ITS Integrator 1.0, the latest re-branded product set replacing version 13 of the ITS Administration system of Integrated Tertiary Software, has been successfully implemented at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).
The Durban University of Technology (DUT) has been the beta test site for ITS`s latest release. "By committing ourselves to be the ITS beta site for the ITS Integrator Project, it allowed us to motivate upgrading our existing infrastructure, thereby positioning DUT as a leading higher education institution in IT that utilises leading-edge technologies in both hardware and software to transform our business," commented Vijay Singh, IS Manager at the ICT department.
The beta test project kicked off in April 2007 when the product set was implemented on servers of the university. Testing was done in a laboratory environment, where staff tested the applications as well as their business processes.
"It is the commitment, co-operation and support of our excellent users during beta testing and the presence of knowledgeable ITS support staff that ensured successful beta testing. This led to the successful live implementation of ITS Integrator in the production environment. ITS has developed ITS Integrator as an excellent and user-friendly software product, supporting the higher education sector," said Mr Pravie Govender, Specialist Project Leader at the IT department.
"I think having the majority of the user community behind you when you undertake a project of this kind definitely enhances the chances of its success. At the end of the day it was this positive energy and the support from ITS that culminated in the successful implementation of ITS Integrator," commented Krish Jewnarain, Project Leader of Information and Communication Technology.
DUT went into production on ITS Integrator on 25 September 2007, with the final cut-over being done over the preceding weekend. In a parallel process the university went live on 15 October on the ITS Student iEnabler system, allowing registered students to apply online for university-managed accommodation.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) has made history as the first ITS client to upgrade three releases simultaneously. Migrating from version 11, the last character-based version of the system, to the newly enhanced browser based ITS Integration version showed great commitment and dedication of management and the user community. Although ITS Integrator 1.0 was still undergoing beta testing and was not yet officially launched, UKZN opted to do the migration parallel to the beta testing phase at DUT. UKZN went into production on ITS Integrator on 8 October 2007.
A decided difference with the implementation methodology used with ITS Integrator is the option that clients have to decide on which functional modules (including Core System functionality) they wish be trained on and have commissioned during the initial migration phase. Other system functionality can then be commissioned in later phases. This migration schedule is decided on during a pre-implementation workshop between the institution and ITS.
The ITS Integrator product range fully supports the diverse administrative business processes of institutions in the higher and further education sectors. Included are student, financial, human resources, payroll and library management systems. It enables staff and students to access the system remotely through a standard Web browser and specially designed self-service applications.
For more information, please contact marketing@its.co.za.
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