Arlington completes first phase of ERP upgrade

Arlington County, Va., has completed the first phase of an information technology upgrade to improve its financial, human resources and payroll systems.

The new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, which went live in April, replaces older, mainframe-based systems that outside vendors no longer support, according to an announcement today from IT consultant BearingPoint.

Under a contract awarded in March 2005, BearingPoint worked closely with the county departments of Management and Finance, Human Resources, and Technology Services to design and implement a new financial and human resources management system powered by Oracle’s E-Business Suite, the announcement states.

With the completion of this first phase, known as Planned Re-engineering for Information Services Management (PRISM), county employees are now able to perform many tasks online, access critical information faster and reduce their reliance on paper recordkeeping. Before the introduction of PRISM, Arlington employees relied on disparate computer systems and software applications, some of them 20 years old, to help them manage key programs.

The new system provides operational improvements for human resources management, payroll, employee benefits, purchasing and other general accounting needs. The ERP system also includes self-service applications, which allow employees and managers nationwide to process many day-to-day business functions that had been paper-driven. Employees can change their addresses or dependents information and enroll in benefits online. Employees with the proper authority can also requisition goods and services online.