Coppin State University | Lift and Shift PeopleSoft to Oracle Cloud

The Challenges
The Solution
Results Delivered

Business

Aging and Retiring Workforce

Coppin needed to upgrade and integrate its PeopleSoft applications to make them efficient and easier to use. Being a leader in technology themselves, Coppin wanted to leverage Cloud technologies.

Risk of HCM 9.0 going out of support
Aging and retiring workforce
Attrition resulting in knowledge drain
The high cost of on-premise infrastructure

Technology

Maintaining Multiple Releases and Security Risks

The Coppin IT Team was supporting PeopleSoft applications across different releases which complicated their operational and support models. FSCM was on V9.2, and Portal (Interaction Hub) was on V9.1, whereas, HCM and CS were both on V9.0. HR users were lacking self-service capabilities which most other organizations were already using. Assistance was needed to upgrade to a modern environment that included a migration to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure:

Security and compliance risks associated with being on an unsupported PeopleSoft version
Inability to patch and update older versions of the software
Resource and skills challenges in-house to upgrade to PeopleSoft V9.2
HCM 9.0 application with legacy features and antiquated UI

Cloud

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure

By rapidly deploying a low-cost, high-performance architecture on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Astute Business Solutions accelerated Coppin's upgrade projects, with predictable costs and measurable outcomes.

Oracle Cloud Infrastructure for HCM and Portal Upgrades
Automated instance build, tear-down, cloning, and patching
Pre-Built PTF Test Library
FasTest Automation Tools

Consulting

Application Upgrades, Enhanced Workflows, and New Features

Astute Business Solutions implemented a rapid upgrade solution that not only included a technical upgrade, but also gave Coppin much needed upgrades including HCM Fluid UI Self Service, Fluid UI Home Pages for HR, Benefits, and Payroll, and enhanced AWE-based workflow capabilities. Astute helped Coppin understand and adopt new features in HCM V9.2 by conducting CFO workshops and fit-gap analyses to quantify and explain the value of the new features.

Fixed-fee accelerated PeopleSoft Upgrade Service using Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
Technical and Functional Upgrades including Fluid UI, AWE Workflow and HCM Self Service
Automated functional regression testing for V9.2 Upgrade using PeopleSoft Test Framework
Vanilla and custom-built PTF Tests and Shell Tests tailored to Coppin's code, configuration, and customization

Business

30% Reduction Costs

Coppin achieved its primary objectives of completing PeopleSoft projects on time with limited staff and resources and offering self-service capabilities in PeopleSoft HCM to its business users by utilizing Astute and OCI.

Fluid UI with HCM Self Service
On-Time On-Budget projects
30% reduction in HCM 9.2 Upgrade cost
Automated testing with PTF

Technology

Reduced the Efforts, Time, and Cost of In-house Projects

In spite of losing some of its senior staff to retirement and attrition, Coppin was able to successfully complete its PeopleSoft HCM 9.2 Upgrade and Interaction Hub (Portal) PUM Get Current Update projects on time. By avoiding traditional effort, cost, and time overheads of on-premise infrastructure for these projects and instead, focused on delivering business value with the latest Fluid UI, Workflow, and Self-Service capabilities.

Burst into Cloud for PeopleSoft projects and avoid on-premise infrastructure overheads
Reduce efforts, cost and time for PeopleSoft lifecycle management projects
Automate testing with FasTest and PeopleSoft Test Framework for HCM 9.2 Upgrade
1-click instance deployment, cloning, and refresh on OCI