GT Lunch & Learn: Applying PeopleSoft PUM Images & CPUs with Minimal Downtime

Join John Marcus, Principal System Engineer at Gideon Taylor, as he shares expert strategies for maintaining PeopleSoft environments efficiently. This session, originally presented at the Blueprint 4D conference, covers proven methods to apply PeopleSoft Update Manager (PUM) images and Critical Patch Updates (CPUs) with minimal downtime, greater confidence, and reduced risk. Learn how to optimize your PeopleSoft architecture for continuous maintenance, leverage automation and containerization, and develop a sustainable maintenance plan that works for your organization. KEY TOPICS COVERED Understanding maintenance requirements across different PeopleSoft lifecycle stages Architecting PeopleSoft environments for optimal maintainability Modern deployment patterns: decoupled homes, disposable environments, and containerization Managing customizations and modifications to reduce maintenance complexity Building competent cross-functional maintenance teams Creating sustainable quarterly maintenance schedules Leveraging automation with Ansible and Oracle Linux Automation Manager Implementing containerization with Kubernetes for PeopleSoft workloads Disaster recovery planning and rollback strategies Real-world example: patching 70+ environments in one day with three people Handling emergency maintenance and security patches (CVE response) TIMESTAMPS 00:11 - Introduction and Welcome 03:46 - Session Begins: John Marcus Introduction 04:45 - Defining Maintenance for Your Environment Lifecycle 07:14 - Preparing Your Environment for Maintenance 11:01 - Modern Deployment Patterns and Architecture 15:47 - Managing Customizations and Modifications 16:16 - Understanding the PeopleSoft Layered Architecture 18:10 - The Competent Maintainer: Skills and Teams 21:25 - How Often Should You Do Maintenance? 26:42 - Sample Quarterly Maintenance Plan 29:42 - Embracing Calculated Risk in Maintenance 35:38 - Automation and Containerization Deep Dive 38:02 - What Are Automation and Containerization? 40:53 - How to Leverage These Tools 44:00 - What Happens When Something Goes Wrong? 47:27 - Disaster Recovery and Maintenance Planning 50:31 - Unexpected Gotchas and Post-Maintenance Validation 51:23 - Q&A Session Whether you're struggling with maintenance fatigue, dealing with legacy architecture, or looking to modernize your PeopleSoft operations, this session provides actionable insights you can implement immediately. Discover how proper architecture and modern tooling can transform PeopleSoft maintenance from a dreaded task into a streamlined, repeatable process. Learn more about Gideon Taylor's PeopleSoft services, GT eForms, IDA Digital Assistant, and Web UX solutions at https://www.gideontaylor.com Subscribe for more PeopleSoft tips, best practices, and monthly Lunch & Learn sessions! #PeopleSoft #OracleCloud #PeopleSoftMaintenance #PUM #Kubernetes #Automation #EnterpriseArchitecture #CloudComputing #DisasterRecovery #ITOperations #OracleERP #SystemAdministration #DevOps #Containerization #PeopleSoftAdmin