The Kuali Community
One Executive’s Perspective
David Lassner, Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at the University of Hawaii, was a founding member of the Kuali Foundation. Today, he serves on both the Kuali Foundation and Kuali Financial System (KFS) Boards, and is actively engaged in implementation of KFS and Kuali Coeus for the University of Hawaii’s ten campuses.
Benefits
David sees the following benefits from participation in the Kuali community:
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Powerful collaboration with others in higher education
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While Kuali is our early stages there is a great opportunity to influence the direction of the applications through active participation
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Efficient leverage of shared resources
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More and better strategies for cost containment
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Multiple options for commercial support
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Better protection from an increasingly volatile commercial marketplace in which product decisions are more driven by financial conditions than customer needs
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Increased control of the institution's information system destiny
Cautions
David would suggest keeping the following in mind:
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Not paying for software licenses does not equate to free; there are many cost elements in enterprise information systems implementation and maintenance
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Collaborative community source development is different from single institution development or commercial development; no single entity is “in charge.”
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When comparing the current state of Kuali applications to mature software products, remember that Kuali systems are still in their earliest stages. (Of course, the version of the software at the end of any enterprise implementation is seldom the same version that was reviewed during the selection process.)
David’s Recommendations
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Engage with the community. Contact Kuali members – both institutional and commercial – to understand if Kuali is a match for your institution today or in the future.
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Attend Kuali Days.
If Kuali is right for you, we would be delighted to have you join us in creating a better shared future for higher education together.
