Post by gatormom on May 25, 2007 11:38:53 GMT -6
Briefs: Districts unite to save
Daily Herald 5/25
Naperville Unit District 203 and Indian Prairie Unit District 204 are partnering to purchase human resources and finance systems from Lawson Software, officials announced. By working together, the districts are saving more than $800,000 in combined initial costs. District 203 reported its initial costs for the new software will be just less than $795,000. District 204 will spend about $889,000.
From the district web site:
District Site Only
Date/Time: 5/22/2007
Indian Prairie School District 204, in partnership with Naperville District 203, recently evaluated six Finance and Human Resource systems, selecting two systems for in-depth reviews. The reviews were conducted over two days with each vendor. Vendors demonstrated their systems to members of the Business Office, Human Resources and Technology Departments, presenting all aspects of the systems’ function.
By partnering with each other to achieve efficiencies, Districts 204 and 203 saved a combined total of some $850,000 in initial installation costs for the system, including training.
“Faced with scarce resources, evolving regulations and demands for greater transparency, many school districts are adopting a shared services approach to support their administrative needs,” said Brian Murphy, vice president, Public Services, Lawson Software. “Our consortium-buying model helps districts acquire the sophisticated business software they need at a fraction of the cost while helping to reduce risks typically associated with large IT projects.”
District 204 Assistant Superintendent for Business David Holm spearheaded the committee's review and evaluation of the systems along with Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Nancy Pedersen.
From the six reviews, District 204 and 203 administrators selected Lawson Software as the system that best provides the following features that will serve the districts well, both now and in the future:
• Customized real-time data is readily available, including budgets, teacher credentials, requisitions, etc.
• Quick access to supporting information behind a line item, down to the lowest level of detail.
• Self-service for employees to manage tasks such as updating personnel data and enrolling in benefits, which will automatically generate the appropriate payroll deduction.
• Allows each District to configure the software to maximize the flow of information between people. This feature will allow the Business Office, Human Resources and Technology to examine existing work flows and look for greater efficiency in the transfer of information throughout the District.
Both District 204 and 203 have agreed to ask Lawson to host the Finance and Human Resources System at IBM’s Data Center. The outside Data Center solution has the following advantages:
• Service Level Agreement with 99.7 percent up-time on a 24/7 basis
• 24/7 technical support
• Hardware and application maintenance provided by IBM
• Additional school districts can be added to the District 203/204 consortium, without interrupting operations. Adding districts would possibly reduce participating districts’ cost of operation.
The purchase cost (including first-year maintenance) for District 204 is estimated at $889,397. The pricing is based on a conservative estimate of combined training and implementation between the two districts. This cost will be paid by District 204 over a 5-year period.
Daily Herald 5/25
Naperville Unit District 203 and Indian Prairie Unit District 204 are partnering to purchase human resources and finance systems from Lawson Software, officials announced. By working together, the districts are saving more than $800,000 in combined initial costs. District 203 reported its initial costs for the new software will be just less than $795,000. District 204 will spend about $889,000.
From the district web site:
District Site Only
Date/Time: 5/22/2007
Indian Prairie School District 204, in partnership with Naperville District 203, recently evaluated six Finance and Human Resource systems, selecting two systems for in-depth reviews. The reviews were conducted over two days with each vendor. Vendors demonstrated their systems to members of the Business Office, Human Resources and Technology Departments, presenting all aspects of the systems’ function.
By partnering with each other to achieve efficiencies, Districts 204 and 203 saved a combined total of some $850,000 in initial installation costs for the system, including training.
“Faced with scarce resources, evolving regulations and demands for greater transparency, many school districts are adopting a shared services approach to support their administrative needs,” said Brian Murphy, vice president, Public Services, Lawson Software. “Our consortium-buying model helps districts acquire the sophisticated business software they need at a fraction of the cost while helping to reduce risks typically associated with large IT projects.”
District 204 Assistant Superintendent for Business David Holm spearheaded the committee's review and evaluation of the systems along with Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources Nancy Pedersen.
From the six reviews, District 204 and 203 administrators selected Lawson Software as the system that best provides the following features that will serve the districts well, both now and in the future:
• Customized real-time data is readily available, including budgets, teacher credentials, requisitions, etc.
• Quick access to supporting information behind a line item, down to the lowest level of detail.
• Self-service for employees to manage tasks such as updating personnel data and enrolling in benefits, which will automatically generate the appropriate payroll deduction.
• Allows each District to configure the software to maximize the flow of information between people. This feature will allow the Business Office, Human Resources and Technology to examine existing work flows and look for greater efficiency in the transfer of information throughout the District.
Both District 204 and 203 have agreed to ask Lawson to host the Finance and Human Resources System at IBM’s Data Center. The outside Data Center solution has the following advantages:
• Service Level Agreement with 99.7 percent up-time on a 24/7 basis
• 24/7 technical support
• Hardware and application maintenance provided by IBM
• Additional school districts can be added to the District 203/204 consortium, without interrupting operations. Adding districts would possibly reduce participating districts’ cost of operation.
The purchase cost (including first-year maintenance) for District 204 is estimated at $889,397. The pricing is based on a conservative estimate of combined training and implementation between the two districts. This cost will be paid by District 204 over a 5-year period.