Back on Top in the Technology Game

Imagine falling farther and farther behind in the race to keep up with technology. Well now, we’re back in front of the pack thanks to the Oracle Upgrade Program.     

It took two years, $34 million and the help of everyone from clerks to the top brass in the CAO’s Office to make it happen. So what, you say? If you work with Oracle EBS Financials as part of your job, you know it is the financial tool for the County. If you don’t, Oracle EBS Financials allows the County to keep track of what it buys, how much money comes in, how much money goes out, what we own, how much it’s worth, well, you get the picture.

 In 2010, our Oracle system was so antiquated that it was no longer supported. In other words, if you had a problem with it, Oracle couldn’t help you. Schools weren’t even teaching the version we were using.

How did we fall behind? Several reasons: The current business system was phased in little by little and after that Kronos and PeopleSoft were upgraded. It took three tries to get a contract to update the business system. 

Eric Shiotsugu, Chief ERP Manager from the Auditor and Controller’s Office, put it this way. “We were on Oracle e-business 11.5.7. They (Oracle) went from 11.5.7 to 12.1.3. So we were so far behind, they stopped providing us updates.”

 The County decided to take a huge leap by upgrading to version 12.1.3 and on top of that, add two completely new applications, Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Business Intelligence also known as the ERP Data Warehouse.    

Fusion Middleware allows the County to buy applications off the shelf and then add our own customizations and also talk between other applications.  Eric and the rest of our technology staff are excited about that: It’s the wave of the future.  Oracle is taking all its applications to Fusion applications and this will give the County the foundation to allow the transition.  

Oracle Business Intelligence or the Data Warehouse is just that, a warehouse of information. It compiles information from different sources like Kronos, BRASS, Oracle EBS and PeopleSoft. Before the upgrade, reports had to be cobbled from each financial program and then cut and pasted together. The Warehouse tool will change all that with the ultimate goal of allowing users to do statistical and analytical reporting, which they couldn’t do before. 

“Right now, if you’re a finance person, you have to know Oracle Financials, Discover, Web Focus, Brass, and PeopleSoft,” said Shiotsugu. He wants to boil it all down so you only have to learn one system. The Data Warehouse provides the first step toward reaching that goal.

 Eric and his staff knew that getting all three programs up and running was going to take a huge commitment in resources and time, plus a great amount of luck. After months of detailed preparations, County staff members, the County’s IT provider Hewlett Packard and Oracle were ready to go, but the County Oracle system would have to shut down and not just for a few hours, or even a few days, but for a total of ten days.

For comparison, PeopleSoft took two days, Kronos needed four days. This time, the County was doing everything in one shot.  “We were the first County to do it all at one time,” said Shiotsugu. “If I’m not mistaken, we were Oracle’s largest local government contract for upgrade in the country.”

The 10-day cutover plan was mapped out to the nth degree. It would take about 100 people to carry it out. Preparation was key. The target dates to go live? The end of November.

Preparing for this big project took a personal toll too. As the man in charge of the cutover, Shiotsugu ignored what he thought was a minor cold. That is, until he blacked out during a meeting. At the hospital, he discovered he was actually suffering from pneumonia. Doctors fixed him up and he returned to work.

The cutover began and everyone gave their all to make it a success. The stress level was high but Shiotsugu said no one complained. People worked until ten at night, two in the morning, even four in the morning. But Shiotsugu said everyone wanted to do it. The result? They pulled it off.

Were there bumps in the road? Absolutely. But that was expected. Most issues have been fixed and as a precaution, the Oracle Project team will remain onsite through mid-February. 

You may not see much of a difference yet and the public might not either, but Shiotsugu says we now have the foundation for a system that can be upgraded without starting from scratch, which will save money in the future.

“To have a five billion dollar organization on an antiquated financial system was scary. You do not want to be at risk like that,” said Shiotsugu. “Compared to other public entities I think we’re on the leading edge now as far as the newest technology.”  

The County is back on top when it comes to technology and the best part? The Oracle Upgrade Program came in on time and on budget. You can’t beat that!