Integrated Tertiary Software (Pty) Ltd specialises in the provision of integrated software to support the administrative functions within the higher and further education sectors. The company also offers a wide range of related training, support and consultation services to facilitate the transfer of knowledge to staff members at client institutions. The ITS Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software solution can be implemented as a fully integrated solution to support the Student, Financial, Human Resources, Payroll and Library business processes of a University, Polytechnic or College. The main systems can however also be implemented individually to support a “Best of Breed” approach. Open technology allows for ease of integration with other 3rd party software solutions.

Institutions that have implemented the ITS solution benefit from modern, functionality rich software. The product suite is continuously enhanced through user input and forward thinking business analysts with years of experience in the education sector. 

COMPANY PROFILE

ITS is an international company that was established in 1986 in South Africa. From small beginnings, the company has steadily grown and currently employs in excess of 90 dedicated staff members. The head office is situated in Pretoria, South Africa. ITS has established regional offices in Cape Town and Durban to support local clients. The office in Dublin fully supports the three clients in Ireland whilst a marketing office has been opened in the United Kingdom. ITS has also concluded a number of distribution and support agreements with local companies in a number of foreign countries to support the globalisation strategy of ITS.

ITS operates exclusively in the education sector. The expertise gained in this field contributes to the success of system implementation and support. ITS is an ISO 9001:2000 certified company which ensures a continuous focus on quality and client satisfaction. 

ITS is a certified member of the ORACLE Partner Program and currently employs a high percentage of Oracle-certified programmers. ITS can provide all Oracle products required to deploy the ITS system at an institutions within the education sector. ITS has previously been rated as the best ORACLE Independent Sales Vendor in South Africa by ORACLE (SA). 

CLIENT BASE

The ITS client base currently consists of in excess of 40 Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges worldwide. These range from fairly small institutions with approximately 2,500 students to some of the larger institutions with in excess of 85,000 students. ITS clients use a wide variety of delivery modes. This includes contact tuition, open (distance) learning and co-operative education. Informal offerings, such as short courses for adult education, workshops, etc. can also be handled by the system.

Institutions that have acquired the ITS systems over the last few months include the University of Swaziland, Makerere University in Uganda, Ekurhuleni West College in Gauteng, South Africa and The Open Polytechnic of New Zealand. 

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS

The worldwide trend towards ‘Open Systems’, which is also the accepted standard in the higher and further education sectors, is fully supported by ITS. ORACLE as a relational database management system is used. ORACLE runs under a number of operating systems. The ITS system uses the UNIX operating system (HP-UX, Solaris, AIX, LINUX, etc.). Clients are thus not bound to a particular hardware solution.

All the applications were developed using ORACLE products, with ‘C’ programs where required. The ORACLE Internet Developer Suite and PL/SQL Language were used in the development of the iEnabler self-service applications. 

PRODUCT RANGE

The ITS system is fully Web enabled and staff and students access the system on campus through a standard Web browser. Students and staff can also access the system remotely via the Internet using standard Web browsers and specially designed self-service (the iEnabler) applications.

The ITS system, although fully integrated, is modular and an institution can acquire only the systems that are needed to support their business processes at any point in time without purchasing and implementing all system modules.

The system module are grouped as follows:

Implementation of the ITS system can be done in a phased manner with one or more of the mainstream functional areas of Student, Financial, Human Resources or Library Management. Institutions can then select which modules from within each of these areas will support their business requirements (certain module dependencies exist).

The Core functionality is supplied to new clients irrespective of the number of mainstream areas selected for initial implementation. Included are functionality to support System Security and User Access control, the ITS Metadata Layer for MIS and other reporting, the Business Process Driver functionality, Document Storage and Retrieval, Request Logging and Tracking, Identification Card functionality, Printer control, Routing and all required general code structures. 

