Enterprise Application Hosting

Core vs Context

April 2008

In This Issue

Client Showcase

Core vs Context

Enabling HRIS Transformation

Are you "Ripe" for Hosting?

Client Showcase

Adrien ASU

Arizona State University's (ASU) Technology Officer, Dr. Adrian Sannier, spent time with CedarCrestone to discuss their unique technology strategy which emphasizes the synchronous relationship between the Core and Context activities. The following video will provide the viewer with an in-depth look into how ASU and CedarCrestone worked together to ensure that ASU exemplifies technology innovation as the pace of technological change explodes.

Full Video Interview

Core vs Context

Geoffrey Moore* wrote, "When processes no longer result in marketplace differentiation, they go from being core to context." Core activities are those that set your business apart from the competition and, when improved, directly result in marketplace recognition. By contrast, Context— while important—is not strategic and will not result in immediate recognition.

So you may be asking yourself, "What exactly does this have to do with application hosting and your internal resources?" Core activities require the focus of your own talent/internal resources in order for them to continually develop and achieve/maintain leadership.

Today, many organizations/institutions are exhausting their internal IT staff with tasks such as routine application maintenance, including patches and fixes, implementations, upgrades, and hosting of your infrastructure—all of which require a monumental amount of time.

Hosting your PeopleSoft environment allows you to hand over the context activities to a strategic third party who has the knowledge and experience to ensure those run smoothly, while reallocating your internal resources to focus on your core activities. This results in a greater ROI within your organization, as well as being more time and cost effective overall.

Some organizations choose to do both core and context activities internally—that is neither a right nor a wrong approach. However, it could be beneficial to evaluate whether or how long an organization will continue to do some of the context activities themselves.

*http://premierespeakers.com/geoffrey_moore

Enabling HRIS Transformation

Are you looking to transform human resources information systems (HRIS)? Corporations increasingly find that integrating best-in-class human capital management (HCM) systems combined with application hosting can be catalytic in transferring HRIS from administrators to service delivery agents. The result is a more focused, competitive, and service-oriented HRIS organization.

Service Corporation Incorporated (SCI) is the world's largest funeral home and cemetery company. In 2006, the company sought to implement an ERP system, moving the employee data onto PeopleSoft HCM 9.0 and having it hosted by CedarCrestone. "Looking back, we would never do this any other way," says SCI's director of Organization Development, Donna Hastings. "Today's hosting solution takes the administrative burden away from HR. The HRIS team is now the keeper of employee data, which forms the foundation for workforce planning and analytics. We interface with our external partners to implement technical upgrades and troubleshoot, but have minimal involvement in the day-to-day technical maintenance and support of the system. The system and support scales to our business needs."

To learn more about how you can transform your organization's HRIS we encourage you to read the full article published in the January 2008 edition of IHRIM.link.

Are you "Ripe" for Hosting?

Criteria to determine if hosting is right for your organization:

Our PeopleSoft patches and fixes are frequently out of date.
We would like to upgrade but we do not have the hardware to handle the extra environments.
We would like to upgrade but we do not have the technical staff to handle the extra environments.
We want to implement new applications/functionality/modules but our staff is fully utilized.
We want to upgrade but cannot and we are quickly approaching the end of the support schedule.
We are having a tough time hiring/retaining experienced and skilled PeopleSoft staff.
Our PeopleSoft environment is highly customized; thus, we are concerned with the duration of an upgrade project.
We need high availability but cannot afford or manage system enhancements.
We need disaster recovery but cannot afford funding or support for in-house delivery.
We are busy implementing other applications/modules, leaving no time for an upgrade.
A key PeopleSoft team member left and we need help until we rehire.

How many of the above criteria are applicable to your organization?

0 – You are not ripe for Hosting

1–3 – You may want to consider Hosting

4+ – You are ripe for Hosting!

Upcoming Events

April 2008
24	CedarCrestone "Tour de HCM - Team Talent Management" Webinar Series Stage 8	Join Oracle's Joel Gremillion and CedarCrestone's Director of Strategy & Analytics, Lexy Martin as they present "Analyze: Business Intelligence Solutions using PeopleSoft's Workforce Scorecard and HRMS Warehouse" For more information and to register for this informative webinar at 1PM Eastern, click HERE.
27	20th Annual PRISM Conference - Public Retirement Information Systems Management	Miami, FL - Join CedarCrestone and Oracle as we sponsor the 20th Annual PRISM Conference in Miami, Florida. For more information on this conference, click HERE.
29	Oracle Talent Management Showcase 2008	Herndon, VA - Drive Success Through Integrated Talent Management: CedarCrestone's Tammy Staneart is presenting on the topic pf Talent Management at this event sponsored by The Executive Programs Department of George Mason University and Oracle. For more information on this event, click HERE.
May 2008
16	Southern New England PeopleSoft User Group Meeting	Framingham, CT CedarCrestone is proud to be a Gold Sponsor of the Annual Spring meeting of the Southern New England PeopleSoft User Group! Be sure to stop by the CedarCrestone table in the vendor fair to speak with a CedarCrestone representative!
28	Northwest Regional PeopleSoft User Group Meeting	Portland, OR CedarCrestone is proud to sponsor the May meeting of the Northwest Regional PeopleSoft User Group. Please stop by the vendor fair to speak with a CedarCrestone representative!
June 2008
1-4	HIUG (Healthcare Industry User Group) Annual Conference	Orlando, FL Come visit CedarCrestone at Booth #118 in the vendor hall! For more information about this conference, click HERE.
1-4	IHRIM HRM Strategies Annual Conference	Orlando, FL - Don't miss CedarCrestone's Lexy Martin receiving the IHRIM 2008 Excellence Award at this year's conference! Be sure to stop by booth #439 in the vendor hall to speak to a CedarCrestone representative! For more information about this conference, click HERE.
9-12	Oracle's North American Sales Kickoff Meeting	Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino
23-25	OHUG (Oracle HCM User Group) Annual Conference	CedarCrestone is a proud sponsor and vendor at the Annual OHUG Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Oracle HCM Users Group holds an annual conference to provide a venue for Oracle E-Business Suite and Enterprise clients to interact with other clients, vendors, and Oracle thought leaders. For more information on this conference, click HERE.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about how Hosting enables you to offload PeopleSoft administration, allowing your resources to focus on more strategic, core activities. If you would like more information please contact us by replying to this email.

Next month's eNewsletter will focus on the world-class infrastructure that is guaranteed to all hosted clients.

About CedarCrestone

CedarCrestone provides consulting, hosting, and managed services for the deployment, management, and optimization of Human Capital Management (HCM), Financial Management (FMS), and Campus Solutions (CS), along with solution-defining Strategy & Analytics services. As a Certified Advantage Partner of Oracle Corporation, CedarCrestone has extensive expertise in Oracle technology and PeopleSoft Enterprise applications.

www.CedarCrestone.com/host.php