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NDUS and CTS ask for $10 million to begin PeopleSoft cloud-readiness work, warn of higher costs later
Summary
NDUS and core technology services staff asked the committee for $10 million in initial funding to prepare the system’s on-premise PeopleSoft enterprise resource planning system for a phased cloud migration; staff said delaying the work would raise long-term costs as vendors shift off older products.
Deputy CIO Corey Quirk and CTS staff told the Appropriations - Education and Environment Division that the North Dakota University System’s PeopleSoft enterprise resource planning (ERP) installation requires a planned transition to a cloud-delivered product and requested an initial $10 million for cloud-readiness work.
Quirk described a market analysis and governance process that identified more than 40 items the system must address before issuing a vendor RFP. He said the $10 million request is intended to cover preparatory work — technical cleanup, configuration, and governance — that would reduce the cost and risk of an eventual vendor-led migration. The same market analysis showed the eventual phased replacement across HR, finance and student pillars could cost roughly $100–$150 million over multiple biennia.
Why it matters
NDUS’ PeopleSoft instance is highly customized after more than two decades of local modifications; Quirk said the customizations mean a migration should be staged carefully to avoid costly emergency work. He warned that if the state waits, implementation costs and vendor-sourcing challenges are likely to grow because multiple Peoplesoft clients nationwide are moving at once.
Committee discussion and direction
Members asked what would happen if the funding request was not approved; Quirk said the system could delay action but risk higher future costs and implementation bottlenecks. Several senators asked for the detailed schedule and ROI analysis Quirk described; committee members did not take a final vote on the request and asked staff to provide the detailed sequence and cost estimates so the division could weigh the initial $10 million against other priorities.
Next steps
NDUS and CTS will return with a more complete timeline, the 42 cloud-readiness items identified in the market analysis, and estimates of phased replacement costs and schedule.
