The University of Adelaide Implements Oracle SOA Suite 11g and Oracle WebLogic Suite 11g

By ORACLE
Tuesday, July 5, 2011

University Future-proofs with Services Layer for Critical Flexibility and Scalability

Redwood Shores, Calif. – July 5, 2011

News Facts

The University of Adelaide (www.adelaide.edu.au/uni/) , one of Australia’s leading research universities, and member of the Group of Eight, has upgraded and transformed its IT infrastructure by deploying Oracle SOA Suite 11g (www.oracle.com/technologies/soa/soa-suite.html) and Oracle WebLogic Server 11g (www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/weblogic/overview/index.html) , as part of an Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g (www.oracle.com/us/products/middleware/index.htm) implementation.
Established in 1874, the University of Adelaide has more than 25,000 students and 3,500 staff, across three campuses in and around the Adelaide region and in Singapore.
Oracle SOA Suite 11g and Oracle WebLogic Server 11g have provided a service orchestration layer for the University’s new student and staff portals that were deployed to streamline access for tens of thousands of users to a range of disparate and heterogeneous systems. The deployment has allowed the University to render legacy applications and present the information to users in a user-friendly format.
This loosely coupled services layer aims to future proof the University’s IT infrastructure and to ensure the performance and scalability of the student and staff portals. For example, when new applications or new versions of applications need to be quickly rolled out they can be plugged in via the services layer.
Oracle Service Bus 11g (www.oracle.com/technologies/soa/service-bus.html) , part of Oracle SOA Suite 11g, has been used by the University to integrate the student portal with PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions (www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/peoplesoft-enterprise/campus-solutions/index.html) and PeopleSoft Human Resources (www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/peoplesoft-enterprise/index.htm) (deployed at the University over a decade ago), a CRM system, Blackboard learning system and a Voyager library system, making it much easier for students to access the hundreds of applications they need.
Oracle BPEL Process Manager (www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/bpel/overview/index.html) has been used to design and run business processes and to develop workflows and work lists for tasks, such as approval management.
In addition, the University has deployed the Oracle Coherence (www.oracle.com/technology/products/coherence/index.html) in-memory data-grid to scale applications by providing access to frequently used data. As a result, applications have the ability to perform consistently even at peak times, such as around enrollments and exams.
The student portal, which was launched last year as the first phase of the Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g implementation, received 18,000 hits and a 96% approval rating from students in the first week. Where previously students had to jump in and out of applications, the University has been able to create a new service experience for students, described by some as “easy to use as an iPhone”.
The next phase for the University of Adelaide is the implementation of Oracle Business Process Management (BPM) Suite 11g (www.oracle.com/us/technologies/bpm/index.html) , which over time will become the University’s one centralized Business Process Management (BPM) system, bringing a single solution to a range of different workflow tools, such as HR and finance.
The University received an Oracle Fusion Middleware Innovation Award (www.oracle.com/us/corporate/awards/middleware/index.html) in 2010 for this pioneering solution.

Supporting Quotes

“When we started on this journey, we had the vision but not the technology. Since implementing Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g, we have been able to orchestrate and deliver business services that make sense to the users (like students and staff), not just the providers (the IT team). Ultimately it is the user buy-in, which has been very positive, that reaffirms we are well on our way to transforming and achieving our education and technology vision,” said Jonathan Churchill, Associate Director of Technology, University of Adelaide.
“The University has deployed a service delivery program that is focused on improving the delivery of services to staff and students. Out of that program will come lots of processes that need to be streamlined and automated, and we see the Oracle SOA Suite and Oracle BPM Suite as the key technology to underpin these initiatives,” said Jonathan Churchill, Associate Director of Technology, University of Adelaide.
“The Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g implementation at the University of Adelaide has delivered a strong and scalable technology platform for their student and staff portals, as well as a vast array of business processes that are critical to the University in achieving their core business, IT and financial goals,” said Greg Taylor, Vice President, Fusion Middleware, Oracle ANZ.

Supporting Resources

About University of Adelaide (www.adelaide.edu.au/uni/)
Oracle SOA Suite 11g (www.oracle.com/technologies/soa/soa-suite.html)
Oracle WebLogic Server 11g (www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/weblogic/overview/index.html)
Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g (www.oracle.com/us/products/middleware/index.htm)
Oracle Service Bus 11g (www.oracle.com/technologies/soa/service-bus.html)
Oracle BPEL Process Manager (www.oracle.com/technetwork/middleware/bpel/overview/index.html)
Oracle Coherence (www.oracle.com/technology/products/coherence/index.html)
Oracle BPM Suite 11g (www.oracle.com/us/technologies/bpm/index.html)
Oracle Fusion Middleware Innovation Award (www.oracle.com/us/corporate/awards/middleware/index.html)
Video: Univ. of Adelaide Supports Business Agility with Middleware (medianetwork.oracle.com/media/show/15331)
Video: Adelaide Uni Consolidates Workflow Systems with BPM Suite (medianetwork.oracle.com/media/show/16707)
Video: Adelaide Uni Uses Middleware for PeopleSoft Extensions (medianetwork.oracle.com/media/show/16710)
PeopleSoft Enterprise Campus Solutions (www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/peoplesoft-enterprise/campus-solutions/index.html)
PeopleSoft Enterprise Applications (www.oracle.com/us/products/applications/peoplesoft-enterprise/index.htm)

About University of Adelaide

Since its establishment in 1874 the University of Adelaide has been amongst Australia's leading universities. Its contribution to the wealth and wellbeing of South Australia and Australia as a whole - across all fields of endeavour - has been enormous. At the heart of the University's vision, achievement and impact is its commitment to excellence in research and learning.

About Oracle

Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) is the world's most complete, open, and integrated business software and hardware systems company. For more information about Oracle, please visit our Web site at www.oracle.com.

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Contact Info

Jacki DeCoster
Oracle
+1.650.633.7788
jacki.decoster@oracle.com (mailto:jacki.decoster@oracle.com)

Simon Jones
Blanc & Otus
+1.415.856.5155
sjones@blancandotus.com (mailto:sjones@blancandotus.com)