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Next Steps

Transitioning from Banner to a modern, cloud-based ERP system is a multi-year effort that will move through four major phases: Readiness, Selection, Deployment, and Post-Deployment Support. Each phase builds on the work of the previous phase to ensure a smooth, thoughtful, and minimally disruptive change for our university community. During this journey, we will assess and prepare our current systems, evaluate future solutions, implement new technologies in stages, and support users as they adapt to new tools and processes. The timeline below outlines what to expect during each stage of this transition.

University of Illinois System - Draft Saas ERP Project Timeline as of October 27, 2025

Phase 1: Functional and Business Readiness (3-4 years)

During this phase, we will work closely with administrative leaders and staff to understand how our current processes work and what we may need in the future. This will include:

  • Reviewing how complex our processes are, where we can simplify or improve them, and how ready different areas are for a major change.
  • Bringing in demonstrations of leading ERP systems—such as Workday and Oracle Fusion Cloud—so employees can see how these tools work and share feedback.
  • Taking inventory of the systems and applications that currently interface with Banner to determine which ones would be replaced by the new cloud-based ERP.

Readiness Activities

The University of Illinois System’s leadership will continue working on the Readiness program over the next two years with the help of a consultant who will guide us through the Readiness activities, some of which are listed below:

Readiness & Change Management

Create and refine the readiness program and change management plans.

Leadership Alignment

Facilitate leadership workshops to develop a business case, decision process, governance roadmap, and additional timeline details, resulting in a shared understanding and commitment across our university system partners.

Governance & Staffing

Develop a staffing plan and governance playbook for the Readiness and Selection phases.

Readiness Assessment

Perform readiness assessments across the University of Illinois System to evaluate change readiness.

Stakeholder Engagement

Obtain feedback by engaging stakeholders in vendor demonstrations of leading ERP platforms (Workday, Oracle Fusion Cloud) customized for the University of Illinois.

Application Rationalization

Identify current products/functions to be replaced with a SaaS ERP solution by performing current-to-future-state application rationalization.

Phase 2: Selection Phase (1-2 years)

This phase involves a structured evaluation of ERP vendors and implementation partners to ensure alignment with the U of I System’s institutional needs, financial planning, and long-term strategic goals.

Phase 3: Deployment Phase (5+ years)

During this phase, the selected ERP is deployed across the System. In most cases, universities typically implement the Finance and HR modules first, followed later by Student modules. Using a phased approach minimizes disruption and allows for iterative improvements as the systems are activated.

Phase 4: Post-deployment support (1+ years)

This phase focuses on adoption, training, issue resolution, and continuous optimization to fully realize the benefits of the new ERP for the University of Illinois System.