The strategic plan recognizes that the quality of the University's administrative services and information systems must support its strategic vision. The University's strategic vision cannot be met with current administrative systems or processes. The University now supports 24 core information systems and 26 programming languages. This is in addition to more than 120 shadow and supplemental systems throughout the University. Many of the systems and the business practices they support are twenty to thirty years old.
Replacement is past due in some cases, and the risk of system failure in others increases with time.
In 1994 the University began modifying its processes, policies and procedures as part of its new Process Simplification initiative. This effort has been hampered by the current technology base, which cannot accommodate the technological requirements of many best business practices. In 1996, a three-year process was begun through which the University community determined that the University should purchase and implement a group of integrated software applications and solicited proposals from software and consulting companies. Oracle has been awarded a contract for the software applications. Their experience in the higher education arena and their product depth in the area of grants management were critical factors.