Negotiations continue as the university seeks a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) and student information system (SIS). The system will replace Iowa State's financial, human resources and student information systems, which have been running on a mainframe-based set of business applications, dating back to the '70s.
The new ERP and SIS cloud-based software will eventually run the university’s financial, human resources and student information systems, said Miles Lackey, chief financial officer.
"This is a very critical process and we are committed to ensuring ISU obtains the best value and long-term ERP and SIS software," Lackey said.
Lackey also noted that the university is in the process of evaluating a new identity access and management system. The negotiations for the system will begin once a contract for the ERP SIS has been finalized.
Identity systems manage user logins and permissions across vast networks like Iowa State's, ensuring users have access only to the sites and resources they need, said Andrew Albinger, interim director of campus information security. The systems combine strong security with ease of access for users.
"One of our goals is to allow more university services to be accessed via a single sign-on with a new, unique user ID," Albinger noted.
