🧠 The Modern ERP Digest – Edition 27
Curated by Aaron Engelsrud | Published on PeopleSoftCloud.com
Aaron • Feb 2026
☕ This Week’s Focus
Edition 27 centers on a theme that keeps resurfacing in 2026: ERP modernization is less about replacement and more about refinement.
Oracle continues to land major public-sector wins and expand its cloud footprint in federal modernization initiatives. At the same time, real-world ERP implementation stories remind us that success depends on thoughtful customization—not over-customization, not blind standardization.
Inside the PeopleSoft ecosystem, Cloud Manager continues to mature, PeopleTools 8.62 capabilities are expanding, and natural language experiences are moving from concept to delivered functionality.
Let’s break it down.
⚙️ Oracle, Public Sector & Cloud Expansion
🔗 Oracle Lands Air Force Win (Yahoo Finance)
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/oracle-lands-air-force-win-152003927.html
Oracle secured a significant contract win with the U.S. Air Force, reinforcing its position in federal cloud and infrastructure services. Public-sector validation remains one of Oracle’s strongest credibility anchors in 2026.
🔗 OCI to Support CMS Modernization Initiative (Oracle Press Release)
https://www.oracle.com/news/announcement/oracle-cloud-infrastructure-to-support-centers-for-medicare-and-medicaids-modernization-initiative-2026-02-11/
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure will support the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ modernization efforts. This is another large-scale healthcare transformation backed by OCI, signaling continued trust in Oracle’s ability to deliver secure, scalable environments.
Together, these stories reinforce an important point: while AI narratives dominate headlines, it’s infrastructure reliability and compliance capabilities that win major contracts.
📊 ERP Strategy: Why Smart Customization Matters
🔗 What Midwest Groundcovers Learned from Implementing a New ERP System (Greenhouse Grower)
https://www.greenhousegrower.com/technology/what-midwest-groundcovers-learned-from-implementing-a-new-erp-system/
This implementation story highlights a lesson seasoned ERP teams already understand: the danger isn’t customization. Rather, it’s unintentional customization.
Midwest Groundcovers discovered that blindly replicating legacy processes inside a new ERP system can stall transformation. At the same time, refusing all customization in the name of “best practice” can create operational friction.
The sweet spot is disciplined customization. Where processes are evaluated, simplified where possible, and extended only when business value justifies it.
For PeopleSoft teams, this lesson resonates. Event Mapping, Page & Field Configurator, and delivered frameworks exist precisely to enable thoughtful extension without destabilizing the core. Smart customization preserves upgradeability. Reactive customization destroys it.
👩💻 PeopleSoft Community & Practice
🔗 Image Highlights: Cloud Manager Image 21 (YouTube)
This video walks through key updates in Cloud Manager Image 21, including refinements in environment lifecycle automation, provisioning enhancements, and improved orchestration capabilities. For teams managing PeopleSoft in OCI, Cloud Manager continues evolving into a true platform operations tool—not just a deployment assistant.
🔗 Mastering Notification Composer & Landing Page Notifications in PeopleTools 8.62 (NewPeopleSoft Blog)
https://newpeoplesoft.wordpress.com/2026/02/11/mastering-notification-composer-and-landing-page-notifications-in-peopletools-8-62/
A detailed guide to using Notification Composer and landing page alerts effectively. These features are powerful when governed well, and distracting when overused. The key is intentional communication design.
🔗 Is GenerateComponentPortalURL Still Relevant? (JSMPros)
https://blog.jsmpros.com/2026/02/is-generatecomponentportalurl-still.html
A thoughtful technical exploration of whether older PeopleCode patterns remain appropriate in modern Tools releases. The answer isn’t binary. Some patterns evolve; others remain valuable when used properly. Modernization requires understanding, not reflexively replacing, core capabilities.
🔗 Natural Language Assistant in PeopleSoft (Oracle Blog)
https://blogs.oracle.com/peoplesoft/natural-language-assistant-in-peoplesoft
Oracle introduces Natural Language Assistant capabilities within PeopleSoft, enabling users to interact with the system more conversationally. This marks a tangible step toward embedded AI experiences inside PeopleSoft—not as an external bolt-on, but as part of the user workflow.
💬 Aaron’s Take
Edition 27 reinforces something I’ve seen repeatedly across ERP programs: durability beats drama.
Oracle’s public-sector wins demonstrate that reliability, compliance, and scale still matter more than hype. At the implementation level, stories like Midwest Groundcovers highlight that success comes from disciplined decisions, not extremes.
And inside the PeopleSoft world, the pattern continues: Cloud Manager gets stronger, Tools capabilities deepen, and AI becomes more practical.
The organizations that win in 2026 won’t be the ones chasing the newest acronym. They’ll be the ones who:
• Standardize where possible
• Customize where justified
• Automate where repeatable
• Govern where necessary
That’s not flashy. It’s effective.
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See you in Edition 28.