The PeopleSoft Applications Portal has just been re-branded as the PeopleSoft Interaction Hub.  It's not just a name change, however.  As part of our ongoing efforts to deliver a richer user experience to PeopleSoft customers, Oracle/PeopleSoft is now offering an enhanced restricted use license (login required) of the PeopleSoft Interaction Hub free with PeopleTools.  This change extends the existing restricted use license to include the following additional capabilities:

• Dynamic Unified Navigation.  Enables customers to easily provide seamless, unified navigation among their entire PeopleSoft application portfolio.
• Site-wide branding.  Makes it easier to brand your ecosystem and provide a vivid, contemporary appearance for your applications.
  

These additions augment the capabilities provided in the previous restricted use license, which remain available: creation and use of collaborative workspaces, and pre-built collaborative services for use in related content.  (See the license notes (login required)for a complete list of everything that is granted with the PeopleTools license.)

PeopleSoft is moving to deliver a contemporary user experience for your applications users, and the this license change supports that direction.  In addition, the name change reflects our positioning of the PeopleSoft Interaction Hub as a primary means for unifying your PeopleSoft ecosystem, and providing a richer, web-site-based user experience rather than a pillared, application-based experience.

See this white paper to get an idea of some of the capabilities that you can employ with the PeopleSoft Interaction Hub to enhance the PeopleSoft user experience.  In addition, this red paper provides valuable 'how-to' guidance.  In the near future we will be producing a best practices guide for deployment.  In the mean time, the most recent release/feature pack of the PIH automates the setup of unified navigation with a Workcenter specifically supporting Unified Navigation. This Workcenter guides administrators through the setup process, and streamlines things.

So what should customers do if they still want to use the PeopleSoft Interaction Hub for traditional portal purposes?  Customers can employ the PIH's full capabilities such as multiple site deployment/management and content management, by buying the full, unrestricted license. We are continuing to enhance the product, and it remains part of Applications Unlimited, and we have some exciting features planned.