Oracle Cloud 25A Release Notes: What’s New?

Oracle's 25A release, the first update of 2025, is here! Packed with enhanced functionality, strengthened security, and cutting-edge system upgrades. This blog covers what new features to expect in Oracle Cloud 25A release and how it can benefit you. We'll break down the key features concisely, so you can get the most out of your upgrade.

As an official Oracle test automation partner, Opkey is here to guide and empower you with a smooth update process. This blog explores the new features and benefits that are coming with the 25A Oracle Cloud quarterly updates. We'll also emphasize why robust testing is crucial for the seamless rollout of Oracle updates and how Opkey can help you with that.  Let's dive in!

Explore our concise advisory, designed to provide quick, functional, and technical insights into the latest Oracle Cloud 25A release.

‍Financials Module

What’s New in the Financials Module (FIN)?

• Lockbox processing creates adjustment entries for underpaid receipts using tolerance limit, match payment with invoice Auto Cash rule, and Receipt Application Exception Rule for automatic adjustments.

• The batch-based intercompany transactions can be converted into the General Ledger or Receivables and Payables for invoicing, using country or region-specific rate types.

Key Benefits of These Changes

• The Tolerance Limit, Auto Cash rule, and Receipt Application Exception Rule enhance efficiency, reduce manual errors, and streamline the reconciliation of customer payments. This automation minimizes manual intervention in the payment application process.

• Automating the conversion of batch-based intercompany transactions into the General Ledger (GL) or Receivables and Payables reduces manual effort and errors. Users can now handle large volumes of transactions more efficiently.

• Country or region-specific rate types ensure accurate currency conversion for intercompany transactions, avoiding discrepancies, ensuring that financial records comply with international and local laws, reducing the risk of audits or penalties.

Human Capital Management Module

What’s New in Human Capital Management (HCM)?

• A new AI Agent Task Type in guided journeys enables employees to interact directly with the AI platform. For example, managers can query promotion policies for specific employee grades.

• Line Managers and HR Specialists can use Generative AI to quickly create journeys and tasks, such as onboarding journeys. AI suggestions streamline task creation for new or existing journeys, available exclusively in the Redwood experience.

• Configure absence plans to forfeit balances on loss of eligibility, legal transfer, or termination using the new Forfeit Positive Balance checkbox in the Balance Disposition Rules section.

Key Benefits of These Changes

• The new AI Agent Task Type enhances user productivity as employees can directly interact with the AI platform for instant, accurate answers.  

• Leveraging Generative AI, Line Managers and HR Specialists can quickly create and customize onboarding journeys and tasks. This saves time, ensures consistency, and enhances user experience.

• Forfeit Positive Balance checkbox enables users to automatically forfeit unused absence balances when employees lose eligibility, undergo a legal transfer, or terminate to ensure compliance and reduce manual adjustments.

Supply Chain Management Module

What’s New in Supply Chain Management (SCM)?

• Approvers can now review the summary of products and services being ordered without browsing through all the order lines.  

• Inactivate Suppliers process now includes inactivation of supplier contacts and user accounts, eliminating the need for manual inactivation, saving time and resources.  

• While creating negotiation in the Requirements section, users can use AI Assist to generate a set of relevant requirements using key details like negotiation type, title, line categories, and requirement section name.

Key Benefits of These Changes

• A summary of products and services in an order saves time, improves decision-making efficiency, and enhances the approval process.

• The enhanced Inactivate Suppliers process now automatically inactivates supplier contacts and user accounts, eliminating manual effort.  

• AI Assist streamlines the negotiation creation process while saving time, ensuring completeness, and enhancing accuracy.

Redwood Experience

What’s New in Redwood Experience?

• Redwood Jobs, Locations, and Departments pages now support filtering extensible flexfield (EFF) and descriptive flexfield (DFF) values based on configured parameters.

• The Redwood Document Type and Document Records pages now feature an upgraded rich text editor with advanced formatting options.

• Description for Document Types

• Issuing Comments for Document Records

• The Redwood Document Type page now features simplified input widgets by replacing radio buttons with List of Values (LoVs) for options like:

• Approval Required

• Allow Multiple Occurrences

• Publish Required

• Restrict Create, Update, and Delete

Key Benefits of These Changes

• Users can view context-relevant data, such as filtering "Active Positions" on the Jobs page by the Effective Start Date, ensuring accurate information retrieval.

• A rich text editor with advanced formatting enhances flexibility for detailed Document Type descriptions and improves clarity in Issuing Comments.

• Simplified input widgets will reduce errors in configuration settings by offering predefined choices for streamlined selection.

Learn how The Plains All American Pipeline reduced testing and validation report turnaround time from weeks to a single day with Opkey.

What Are the New Technical Updates in Oracle 25A Release?

Human Capital Management

• Audit Salary Deletes Happening Indirectly: Employment termination done in the app or using HCM Data Loader or REST services.

• Transactional Business Intelligence for Oracle recruiting cloud: Oracle Transactional Business Intelligence is a real-time, self-service reporting tool for Oracle Cloud users, enabling the creation of ad hoc reports for daily decision-making. It provides HR managers, business executives, and line managers with key workforce data to analyze costs, staffing, compensation, performance, talent management, and employee benefits.

• OTBI Support for Manager Comments for Talent Rating: Managers and facilitators can now generate reports on comments entered with ratings on the Prepare Review Content page. Using the Reviewee Talent Data folder in the Workforce Talent Review - Talent Review Meeting Real Time subject area, you can add attributes to view comments for various talent ratings.

Supply Chain & Manufacturing

• Collaboration Messaging Framework: You can now send B2B messages to your trading partners directly using a REST resource. A new delivery method type, REST Web Service, is available for use with trading partners and service providers.

• Integrate and Extend Procurement Using REST Resources: Oracle Fusion Cloud Procurement and Oracle Fusion Cloud Self Service Procurement now feature new and updated REST resources to streamline integration with external systems.

Financials

• Collaboration Messaging Framework: The Create Receipts Using Spreadsheet ADFdi feature allows you to upload descriptive flexfield values for cash receipts efficiently. This process minimizes manual effort by enabling the entry and update of flexfield values during receipt creation.

• Program Management and Reporting: Program managers can now report on program details using descriptive flexfields in OTBI. This feature allows for the creation of comprehensive reports on program-related information, empowering managers to make better-informed decisions.

Opkey for Oracle Cloud 25A Update Testing

As an Oracle testing partner and #1 rated app in the Oracle Cloud Marketplace, Opkey helps businesses validate new releases seamlessly with AI-enabled testing features that unlock the full potential of your Oracle environment.  

Opkey reduces test cycles and helps you to achieve improved risk coverage with the power of no-code test automation.

Learn more: A Practical Guide to Testing Oracle Cloud Updates

How do we cut quarterly update times down to only three days? The answer lies in 7,000+ pre-built Oracle Cloud test cases and a real time Impact Analysis report. These allow you to reduce testing efforts by 80% or more. Opkey's test automation capabilities ensure thorough testing of Oracle releases for functionality, security, and performance.