Evaluating Kuali Financials for Your

Institution-

JA- SIG Conference June 2007

Mike Zackrison, rSmartBob Ricci, rSmart

Tony Potts, rSmart

www.rsmart.com

• Where we are today• How things are changing• Kualifier – a new concept

Traditional Roles

• Identify– Needs– Possible Solutions – Build or Buy

• Evaluate– Function– Fit

• Implement• Support

The Institution

Traditional Roles

• Development• Sales• Consulting and Training• Technical and Functional

Support

The Vendor

Traditional Relationships

• Development

• Sales

• Consulting and Training

• Technical and Functional Support

The VendorThe Vendor

• Identify– Needs– Possible Solutions – Build or Buy

• Evaluate– Function– Fit

• Implement• Support

InstitutionInstitution

The Changing Paradigm

• Not dealing with traditional software vendors

• There is no sales force for Kuali• There is no license fee• You don’t need to purchase the

software to load it• You don’t need to rely on vendor

responses to RFI’s or RFP’s to understand the product

A New Model?

• Community

• Kualifier

• Commercial Support Organization

ResourcesResources

• Identify– Needs– Possible Solutions – Build or ‘Buy’

• Evaluate– Function– Fit

• Implement• Support

InstitutionInstitution

What is the KUALIFIER?

• The KUALIFIER is a structured, guided,

and supported evaluation of The Kuali

Financial System (KFS).

• The KUALIFIER helps build institutional

confidence prior to adoption and

organizational readiness prior to

implementation.

• The KUALIFIER consists of services,

tools, and dedicated support

designed to overcome the technical

and functional complexities that can

be challenging to an effective

financial system evaluation.

What is the KUALIFIER?

Picking a Financial System

• The situation at Colorado State

University (CSU)

• Traditional evaluation methods

employed

• Non-traditional methods used

– Get “hands-on” with rSmart KUALIFIER

rSmart KUALIFER Services

• Planning call and agenda

• On-site visit and assessment– KFS Overview and Orientation

– KFS Demonstrations: Functional and Technical

• KFS Assessment and Planning Report

Recommendations

Fit Gap Analysis

• Periodic follow-up activities customized to the institution's needs. – Web coaching sessions – Guided test drive– Chart of accounts analysis– Implementation planning– Technical architecture– Other

KFS Evaluation Activities

Ongoing Support

• Ongoing support and maintenance– Access to rSmart Technical and

Functional resources to answer questions and provide technical support throughout the evaluation period (six months).

• Pre-configured Appliance that’s fully supported– Includes complete open source

software stack•KFS 1.0 with pre-loaded test /

sample data•Apache Web Server•Tomcat•MySQL•Linux

rSmart KUALIFER Appliance

Deployment Options

• Flexible deployment options– On-Demand – your virtual appliance is

hosted in our tier 1 data center which provides high availability, data backups, server monitoring, security, and much more.

OR

– On-Premise – IBM x3650 rack-optimized server pre-configured with the full open source software stack. Delivered to your location ready to plug-in and use.

CSU KUALIFIER Experience

• KUALIFIER Session

• Follow-up Activities– Chart of Accounts– Batch Feed Process– e-Doc Lite Example

e-Doc Lite Form

A New Paradigm?

“…rSmart's Kualifier is a rare opportunity for higher ed institutions to really run a new financial system in their home environment while having a true plug and use experience.”

Troy FluhartyAssociate ControllerColorado State University

The rSmart GroupWebsite: www.rsmart.com

Email: mikez@rsmart.combob.ricci@rsmart.com

Contact Info

Troy FluhartyEmail: troy.fluharty@colostate.edu