As we have talked about in our blog, All Aboard the Cloud Train, the enterprise software industry is moving swiftly to a cloud-based future. Every institution needs to consider this reality when setting their own long-term strategy. For Oracle’s Student Cloud, the train hasn’t pulled into the station yet, but we can smell the smoke.
If you are on Campus 9.0 you have been faced with a difficult decision. Do you spend a lot of money upgrading to Campus 9.2 or do you take that budget and invest it in your long-term future, the Cloud?
For Oracle, this question was especially problematic because ending support for Campus 9.0 was causing customers to weigh a 9.2 upgrade vs. other options. The issue is Oracle’s other option, the Student Cloud, is not ready yet. If customers wanted to remain supported, they would need to invest in a 9.2 upgrade and then implement the Student Cloud. That’s two implementations and is not a good fit for everyone, so Oracle is adjusting to customer feedback.
In June 2017, Oracle published their Oracle Student Products Position Statement as a response to this anxiety. One particular line addresses the Campus 9.0 customers directly.
“Oracle is investigating the possibility of providing one or more additional years of support for CS 9.0. This extension would enable customers to move to the new Cloud components rather than upgrading to CS 9.2.”
Oracle is now saying it is ok to stay on 9.0 while you wait for the Student Cloud. That’s a great option for many, but can you afford to stand still and do nothing with PeopleSoft in the meantime? We talk about standing still waiting on Student Cloud in our blog, Just finished your Campus 9.2 upgrade? Now what??
Believe it or not, but your students aren’t sat on campus eagerly awaiting your next PeopleSoft upgrade. Or wondering when you’ll be moving to a cloud-based solution. The reality is they really don’t care about platforms and vendors. What they care about is how they can interact with your systems. How easy do you make it, or how difficult and behind the times is it? They are also comparing you, often unfavorably, with consumer solutions that they use on an everyday basis. And they wonder, out loud, why your technology solutions are nothing like what they are used to seeing on their phone or tablet.
In the consumer world Chatbots are the new way people are accessing systems. So your students are looking to you to provide that level of service to them today, not in four years’ time. By then they’ll have graduated and moved on. So it’s critical that your campus is fully accessible on their phone in ways that consumer systems are today. That means fully responsive web access, conversational messaging, and even voice.
This is where IntraSee’s Usability First methodology comes in. We address the user experience issues today, and that work provides a smooth path to eventually moving to Student Cloud at your pace. It is the best of both worlds. Consider usability improvements in your current PeopleSoft Campus 9.0 such as Mobile, Student Self-Service, Academic Planner or even some Artificial Intelligence with Chatbots.
You can improve the user experience today and your efforts are a down payment on your next-generation student system, if you do it right. An added bonus is that your team can learn the technology of the future through this process and be fully ready for the Student Cloud.
Contact us below and we can chat about how you can improve your Campus 9.0 UX and be ready for the Student Cloud.
