Radboud University

Radboud University Standardized Their
Oracle EBS Patching on Panaya

About
Radboud University

Radboud University is a public university with a strong focus on research located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. It was established on 17 October 1923 and is situated in the oldest city of the Netherlands. The RU has seven faculties and enrolls over 19,900 students. It was internationally ranked 156th by the QS World University Rankings.

“Panaya lowers the risk inherent in Oracle EBS patching projects.”

Mark van Elferen | Functional Development Director, Radboud University

The Challenge

Mark van Elferen is Functional Development Director at Radboud University. He and eight other developers are responsible for the university’s Oracle EBS system – including 4,000 users. Radboud makes use of almost all of Oracle’s EBS Financials modules – Projects, Purchasing, Accounts Receivable, Payables, Payroll, Fixed Assets, and others.

Radboud University’s Oracle EBS team wanted to remain current with Oracle EBS patching. They follow Oracle’s well known advice and patch their system twice a year. Their challenge was huge – when they updated their EBS, they had no way of knowing what was impacted.

“We run regression tests each time, and have only three weeks to complete the patching project. Before Panaya, we didn’t even know what to test first,”

The Solution

Mark and his colleagues first ran into Panaya at a presentation in Belgium. The Radboud team was impressed and decided to give Panaya a further look. After a few phone calls and a live demo, Radboud University decided to standardize their Oracle EBS patching on Panaya.

Radboud began working with Panaya in November 2014, analyzing hundreds of new Oracle EBS patches. Their first experience with Panaya was a success. They gave Panaya a second go in June 2015 and again in November 2015.

The Results

Radboud University experienced a clear-cut ROI from Panaya.

Used 30% less testing capacity (functional development and key users).
Reduced the necessary post patching efforts by 30% (application and functional development).
Reduced business risk often caused by instability.

According to Mark van Elferen:

“Panaya was very effective. It pointed out exactly what to test. We do this on the first of our 3 week patching projects. We called in our key users and told them,’We need you for just one day.’ They were pleased, to say the least. The Panaya dashboard let us see the testing progress in real time. It was a very efficient patching and testing process for us. We knew exactly what was changed. Panaya lowers the risk inherent in Oracle EBS patching projects.”

Panaya allows Radboud University to successfully complete their bi-annual patching projects on time and with zero critical issues.