The state of the art of ERPs is about to take huge leap forward from turn-of-the-century, on-site, single-instance, full-featured ERPs to—well, that’s the question. Where are ERPs headed?
Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERPs) that include Student Information Systems (SISs) were heavily implemented over the past decade or so. ERPs are the predominant means by which student records are administered in higher education.
But the landscape upon which these systems are built is shifting (e.g. SaaS, multitenancy, data analytics, etc.) and as business needs change (CBE, Comprehensive Student Records, Interoperability, Integrated Planning and Advising Systems (IPAS), etc.), so does dependency on our applications and systems.
The big questions
“Here’s the conundrum,” said Mark McConahay, Associate Vice Provost and Registrar, Indiana University, and Director, AACRAO Technology and Transfer Conference. “For those who have adopted ERPs and have been operating it for ten or twelve years—what’s the next step? Where are we headed in terms of platform development for taking full advantage of the kinds of features available to us? What is in the cloud? How can I bolt on various other “best of breed” types of systems to support new and better practices on behalf of the institution?
For example, learning management systems, student success systems, and advising, appointment and queuing systems can or should be interoperable with ERPs. And those ERPs should take advantage of features in the cloud, enable data mining and allow seamless interaction with mobile computing appliances so institutions not only get the best value in computer services but also an improved user experience.
“Not only do I want to take advantage of the cloud, but I want students to be able to consume it on their iPhones.” McConahay said. “These shouldn’t be mutually exclusive, and I shouldn’t have to invest a lot to make happen.”
Hear from the providers
The major ERP vendors have big ideas when it comes to the future of the ERP. Some emphasize the potential to leverage data analytics at the point of service, some are locally-hosted while others are in the cloud, and some support multi-tenant environments. So what does this all mean to us who have to support the instructional mission of our campus? “How do we differentiate among the vendors?” McConahay asked “Beyond price, why should a school choose one or the other?”
It’s a big question, because there’s an opportunity cost if you make the wrong choice.
“If you don’t understand the features and functions and differences in platforms between vendors, you may make the wrong choice when a fit with another vendor would have served you much better,” McConahay said. “Rapid changes in technology are manifesting themselves in ERPs. All ERPs are able to maintain student records, enroll students, create transcrips, and so forth. The question is this: what will the platform allow us to do, beyond record keeping and system of record function?”
Three major SIS providers—Oracle, Ellucian, and Workday—will join the 2016 AACRAO Technology and Transfer Conference for a special plenary devoted to the Future of the ERP. This plenary is part of a packed ERP track that includes an institutional panel and other issue-framing sessions.
Register for the conference by June 10 to take advantage of early bird fees.