COVER STORY: Enterprise Systems: Risky Business?

ERP software partnership is essential to the operation of the campus today. That risks, rely on these partners to be true, but we can manage.

Jay spent a lot of Dominica, 10, CIO, the Forestry University (NC) to deal with dust from the companys action was far beyond his Control. First, two-way technology, provided by the company after the financial forest software, bought a much larger company SunGard (www.sungardbi - tech.com) In 1995. As a result of this acquisition, with the forest setting in motion switch PeopleSofts (www.peoplesoft.com) financial and human resources system, then Soon.

Then, in the autumn of 2001, Hewlett-Packard (www.hp.com) suddenly announced the support of computers and operating systems, forests applications, but the final in 2006. Therefore, the decision of the University of moved all of its systems, including new PeopleSoft financial and human resources resources applications to the banner of teaching in small classes (www . sctbanner.com).

but just after the signing of the banner of the forest, the contract in July 2003, the Education Department to focus on high teaching in small classes, access is now a huge The international company SunGard companies. Circle is quite complete, in addition to that, about the same time, Oracle (www.oracle.com) , move it to buy PeopleSoft . This means that even if the wake-up call for forest stay in this company, the University will face the uncertainties another kind of transition.

the other side of the country, despite the very moment, Oracle is the its PeopleSoft acquisition, maricopa County Community College District (a To z) is immersed in 10 colleges of the implementation of PeopleSoft. "Some worry about our customers, our students System project has just become instant legacy systems, said:" darrel huish, who is the Vice-Chancellor To information technology in the maricopa.

11 steps to self-protectprove safetygo market shareconsider basereconcile complexity of the client and supplier directionweigh changeinfluence industry and the influence of the higher education department shareassess market, Shareconsider higher and the market community education department softwarefind partners in the community, software worldcover other means to reduce risk riskput merger into the background the worlds annexation changes in mergers and acquisitions, corporate priorities, these Are reality in the business world, and they recently affected almost every suppliers for the supply of higher education. However, veterans, Dominica and huish learned how to position their bodies ride out the storm after storm enterprises turbulence , In the relatively safe. They and other companies of the CIO Parisians have learned how to select safe partners, how to structure the relationship with their co-operation Partners, in order to reduce risk, how to run the affairs of their institutions such a way insulation, from sudden change in the suppliers side .