UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — As one of Penn State’s major internal software systems approaches the end of its useful lifespan, the Board of Trustees Committee on Finance, Business and Capital Planning today (May 3) voted to recommend a project budget and consulting partner for implementing a new, state-of-the-art financial system. The full board will vote on the items at its May 4 meeting.
The University’s homegrown system, the Integrated Business and Information System (IBIS), was developed in the early 1980s and will be replaced by the System for Integrated Management, Budgeting and Accounting (SIMBA). The committee recommended approval of a $67 million project budget to implement SIMBA by 2020, and recommended approval of a contract with implementation consultant LSI (with headquarters in Massachusetts and San Diego, California), to work with the University on implementing this new system in a timely and cost-effective manner.
According to the resolution being considered by the board, this authorization includes approval for the purchase of training, technology and additional supporting services as necessary as the University and LSI work to develop and deploy SIMBA by the 2020 implementation date. The board also will consider approval of up to an additional 10 percent of the project budget that the University can expend on the SIMBA implementation, if additional funds are needed.
The University announced its intent to replace IBIS in 2017, and the widely-used business suite SAP S/4HANA was selected as the best solution to meet the University’s financial needs. The system will increase the University’s business agility through improved processes, reporting, budget forecasting and integrated functions, while at the same time introducing a contemporary user interface.
The SIMBA implementation project is the last of three University-wide efforts to replace antiquated legacy systems with more efficient and modern ones that fully leverage current technologies. LionPATH, the University’s student information system, rolled out in August 2016, and WorkLion, a new human resources and payroll system, deployed in December 2017.