ITS SYSTEMS

Student Management System

The following system modules are available: 

· Student Administration System, (which includes the following system modules)
- Academic Structure
- Prospective Student Enquiries
- Applications and Admission
- Student Registration
- Residence Management
- Assessment and Graduation
- Lecturing Timetable
- Examination Timetable
- Student iEnabler Self-Service application
- Lecturer iEnabler Self-Service application
· Distance Learning
· Student Debtors
· Scholarships and Grants
· Co-operative Education

Financial Management System

Systems currently available include:

· Financial Code Structures
· General Ledger
· Accounts Receivable
· Counter System
· Income and Expenditure Budgeting
· Procurement Management, which includes:
- Purchase Ordering
- Stores Management
- Accounts Payable
· Finance iEnabler Self-Service application
· Asset Management
· Asset iEnabler Self-Service application
· Mail Recording
· Investment Register
· Long Term Loan Administration

Human Resources Systems

Functionality include:

· Personnel System, (which includes the following system modules)
- Recruitment
- Appointments
- Leave Management
- Performance Evaluation
- Skills Development
- Disciplinary/Grievance Management
- Personnel iEnabler Self-Service application
· Salary System
· Salary Budgeting

Library System

The ITS Library system includes the following functionality:

- Acquisitions
- Cataloguing
- Circulation
- Short Term Loans
- Periodical Control
- Binding Control
- Inter-library Lending
- OPAC iEnabler Self-Service application

Supporter Systems

Supporter systems can be used in conjunction with one or more of the Student, Financial or Human Resources Management Systems

· Customer Relationship Management, which includes functionality in the areas of 
- Students
- Alumni
- Institutional Contacts 
- etc.
· Estate and Space Management 
· Point of Sale
· Meal Booking
· Venue Reservation
· Vehicle Reservation
· Media Equipment Reservation
· Print Costing
· Job Costing
· Research Administration
· Health and Counselling Management
· Clubs and Societies
· Committee Administration
· Survey and Quality Assessment

ITS Interfaces to 3rd Party Systems

The following Interface File Systems are available: Electronic banking, ACB for student and staff payments and receipts, Debt Collection Interface, Innopac Library interfaces (Patron detail, Orders and invoices), FIHRST for salary deduction distribution, WebCT eLearning interface, MyMarket for on-line procurement

ITS SERVICES

ITS offers a wide range of services to augment the systems it provides. Competent staff, with many years of experience in the education sector, can assist institutions to empower staff so that acquired systems are used effectively. 

System Implementation

The success of the implementation of any new system is dependent upon a number of factors, which includes defining and set-up of code structures, staff training and technical installation.

ITS is committed to the success of each installation and is fully involved during the implementation process as well as at the first occurrence of each major event in the business life cycle of an institution. 

The implementation involvement of ITS also includes:

· Advice in setting up implementation project committees and reporting structures
· Providing Project Management for the duration of the project
· Advice in designing new procedures and the general flow of work
· Training of users in the operation of the ITS systems
· Assistance in transferring data from previous systems
· Customise reports and input screens to suit unique local requirements

System Training and Consultation

ITS offers a large number of training programmes to new and experienced system users. Training topics cover the full spectrum of systems developed by ITS and can be customised to suite the specific needs of a client. Annual re-training is included in the maintenance contract of an institution and provides for two attendees per training topic.

A wide range of business and consultation services is also offered to institutions. Included are business process re-organisation, defining and documentation of processes and procedures, system audits to evaluate the effective use of the ITS system, evaluation of year-end and audit procedures, assist with year-end processes, evaluation of code structures to facilitate effective data analysis and management information reporting, etc. 

Best Practice Workshops

ITS present workshops and conferences in the functional areas covered by the ITS system. The objectives of these events are to increase efficiency and improve management within institutions. Workshops are presented with a participative approach where discussions and exchange of ideas are facilitated. Practical case studies ensure that theory and practice meet. Best Practice guidelines within a specific functional area is then documented and distributed to participants.

Functional Support

The ITS Call Centre aims to support users at client institutions in the effective use of the system. Three levels of support are available to ensure that the diverse support needs within our client base are efficiently satisfied. 

Support consists of:

· Investigation of problems experienced by users
· Investigating reported program insidents
· Advice on the resolution of user problems

ITS has Internet connectivity with all its clients. It is therefore possible to attend to enquiries in a timeous and efficient manner.

Technical Support

ITS provides a wide range of technical services which includes assistance with server sizing, network capacity planning and the provision of all required Oracle database products. Other services offered include:

· Customised development

Customers may have specific unique needs that are not addressed by the standard systems. These needs can be analysed and customised software can be provided by ITS on request. The maintenance of customised software can be performed by the client or by ITS. 

· Database Administration

To ensure smooth and efficient performance of the ORACLE database, it must be monitored on a continuous basis. ITS is in an excellent position to perform database administration due to the availability of in-house Oracle Certified Professionals.

The level of support that ITS is contracted to supply, is determined by the needs of the client. Daily, weekly, bi-monthly and monthly DBA monitoring contracts are offered to customers.