The Business Owners Advisory Committee (BOAC) is comprised of key Columbus business executives from American Electric Power (AEP), Cardinal Health, The Limited Brands, Nationwide, and Worthington Industries. They provide guidance on overall project direction, product deliverables, major project decision points, major business transformation activities, benefit categories, and key performance indicators.

The OAKS project will use a phased implementation schedule segmented by human capital management (HCM) or financials (FIN) functionality:

December 2006 – HCM:  Core HR; Payroll; Base Benefits; Time & Labor; ePay; Enterprise Performance Management (EPM) for HCM modules; and the HR2K Data Warehouse.

April 2007 – HCM:  Benefits Administration; COBRA; and EPM for Benefits Administration and COBRA.

July 2007 – FIN:  Purchasing; General Ledger; Accounts Receivable; Accounts Payable; EPM for FIN modules; and the CAS Data Warehouse.

January 2008 – HCM:  Select and Recruit; eRecruitment; ePerformance; eBenefits; Year-end processing; Workforce Rewards; EPM for Select and Recruit; and Time & Labor (Self Service)

January 2008 – FIN:  Billing and Expense.

July 2008 – FIN:  Projects; Contracts; Asset Management; Budgets; Cash Management; Capital Projects; and EPM for FIN modules.

Like other efforts undertaken for the benefit of all state agencies, the cost for OAKS will be shared by these agencies. Until the total cost for acquiring and implementing OAKS is determined, the total project cost and its exact impact on agencies can't be known. For ongoing operational costs for OAKS, the Office of Budget and Management (OBM) and the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) will be evaluating the methods by which they currently charge agencies for use of central administrative services (for example, percentage of payroll, fee by headcount, and percentage of purchases) to determine if and how these methods should be adjusted for OAKS.

OAKS is being funded by a variety of sources, including transfers from the general revenue fund, federal funds through Statewide Cost Accounting Plan (SWCAP) assessments and Certificates of Participation (COPs). COPs is a type of financing through which a third-party financer sells shares of the project's eventual proceeds.

The OAKS implementation schedule can be accessed on the OAKS Web site at http://www.oaks.ohio.gov/oaks/Phase4.asp.

The cost-benefit analysis is part of the OAKS Business Case document, which was part of the overall business needs analysis. It is available for downloading at http://www.oaks.ohio.gov/OAKS/Phase2.asp.

The OAKS business requirements are contained in the first document produced during the OAKS business needs analysis. The Requirements Document is available for downloading at http://www.oaks.ohio.gov/OAKS/Phase2.asp.

Previously awarded competitive documents, plus all associated amendments, are available at http://www.oaks.ohio.gov/OAKS/RFPs.asp. If OAKS has any competitive documents currently advertised or under consideration, these will be available at the State of Ohio Procurement Web site: http://procure.ohio.gov/proc/.

The OAKS project table of organization is available at http://www.oaks.ohio.gov/OAKS/TableOfOrg.asp.

Yes. Because all state agencies will be affected by OAKS, the project's success hinges on agency involvement. Some of this involvement will be formal, such as agency staff participation in topic-specific joint application development (JAD) sessions. Other avenues for involvement will include staying in touch with the OAKS agency liaison, monitoring the OAKS Internet site (www.oaks.ohio.gov) for developments, and other activities that will be determined in the future.

Agencies participate directly in the project in a number of ways. 100 state agencies, board and commissions, for example, participate in one of the state's 40 agency implementation teams (AITs). These teams have been asked to take the lead in preparing their respective agencies for the changes OAKS represents. Individual AITs meet frequently to work on agency-specific tasks. Liaisons from each AIT are invited to monthly business meetings to receive project updates and plan for upcoming activities.

Agency representatives also participate in a variety of project meetings and activities. During the project's business needs analysis in 2002, for example, more than 500 individuals attended joint application design sessions to help define OAKS business requirements. Individuals from more than 30 agencies met during the summer of 2005 to review and expand upon these requirements.

The OAKS human capital management (HCM), financials and technical teams ask for agency assistance in compiling information used during the project's design phase. Working though the AIT structure, agency subject matter experts are asked to complete specific task assignments and return the results to the OAKS program management office (PMO).

The OAKS project is being funded by a variety of sources, including transfers from the general revenue fund (GRF), federal funds through Statewide Cost Accounting Plan (SWCAP) assessments and Certificates of Participation (COPs). COPs is a type of debt financing through which a third-party financier sells certificates to fund the project. The debt service costs will be recovered by assessing a fee to state agencies. OAKS has provided an estimate of the anticipated cost to each agency for the development of the system. OAKS is currently developing a plan to support the application long term. The long-term support also known as "steady state" will include operational support for the system.

The state can no longer rely on outdated central computer systems, some of which are more than 30 years old, or continue to operate a variety of disparate, stand-alone systems. Access to reliable information is critical to good government. The OAKS system will handle administrative functions such as budgeting, accounting, capital improvements, fixed assets, procurement, and human resources data. OAKS will:

• Consolidate and streamline business practices and administrative processes
• Implement Web based programs to serve the general public and state employees
• Reduce paperwork
• Replace outdated records systems and reduce the need for custom built systems
• Provide an integrated, easily accessible system with add-on capabilities

We do not anticipate hiring state employees for the OAKS project. For other employment opportunities with the State of Ohio, please check the State of Ohio Job Search.

Agencies must use OAKS to process fiscal transactions in the state's central accounting system (CAS). OAKS will be the official book of record for the State of Ohio.

Additional functionality will be included in the OAKS system through planned releases and product upgrades.

Yes, within five years of full implementation, Ohio expects to realize savings through:

• Leveraging the state's purchasing power;
• Increasing the use of vendor payment discounts;
• Using bar coding to conduct physical inventories;
• Using "Employee Self-Service" to eliminate paper processing for many routine activities;
• Minimizing or eliminating the need for agencies to maintain systems that duplicate the functions of OAKS; and
• Building in "Best Practices" by using ERP software that will receive ongoing upgrades and enhancements.

Oracle-PeopleSoft upgrades its software on a 1-2 year cycle. When a new release is made available, Oracle-PeopleSoft will offer an upgrade toolkit to migrate stored information and prevent the loss of data.

Information about doing business with the state of Ohio is available at the Department of Administrative Services' website at http://das.ohio.gov/business.htm.

Answers to many questions regarding registering as a potential bidder, receiving bid notifications, receiving state contracts, etc. are available at the State Procurement website at http://procure.ohio.gov/proc/.