At RECONNECT 20, co-founder and Managing Partner at MIPRO Consulting, Jeff Micallef, presented the MIPRO approach for improving usability and migrating PeopleSoft into the Cloud. He and fellow MIPRO executives Larry Zagata, Rob Mowid, and Craig Oliver introduced MIPRO, described the State of Oklahoma’s – specifically its Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES)’s – move to the Cloud, and demonstrated how to improve your user’s experience.

About MIPRO

MIPRO is a dedicated PeopleSoft consultancy. Formed in 2005 by former PeopleSoft executives, MIPRO boasts a reputation for integrity, candor, and customer focus. You can rely on MIPRO as experts in optimizations, upgrades, and implementations.

Past customer projects include:

• Optimizations assessments and engagements
• Improving the user experience with Fluid
• PUM updates and managed services
• FMS, SCM, HCM, and Lease Administration
• Acquisition company mergers

State of Oklahoma: Migrating PeopleSoft to the Cloud

The State of Oklahoma was running PeopleSoft 9.2 PUM 5 when they saw the need and the opportunity to move to the Cloud. Initially, Oklahoma was running PeopleSoft “as is.” Below is an overview of their prior environment.

At the start of the project, some of the departments and agencies were not actually on PeopleSoft. Part of the challenge was moving from PUM 5 to the current PUM 33. The other main focus would be to set up an infrastructure to bring all agencies into PeopleSoft.

The State of Oklahoma’s drive to change emerged from several factors, as quoted below:

The state of Oklahoma is performing many manual process activities, such as duplicate data entry, reporting, and integration between systems, which consume many man hours. The software and hardware at the State of Oklahoma are composed of disparate software and multiple versions of the same software, such as MS Access that are not compatible with one another. In addition, both hardware and software have components that are no longer supported by the vendors. Legacy systems create challenges with support as well as a continuous technical debt and skills. This provides a path for OMES to migrate all other agencies to the latest PeopleSoft version.

Essentially, standardization would lead to statewide adoption.

How State of Oklahoma OMES Adopted New Technology

The process of adopting new technology followed this approach:

1. Clearly delineate business requirements
2. Choose the technology that bet matches requirements
3. Determine gaps in technology’s fit versus content business processes
   1. Where there is a gap…
      1. Eliminate the process if it’s not necessary
      2. Adapt the process to fit the technology “out of the box”
      3. Identify a technology configuration option to accommodate the process
      4. As a last resort, customize the technology to accommodate the process

Several items were of extreme importance for a successful project. MIPRO ensured that the right people, deliverables, weekly cadence, and transparency were in place for open communication and same-page consistency. This prevented delays and encouraged persistent progress. The project governance model is displayed below.

Below are the modules that the state was running, and the new modules purchased for the purpose of the project.

The value of Oklahoma’s move from PeopleSoft to Oracle Cloud can be simplified to four main benefits, built around OMES maintaining PeopleSoft control:

• Dev/Test in the Cloud
  • Test customizations and new app versions
  • Validate patches
  • Test Cloud-native technologies and frameworks, like containers and CI/CD
• Backup & DR in the Cloud
  • Oracle Data Guard for data protection, DR
  • Familiar tooling enables fasters setup of DR environment
  • Integrated object storage for backup and archive
• Production in the Cloud
  • Easily launch images for Oracle apps from within the OCI console
  • Utilize bare metal for consistency and industry-leading price/performance
  • Use multiple availability domains, load balancing and RAC for HA
• Extend Data Center to the Cloud
  • Connect on-premises data center to Cloud using VPN or FastConnect
  • Choice of deployment options for hybrid environments

For Oklahoma, the increased pace of innovation ties into the state’s goals for expansion. A key aspect of Oklahoma’s move was that of de-customization. The organization had customizations pervasively woven throughout the application. The move to OCI with updated PUM included a directive from the CIO stating they would not modify software unless it was absolutely necessary. There was a specific list of steps to take before considering customization.

In considering a move, the Cloud offers the ability to scale up as necessary, and not in one giant inefficient leap. You can pay for what you need instead of predicting your need in advance.

Furthermore, as part of the governance model, the state did not want to lose any of the institutional knowledge they had as they transitioned their traditional structure to OCI. There was a collaborative approach for knowledge transfer. This included explicit planning, joint plan development, clear roles and mentorship, and across-the-board participation. The idea of having Oracle manage the underlying infrastructure was most attractive to the state of Oklahoma.

As of November, Oracle and the state of Oklahoma will each be able to focus on what they do best. This is the picture of responsibilities:

Key Takeaway

MIPRO is an excellent PeopleSoft partner for the purpose of improving usability and making the move to the Cloud. Trusted for 15 years, the company’s reputation for customer success stories precedes them. With services ranging from optimization assessments to PUM updates and management to acquisition company mergers, MIPRO is ready to help you take your next steps. If those steps are into the Cloud, you can expect clear communication and an overall enhanced user experience. Learn more at https://miproconsulting.com.