News

Northern Illinois U Implements 2 Database Machines To Support Administrative Systems

• By Leila Meyer
• 10/22/13

Northern Illinois University (NIU) has implemented two database machines to support its administrative systems.

The university runs PeopleSoft applications for its student system, financials, and human resources management, but the systems were running on aging and disparate hardware systems that required significant maintenance. To solve the problem, the university consolidated its PeopleSoft applications onto two Oracle Exadata Database Machines. The new system helped the university reduce IT maintenance costs while boosting performance and reliability.

"Oracle Exadata Database Machine significantly improved our administrative system availability and reliability, and helped the university to significantly accelerate batch run times,” said Steven Pace, associate director of the Division of Finance and Facilities for NIU, in a prepared statement. “Our students and staff now have access to critical campus systems without the interruption of downtime or system backups.”

The University of Arkansas and Brigham Young University have also deployed Oracle Exadata Database Machines recently.

The University of Arkansas implemented two Oracle Exadata database machines to help improve the performance of its PeopleSoft Campus Solutions, Oracle WebCenter Content, locally developed Java applications, and third-party systems. Oracle Exadata has reduced the university's server footprint and reduced its maintenance costs.

Brigham Young University in Provo, UT consolidated 50 database servers and storage systems with Oracle Exadata Database Machine to help improve performance of its campus systems, including PeopleSoft Campus Solutions, PeopleSoft Financial Management, and PeopleSoft Human Capital Management. The new system has improved the reliability of the university's registration system during peak periods.

In related Oracle news, the company has unveiled new features for its PeopleSoft Campus Solutions suite. The update adds program-based enrollment functionality designed to help students plan their path to degree completion, and the new assessment feature is designed to help instructors define and assess any type of traditional or external learning activities.

Other new features in PeopleSoft Campus Solutions include:

• Configurable structures for developing curriculum frameworks to guide enrollment and assessment;
• Dynamic interface to help students select the best courses and course sequence to meet their academic goals, request approval for planned courses, enroll in courses, and chart academic progress;
• Interface to help instructors define course structures and student performance assessment based on their needs and preferences; and
• New rules engine that enables institutions to enforce rules and policies for enrollment, assessment, and progression without requiring software customizations.

Further information about Oracle Exadata Database Machine and PeopleSoft Campus Solutions can be found at oracle.com.