Cambridge Technology Partners Proves Success of Fixed-Time/Fixed-Price Model for Large, Integrated ERP Deployments

Business Wire, Nov 9, 1998

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 9, 1998--

Business case-driven approach key to rapid delivery of integrated

PeopleSoft Financials, Student Administration and HRMS at TCU

Cambridge Technology Partners (Massachusetts), Inc. (NASDAQ:CATP) (Cambridge), an international management consulting and systems integration firm with a specialty service for ERP deployment, today announced the successful completion of a fixed-time/fixed-price integrated PeopleSoft deployment at Texas Christian University (TCU). The deployment leveraged Cambridge Momentum(SM) for PeopleSoft, Cambridge's specialized suite of ERP deployment services that employs a rapid, fixed-time/fixed-price implementation approach. TCU's on-time and on-budget delivery illustrates how Cambridge Momentum reduces the risks associated with time and materials implementations for companies undertaking large, multi-tiered ERP projects. Key to the successful deployment of TCU's three PeopleSoft applications was the Cambridge Project Scope, the first phase of Cambridge Momentum, which kept the deployment focused and on track throughout all project phases.

Located in Fort Worth, Texas, TCU, with over 7,300 students, 1,300 employees and 1,500 student workers in its six-college, private organization, is one of the country's first universities to "go live" with all three major PeopleSoft applications simultaneously. This implementation comprised PeopleSoft's Integrated HR/Student Administration application (version 7.0) and Public Sector Financials (version 6.0).

6 "When we first introduced Cambridge Momentum's value-added suite of rapid, fixed-time/fixed-price ERP implementation services, ERP industry analysts were enthusiastic but cautious," said Chet Ciccarelli, senior vice president, Enterprise Resource Solutions, Cambridge. "That's because large, complex ERP projects often went over time and budget. By modeling our approach on a comprehensive, ROI-driven business case, Cambridge has proven that even organizations taking on large-scale deployments can meet time and budget requirements with Cambridge Momentum," concluded Ciccarelli.

The TCU-Cambridge Partnership

TCU's aggressive business goals for their PeopleSoft project included improving customer service through workflow automation, streamlining business processes, and facilitating self-service applications via the Internet. The challenge was meeting these goals within the financial and time constraints of a university environment. "Like most higher education institutions, TCU operates under a strict budget and is subject to the academic calendar year's specific deadlines. Added to that, TCU's Executive Team is more likely to fund IT projects with clearly defined costs and returns on investment. We therefore looked for a deployment partner that could help us quantify the return on investment for our project, as well as meet our budget and time frames," explained Dave Edmondson, assistant provost and project leader, TCU. "Lots of systems integrators claimed familiarity with PeopleSoft, but Cambridge's fixed-time/fixed-price bid, combined with their technical expertise and comprehensive services portfolio, was very attractive to us. Add to this their proven experience in building a business case to validate return on investment, and Cambridge became the clear choice," Edmondson said.

6 Another factor that contributed to TCU's decision to partner with Cambridge was that, at the time of their PeopleSoft selection, the PeopleSoft Student Administration module had just been released. "Cambridge not only had extensive PeopleSoft experience, but had also completed many successful deployments for other universities and was one of PeopleSoft's first Student Administration implementation partners. That gave us confidence that Cambridge would be an excellent partner for this project," Edmondson added.

Keeping the Project on Track

A Steering Committee, consisting of representatives from all user groups, the Information Technology organization, and Cambridge consultants was formed to oversee the implementation. Following Cambridge Momentum, the Committee built consensus around a quantifiable business case for the integrated, three-tiered solution, then used the business case to keep all phases of the project on track. TCU went live with its first phase of rollout, including Public Sector Financials (GL, AP, PO), HR (HR, Payroll, Benefits) and Student Administration (Admissions), during June and July, 1998. Subsequent phases, to be completed in 1999, will include Financial Aid, Student Records, Budgets, Housing, Benefits Administration and Time/Labor applications, as well as Web-enabled capabilities to provide applicants, students, professors and university administration with self-service via the Internet and TCU intranet.

"Our partnership with Cambridge has been truly successful in every way. By matching and prioritizing customization requests to the business case, we have controlled the scope of the project and hit every milestone to-date on time and on budget," concluded Edmondson.