Georgia upgrades financial, HR software

Georgia has upgraded its enterprise resource planning software, purchasing updated versions of Oracle’s PeopleSoft products. The state has deployed more-current versions of PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Management and PeopleSoft Enterprise Human Capital Management. Georgia first implemented PeopleSoft applications for management and human resources in 1999 as it prepared for the Year 2000 date change. The new software will let the state take advantage of new functions, according to Oracle. For example, Georgia can assess operational performance based on key indicators and historical trends using PeopleSoft Enterprise Performance Management software, said J.D. Williams, Oracle’s vice president of application solutions for state and local government. Georgia is the first state to purchase the software product, he added. Georgia’s PeopleSoft upgrade will also help move the state into e-procurement. It plans to deploy PeopleSoft Enterprise Supplier Relationship Management. The state is in the process of installing that system, Williams said, adding that e-procurement could generate cost savings through strategic sourcing. The HR upgrade provides a self-service capability that lets state workers change address information, make withholding changes or change their benefits selections, Williams said. Georgia’s software project stems in part from the state’s Commission for a New Georgia, which was established in 2003 to examine better ways to manage the state’s assets and services. Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue launched the commission. “The real catalyst for getting things moving was the Commission for a New Georgia,” Williams said.