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- Enterprise Application Team
Technology Plan
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Enterprise Application Team
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The Business Applications Team is within the Information Technology department and works alongside other departments to manage, support, and administer more than 60 software information systems. The applications and systems cover those implemented and purchased throughout the district. The list includes but is not limited to: Blackboard (school websites), myBackpack (student application portal), Lawson, Kronos, SharePoint, AiM, Destiny, Nimbus (IBM Smart Cloud), and Lenel.
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Current Reality
The Business Applications Team manages, supports, and administers 60+ software information systems including:
- Lawson
- Kronos
- SharePoint
- Power Apps
- Let’s Talk
- Webquery
- ARC – GIS
- Aesop
- Fingerprinting
- Maris Maps
- ClickUp – Facilities
- Let’s Talk – Facilities
- SIMBLI – Facilities
- AiM
- Asset Works/Fleet Focus/Fuel
- Image Director – Facilities & Transportation
- Edulog Routing – Transportation
- Trip Tracker Electronic Field Trip Program
- SMARTPTT – Cloud Radio/Dispatch System
- Seon – Onboard Video Surveillance & DVR Stop Arm Cameras
- School Dude Facility Mgmt-Facilities
- APS Nutrition Website houses School Menus, Nutrition Information, Parent Newsletter, Digital Application for Free or Reduced Lunch, Educational nutrition games for students and many other nutrition support resources.
- My School Bucks Application for Smartphones and Tablets – Set up recurring automatic payments for lunch accounts, track meal history and create low balance alerts.
- Newton Point of Sale (POS) system – used to manage student lunch accounts, take meal payments and to integrate with district and state financial systems.
The responsibilities of the Business Applications Team can consist of and can include, based on the application:
- Providing user support and helping users optimize use of applications; evaluating new technologies, in partnership with business owners; administering system configurations and role authorizations; and facilitating process improvements.
- Providing courses and training solutions for users.
- Ensuring integrity and improving accuracy of data and sources.
- Deploying new technologies.
- Creating new Power apps to facilitate automation of processes.
- Conversion of Old SharePoint site to SharePoint Online.
- Assist in the sun-setting of old technologies.
Beginning in FY22, APS transitioned the Lawson S3 platform to cloud hosting to lower total cost of ownership. Moving Lawson to the cloud will also allow us to sunset some existing, separate applications, and eliminate many manual processes, improving support for core business processes, including Payroll, Accounting, Budgeting, Procurement, and Human Resources.
Gap Analysis
Currently, the Business Applications Team supports a number of applications and business processes in the District. As the team looks toward the future, the following gaps have been identified:
- Higher levels of integration are needed between applications.
- Many manual business processes need to be automated.
- The team needs to determine how to help the business easily access this data to optimize the business processes.
- Streamline and simplify operational support processes to bring greater efficiencies and allow for more focus on projects.
- Review access levels to applications and update to meet audit specifications.
- Key resources gap for support of the applications and cross-training of resources for having back support model.
- Seek business support to include the team at the time of new applications sourcing, implementation and vendor training.
- Innovative POS technology to reduce person-to-person contact and crowding in high-touch areas.
Create a vision for charter and partner school support. There are several business applications that charter schools currently access and may desire to access in the future. Flexibility will be needed to support those that decide to purchase business technology services from APS. As the demand for such support increases and if the charter cluster District is approved by the Atlanta Board of Education, more personnel will be needed to provide more timely services to our end users.
Future Vision
The Business Applications and Management Support Team will undertake efforts to:
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- Improve integration of applications; Automate key business processes.
- Help the organization access key data housed in the District’s applications.
- Streamline operational support processes.
- Further define support to charter schools.
- Streamline the process of student-based application support in My Backpack with – Schools, Department-initiated purchases, Procurement and SIS.
- Create a support matrix of applications by key issues to be leveraged for providing support.
- Grow the team of APS resources while reducing the need for contractors.
- Support Nutrition in the investigation of mobile POS technology to support meal service in a variety of serving models.
An assessment of the ERP will be undertaken within the FY23 term for the viability of the current structure and associated applications supporting business functions. This work will determine if the current ERP application and the current applications interface align well and will continue to support the future expanding needs of the District.