Ofqual (The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) has chosen to implement Oracle Cloud Finance, HCM, Recruitment and Onboarding solutions. In modernising its systems, the organisation selected Oracle Platinum partner Inoapps (Inoapps.com) from the G-Cloud procurement framework. In time it is anticipated that the new solution will deliver an intuitive self-service experience, integration process efficiencies and automated transactions along with cross-functional reporting and superior business insight.
Ofqual regulates qualifications examinations and assessments in England. As part of its Cloud First strategy, it had sought a superior cloud solution that would support its mission critical business processes well into the future – a requirement that included: finance, HR, recruitment and onboarding. Oracle appeared to tick all the boxes, so Ofqual looked for a partner that had a track record of working with Oracle Cloud and that could work collaboratively with Ofqual’s product team by taking an agile approach to delivery.
The Inoapps team worked closely with Ofqual to take the organisation through its agile Sprint programme methodology. This involved a series of workshops, meetings and prototyping over a period of several weeks to identify Ofqual’s specific needs. On completion of the Sprint programme Ofqual was confident that Oracle Cloud was the right solution and understood how the functionality would work for them. Subsequently, Inoapps implemented Oracle Financials Cloud and Oracle HCM Cloud along with the recruitment and onboarding modules from Oracle’s Talent Management Cloud. There was also an interface to Ofqual’s existing payroll system.
The Sprint approach has received widespread acclaim for flipping Cloud system selection on its head. It achieves this by putting prospective customers in the driving seat, allowing them to familiarise their teams with a proposed ‘real-life’ business solution before making an investment commitment. This real-life familiarity significantly speeds up the selection process and therefore the time taken to go-live. By using Inoapps’ agile Sprint methodology, the Ofqual solution went live on budget within just 6 months of the project commencing. Commenting on the implementation, Ofqual’s Chief Information Officer Jan Roszkowski noted,
“Our organisation has been looking at various options for sourcing an integrated finance and HR system. One issue that we have encountered is that when companies run demonstrations of a system, sometimes it’s difficult to relate to how the system would run within our own environment. Inoapps’ Sprint approach suited us as, at the end of the process, we really understood whether the solution would work for us. And, when it came to implementation we also built up a good relationship with the Inoapps’ team who were very willing to share knowledge and go the extra mile to get the job done. As a result, the implementation was completed on budget and in a timely manner, which was very important to us. The project was only recently completed but already we are experiencing a positive cultural impact with respect to staff.”
For his part, Inoapps’ UK Region Leader, Andrew Norris welcomed Roszkowski’s comments, adding: “By the very nature of its business Ofqual sets and demands the very highest standards in all aspects of its business. This includes the technology that supports the organisation’s mission critical business processes. In modernising its Finance, HCM and Talent Management systems, our Sprint approach allowed Ofqual to to have a look at what Oracle could do for them without obligation or risk. Following successful system prototyping, we are delighted that Inoapps was selected from the G-Cloud framework to implement the system. This was done on budget and the go-live was just 6 months from the start of the project.”
Inoapps has set up a contact point for those who feel that an agile Sprint approach might help their organisations assess Oracle Cloud.