PeopleTools 8.53 to 8.58 Upgrade Tips for Success

PeopleTools 8.53 to 8.58 Upgrade Tips for Success: A Comprehensive Guide to Modernizing Your PeopleSoft Environment
Upgrading PeopleTools is one of the most critical—and often challenging—initiatives for organizations running PeopleSoft on-premises. Skipping multiple versions, dealing with legacy customizations, and managing dependencies across upstream and downstream systems can turn a routine upgrade into a complex project with significant risks. If your organization is still on older versions, facing compliance issues, or struggling with outdated technologies like Crystal Reports, physical servers, or legacy databases, this session is for you.
This presentation offers a real-world case study of an intermodal and logistics giant that successfully upgraded from PeopleTools 8.53 to 8.58, along with practical strategies to help you plan and execute your own upgrade with confidence.

Key Highlights:


Business Use Case
Why upgrading PeopleTools is essential for compliance, security, and performance—and how it impacts your business processes.


Success Criteria
Define measurable outcomes for a successful upgrade, including improved efficiency, reduced risk, and enhanced functionality.


Risks and Mitigations
Learn how to identify potential pitfalls such as broken customizations, integration challenges, and performance issues—and strategies to mitigate them.


Project Governance
Explore governance frameworks that ensure stakeholder alignment, clear communication, and effective decision-making throughout the upgrade process.


Approach, Scope, and Timeline
Understand the methodology for planning and executing upgrades, including resource allocation, testing phases, and go-live readiness.


Deliverables and Best Practices
From environment setup to validation, discover the key deliverables and proven practices that lead to a smooth transition.



Why This Matters
Staying on outdated PeopleTools versions can lead to compliance risks, security vulnerabilities, and missed opportunities for innovation. Upgrading unlocks new features, improves system stability, and positions your organization for future enhancements like cloud integration and modern UI capabilities.

Learning Objectives

Understand the full scope of a PeopleTools upgrade project.
Learn how to manage customizations and integrations effectively.
Gain insights into governance, risk management, and testing strategies.
Explore real-world lessons learned from a successful upgrade.


👉 Download the full presentation and learn more here:
https://www.datavail.com/resources/peopletools-8-53-to-8-58-upgrade-tips-success/

1. PeopleTools 8.53
to 8.58 Upgrade
Tips for Success
Peoplesoft RECONNECT ’22
October 10 -October 13, 2022

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A
Our
Goal
Business Use Case
Success Criteria
Risks and Mitigations
Project Governance
Approach, Scope, Timeline
Deliverables
Q&A
Review how an
intermodal and logistics
giant took on this complex
technical upgrade when
migrating from
PeopleTools8.53 to 8.58.

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Solution Assessment
An intermodal and logistics giant was given the mandate to stay compliant on all their applications and infrastructure. Thiswas due primarily to the fact that
they provided intermodal shipping and logistics for both private organizations as well as government instructions, and the current state of these systems were
vulnerable. The client was not in a position to upgrade PS to 9.2, therefore PT 8.58 is the latest supported version for PS 9.1.
Use Case Considerations
Assessment Details –Current State
Current Versions: Peoplesoft 9.1 / PeopleTools8.53
Authentication: Native
Database Version: Oracle 11g (8 databases)
Windows Server: Windows 2008 (Physical)
Complier: Micro Focus Net Express
Reports: Crystal Reports
Assess & Discover Plan Migrate Optimize
Security
Performance
User
Experience and
Moral
Compliance
Assessment Outcomes –Desired State
Desired Versions: Peoplesoft 9.1 / PeopleTools8.58
Authentication: Native
Database Version: Oracle 19c (8 databases)
Windows Server: Windows 2019 (Virtual)
Complier: Micro Focus Visual Cobol 6.0.0.0
Reports: BI Publisher

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Quality Through
Discipline and
Governance
Datavail’s Project Management
Office (PMO) is responsible for
applying our project
methodology, templates, and
status reporting to meet the
requirements for various
projects. We will provide
management of
communications (status reports,
weekly status meetings, and
issues list), scope change
control, work plans, issues
tracking, and tracking of
assumptions and decisions.
Project Reporting
Weekly Status
Daily Scrums
Steerco Reporting Decks
Communications Plan
and Schedule
Management
Risk Management –
Risk Registrar
Escalation
Management
Cost Management and
Change Management
Quality Assurance and Project Reporting

