent when a high degree of precision is required.
IMPORTANT Actions and Considerations
EPM Automate Clients Earlier Than 26.09 Will Not Work with 26.12 and Later EPM Cloud Environments
Starting with the December (26.12) update, Cloud EPM environments will no longer support EPM Automate clients bundled with the 26.08 update or earlier.
Beginning with the 26.09 update, EPM Automate will change the format of the encrypted password (.epw) file to enhance its security. Cloud EPM environments on 26.09, 26.10, and 26.11 updates will be able to read the legacy .epw file format and the new file format created by EPM Automate that will be bundled with the 26.09 update.
Starting with the 26.12 update, Cloud EPM environments will accept only the new .epw file format generated by EPM Automate 26.09 or later.
To avoid authentication failures, Oracle recommends that you complete these steps after your environment is updated to 26.09. You must complete these steps before you can use EPM Automate to access 26.12 Cloud EPM environments:
Upgrade EPM Automate to version 26.09 or later.
Run the EPM Automate encrypt command to generate a new .epw file in the updated format.
The new .epw file will work with all Cloud EPM environments on update 26.09 or later.
Upcoming Restriction on Using IP Addresses in Connection URLs
Starting with a future update, you will no longer be able to define or update connections using IP addresses in the Connection URL. The Manage Connections page will prevent users from creating new connections or modifying existing ones that reference an IP address in their URLs. This change is being implemented to enhance security and ensure compliance with Oracle best practices.
Oracle recommends proactively reviewing your existing connection definitions and updating any URLs that use IP addresses to hostname-based URLs before this change takes effect.
August included a variety of updates. I did not highlight any specific updates to Planning as they were all focused on strategic modeling. While strategic modeling is certainly a good component of Planning, those updates did not excite me as much as others. Of course you may think differently, so you should read the full Oracle document for that as well as anything else I omitted here.
As always, happy EPM’ng!
Random EPM Notes 