On the one side: a university account. On the other
side: a hospital account. On the one side: a university
report. On the other side: a hospital report.
For those who straddle both worlds, keeping track of
it all can be confusing, requiring reports that cover two
different budgets and sets of procedures. However, all that
will change under the new system being installed by
HopkinsOne,
says Kathy Brophy, HopkinsOne performance reporting project
manager. "Under the new system, people on the hospital side
and people on the university side will be able to compile
reports from a common system, which will greatly reduce the
need for supplemental databases we call shadow systems,"
she says. "Put simply, Hopkins employees will only have to
go to one place to gather information pertaining to most
sponsored project, supply chain, financial, human resources
and payroll data."
Begun in 2003, the HopkinsOne project will transform
most of Johns Hopkins' business and administrative systems
by installing integrated enterprisewide software called
SAP. The project is scheduled to "go live" in summer 2006
and wrap up by 2008.
The central storage component of SAP software —
Business Warehouse — integrates multiple information
sources. In recent months, Brophy and other HopkinsOne
staff have demonstrated its reporting capabilities for some
likely users. Many people are initially hesitant about the
new software, Brophy says, but they become more receptive
when they see its potential.
Brophy says that both faculty and administrators will
benefit from the system's ability to extract, arrange,
analyze and report on information for the purpose of making
sound decisions and tracking grant requirements. "The
software can create a detailed account of what has been
spent and what remains for a specific budget —
something faculty members need in order to track spending
and fulfill grant reporting requirements," she says.
Users also can focus on specific details, probe for
more information and display that information in a variety
of ways, including charts or bar graphs.
People who consolidate information from the university
and health system will probably be among the first to
recognize the system's benefits, Brophy says. "I think it
will become apparent to everyone that SAP is comprehensive,
reduces the need for shadow systems and has capabilities
that far exceed current systems."
Note: HopkinsOne excludes patient and student
systems.
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