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Project Structure
Our proposed structure is a small highly seasoned and experienced team with
subject matter expertise pertaining to their domains
Client Steering
Committee
DV Executive
Sponsor
Solution Architect
and Technical Lead
SR DBA Report Developer
DV ERP Practice
Leader
Project Manager
Client Executive
Sponsor
Technical Lead TestersProject Manager IT Support
SecurityReport Developer
Change
Management Lead

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Success Criteria
Collaborative Approach (Shadow and Reverse Shadow)
2-in-the-box Project Management
Well defined Communications Plan and Escalation Plan
Experienced, US Based Consultants
5 Major Factors
•Windows Upgrade from 2008 to 2019
•Moving Servers from Physical to VM
•Oracle Database Upgrade to 19c –8 Oracle Databases
•Upgrade PeopleTools to 8.5.8
•Converting Crystal Reports to BI Publisher
Updated System Documentation
Seamless Cutover

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Possible risks discovered during this phase are:
1.Delivered FSCM 9.1 objects do not perform as
expected
2.Custom/customized FSCM 9.1 objects do not perform
as expected
3.Effort could go above estimate depending on
availability of resources
Mitigation: access to the Oracle Support Site for the Client
Support Identifier and access to available testing and
developer resources
Risk: Complications as a result of Customizations –
Objects, SubObjects, PeopleCode, Application
Packages, Application Engines, SQRs
Mitigation: Validation in the Sandbox Environment,
Navigate to Components & Pages, Test Processes and
Functionality
Risk: Cobol modules might not compile due to differences
in the version of Micro Focus Cobol
Mitigation: access to the Oracle Support Site for the Client
Support Identifier and access to available testing
resources
Risk: Delivered and Custom PeopleSoft Financials and
Supply Chain Management (FSCM) 9.1 objects do not
perform as expected
Mitigation: Ensure access to the Oracle Support Site for
the Client Support Identifier and access to available
testing resources
Risks & Mitigations

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Approach, Scope, and Timeline
M1 M2 M4 M5
Project Kick Off
Initiation and Onboarding
Pre-Requisites and Validation
Provision Servers, VM
Desktops, Security
Download and Install 12c and
19c RDBMS
Download and install 12c and
19c Client
Download and Install PT and
Micro Focus Visual Cobol
Compile PS Cobol Modules
Prepare SANDBOX –replicate
PROD to SANDBOX
Validate
Rinse and Repeat
DEVELOPMENT
Rinse and Repeat TEST
Validate
Test
Remediate
Crystal Reports to BI Pub
Conversion Continued
Handover, Final
Documentation, Project
Close Out
Upgrade PT to 8.59 in
SANDOBOX
Upgrade DB to 19c
Create SANDBOX environment
Validate SANDBOX
Deliver validated SANDBOX
environment to testing team
Test and remediate issues
Rinse and Repeat DEMO
environment
Validate
Test
Remediate
Crystal Reports to BI Pub
Conversion
M3
Reports Conversion Continued
Create VM Servers Win 2019
Rinse and Repeat for
PRODUCTION and DR
Validate
Test
Remediate
Training
PROD Cutover/Go live

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Deliverables
Detailed Project Plan
Pre-Requisites Documents
Requirements and Validation Document
DEMO Environment 9.1/8.58; Windows Server 2019 and Oracle 19c RDBMS
SANDBOX Environment 9.1/8.58; Windows Server 2019 and Oracle 19c
RDBMS
DEVELOPMENT Environment 9.1/8.58; Windows Server 2019 and Oracle
19c RDBMS
TEST Environment 9.1/8.58; Windows Server 2019 and Oracle 19c RDBMS
PROD Environment 9.1/8.58; Windows Server 2019 and Oracle 19c RDBMS
Crystal Reports to BI Publisher Conversion
Training
Technical Documentation
High Level Architecture Diagram

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Lessons
Learned
Review compatibility matrix for PS 9.1 or 9.2 to determine most advanced
version of PT that is supported on the platform
Customizations to database objects requires thorough examination
Place request for Windows Virtual Server well in advance of starting the
project
Micro Focus Visual Cobol licensing discussions should start in advance of
the project commencement
Crystal Reports conversion to BI Publisher should be rationalized for
efficiency
Bucketing reports in small, medium, and complex will ease the conversion
process
It’s a good practice conduct a “mock upgrade” to discover what
customizations need to be applied
Sys Audit, DDD Audit reveals condition of audit –should be run ahead of
project commencement to determine what issues need to be remediated

11. Q&A
THANK YOU