Technology & Learning - January 2008 - (Page 23)

for Proposals, or RFPs, and the contracts that follow. And that’s where consultants like Empower Solutions, the firm that oversaw San Diego’s ERP implementation, and Capital Principles, also known as CP Assure, come in. CP Assure oversaw the recent ERP project in Fulton County, which came in both under budget and ahead of time (see “ERP That Works: Fulton County, Georgia,” page 22), thanks to careful crafting of vendor-client agreements. What’s written into the contracts are specific timeframes with penalties should either side fail to meet its obligation. “The likelihood of going over budget really depends on how you set up your RFP,” says Bradford, whose CP Assure remains neutral during the course of the project, reporting to neither school administrators nor vendors (Fulton purchased SAP) but to the county. “You have to affix some kind of time horizon. You write it right into the contract. The client has a ticking clock going while making decisions on issues that come up as the contract is implemented.” That way, the project stays on track— and on budget. Real concerns remain Security concerns continue to be an obstacle to the adoption of ERP systems, as district leaders remain reluctant to hand over sensitive student information and confidential test scores to a centralized-database business system. But problems aren’t limited to Web portal vulnerabilities. Considering the fact that 3 to 6 percent of corporate revenue is lost each year due to fraud, with additional losses through duplicate payments and employee malfeasance, ERP systems have a long way to go before their security is failsafe. In fact, it’s the misappropriation of budgets or unauthorized spending (by authorized users!) that seem to be causing the most damage to ERP’s reputation. With real security concerns, significant expense, and the need for leadership, ERP is an imperfect solution. However, with districts increasingly shouldering data burdens similar to their private sector counterparts, it makes sense that the organization and efficiency offered by ERP systems might be well worth the investment in the long run. Melissa Houston is managing editor at T&L. Patrick Goggins is an intern for T&L. http://hammer.net http://hammer.net

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technology & Learning - January 2008

Technology & Learning - January 2008 Contents Editor's Desk News & Trends Product Guide Reviews Cover Story: Ten Top Tech Trends ERP Makes a Comeback Tossing Out Textbooks LOY Profile Series Higher Ed How To Bottom Line What's New Emerging Tech

Technology & Learning - January 2008

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