OracleAppsBlog

A day in the life of an Oracle Applications Consultant

Peoplesoft

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Connecticut State Governments integrated Financial, HR and Payroll System

I came across the Core CT site today and found it to be a site with a wealth of information relating to systems implementation.

According to the site:

Core-CT is the system that has replaced Connecticut state government’s core financial and administrative computer systems including central and agency accounting, accounts payable, payroll, time and attendance, worker’s compensation, personnel, and other legacy systems. For years before Core-CT was implemented, these systems were plagued by poor integration, redundant data entry, and time-wasting reconciliation. They were written in a number of different languages, resided on many platforms, and included numerous databases. This older technology was not adaptable to workflow and e-commerce.

The state’s central administrative agencies - the Office of the State Comptroller, the Departments of Administrative Services and Information Technology, and the Office of Policy and Management - banded together to undertake the transition to a new, integrated system encompassing virtually all major administrative functions and all executive-branch state agencies. The system uses enterprise resource planning (ERP) software to tie together all functions, using an integrated suite of software applications, a common database, and a unified technical architecture.

The Core-CT fact sheet outlines what modules and systems were implemented as follows:

Core-CT is Connecticut state government’s central financial and administrative computer system. Using PeopleSoft’s ERP suite, the system encompasses central and agency accounting functions, including modules for general ledger, purchasing, accounts payable, accounts receivable, billing, assets, and inventory, with projects and contracts scheduled to be implemented in 2006; as well as PeopleSoft’s Human Resource Management System, with modules for payroll, time and labor, human resources, and benefits. Core-CT covers all these functions for executive branch agencies, and some of its functions are also used by the Judicial Branch, the General Assembly, and state institutions of higher education. In addition, Core-CT uses PeopleSoft’s EPM ad-hoc reporting function to allow queries on its vast database.

Currently, the system uses PeopleSoft Financials version 8.4 but will be upgrading to version 8.8 around July 2006; HRMS uses PeopleSoft version 8.3 and will be upgrading to 8.9 around May 2006. Some 7,600 state workers use Core-CT. They pay the state’s bills in a $15.3 billion annual budget (fiscal year 2006), including the payroll for all state employees.

Launched in 2003, Core-CT is based at the Department of Information Technology’s East Hartford, CT office; it is managed jointly by the Office of the State Comptroller, the Department of Administrative Services, and DOIT; these agencies hold the statutory authority for the system’s functions.  Approximately 150 people work in the development and maintenance of Core-CT.

Other interesting areas of the site include the Presentation Library, Document Library and Chart of Accounts Documentation. I also thought the catalog of online financial reports provides a good example of how reports should be documented.

Friday, September 23, 2005

Oracle and Peoplesoft web site integration

Got a mail this morning from Judith Sim - Oracle Senior Vice President, informing me of changes to the Oracle.com web site.

According to the first section of the mail entitled Web Site Update:

With Oracle and PeopleSoft now operating as one company (except for operations in Japan), we’ve integrated our two Web sites, giving you a single view of the combined companies and making it easier for you to find relevant information online. We have made a number of improvements to Oracle.com, including streamlined navigation, such as a new A to Z product index to help users easily and quickly find details about all Oracle and PeopleSoft product and service offerings. We have also enhanced the quality and depth of information offered. For example, we have completely redesigned and augmented the Industry pages and expanded the section related to our Oracle Fusion Middleware offerings.

Enjoy checking out the updated sections which I’ve linked to above!

Sunday, August 14, 2005

A Better Learning Environment (ABLE) at Harvard University

This post discusses the Harvard University systems support site and the use of Oracle 11i and Peoplesoft at this institution.

A Better Learning Environment (ABLE) is a support site for users of Harvard Universities systems. More specifically, the site provides support for Financial Applications (Oracle), HR Applications (Peoplesoft), Reporting Applications (Financial and HR) and for Harvard’s Central Administration Staff.

The resources available at the site include: -

• Forms
• Policies
• Rates & Schedules
• Work Instructions & Processes

Of particular interest is the section on Chart of Accounts (CoA) which outlines the account structure they implemented at Harvard.

For Financial Applications Harvard runs Oracle eBS and you can read about their upgrade to 11i from 11.0.3 in January 2003 here. According to the newsletter the upgrade introduced a new look and feel, new login techniques, and a new method of navigation for Web Voucher, General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Budget Tool, AWS2, HUDINI, and Applications Administration.

In November 2004 the University upgraded from 11.5.5 to 11.5.9 which you can read about here.

The Universities Administrative Systems e-news is an interesting insight into how ERP systems are run and maintained. According to the site:

The Office of Human Resources publishes a semimonthly electronic newsletter for users of University financial, HR, and reporting systems, policies, and procedures. It contains:

• Updates on projects underway to build or improve University administrative systems
• Information about new University financial, HR, and reporting policies, procedures, and forms
• Reminders about upcoming deadlines and cutover dates
• Tips and tricks for working more easily or productively

On the e-news site you will also find back issues of the publication as well as a useful index by topic.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

ERP Software Comparison - Oracle, SAP, Peoplesoft, Microsoft and Siebel

An article entitled ERP Packages Feature Comparison by Elisabeth Rainier of the ITtoolbox blog New Trends & Techniques in Managing CRM & SAP Projects, provides a useful comparison of the following ERP systems: -

• Microsoft Great Plains version 7.5 and previews of Microsoft Great Plains version 8.0
• Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.9
• PeopleSoft Enterprise 8.8 and 8.9 and EnterpriseOne 8.11
• SAP mySAP Business Suite R/3 4.6 and SAP R/3 Enterprise 4.7
• Siebel 7.5 and Siebel 7.7

For the players and software versions mentioned above, you’ll find a study which provides a comparative, multi-vendor assessment across the three major phases of the application lifecycle: implementation, application usage, and ongoing support and maintenance.

I haven’t come across many ERP software comparisons on the web so if anyone else knows of other comparisons available online please add your comments and links to this post.

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Project Fusion at Peoplesoft Planet

The Oracle and Peoplesoft planet is an informative site I came across the other day.

The site has 5 useful sections, namely: -

1. About Peoplesoft - includes a Q&A
2. Tools and Training
3. Consulting
4. Jobs
5. Other Links

They also have a page on Project Fusion which has their opinions as to how Oracle can make Project Fusion a success. The main points look something like this: -

• Keep or enhance the PeopleSoft GUI
• Keep it simple
• Three letters: A S P (Application Service Provider)
• Security Integration is key
• Create unbeatable integration
• Drop the price