Human Resources Management System Upgrade Complete

A major, formerly at-risk information technology system belonging to the State of Hawai’i has received a major upgrade. The updates are part of the state’s long-term plan to transform the government.

On Jan. 20 the Human Resources Management System Upgrade Project was completed on schedule. The system is now modernized with vital backup and disaster recovery capability in the Hawai’i Government Private Cloud.

According to officials, HRMS is used by more than 200 human resource professionals in the Department of Human Resource Development and other agencies to support recruitment, management, and retention of over 16,000 employees.

“The HRMS Upgrade Project serves as a model as we propel state government to higher levels of efficiency, effectiveness and productivity,” said Gov. David Ige. “I applaud the project team for recognizing the security and cost benefits associated with shared cloud technology, while actively engaging our state employees and supporting them throughout the process to implement change the right way.”

Officials say previous versions of HRMS were at the end of their life.

“The old system was no longer supported by our vendors, and we faced the risk of a complete system failure that would have jeopardized essential functions,” according to DHRD Director James Nishimoto. “The upgrade provides a secure and reliable human resources system that will improve the way we conduct business.”

Included in the upgrade to the system is the installation of the latest version of the software, PeopleSoft 9.2, in the secure Hawai’i GPC. The Hawai’i GPC is a virtual computing environment that represents a key component of the modernization of Hawai’i’s technology infrastructure.

“With approximately 300 servers implemented on the Hawai’i GPC to-date, cloud technology is helping to reduce spending on infrastructure, increase system reliability and enhance the security of the state’s information resources,” said Keone Kali, state chief information officer. “Launch of the HRMS upgrade in the Hawai’I GCP is an excellent example of how this environment can securely, efficiently and cost-effectively host our most critical systems.”

Efforts towards the HRMS Upgrade Project were coordinated through the collaboration between multiple state agencies, including DHRD, the Department of Accounting and General Services’ Information and Communications Service Division, the Office of Information Management and Technology, and the Department of Taxation.

In addition to the involved government agencies, the project highlights the collaboration between DHRD and its users. Users of the system provided assistance and guidance throughout the process in helping to develop new and improved reference guides. According to officials, as upgrades were made to the system, users went through in-person and video training in addition to on-line self-service training resources.

The project had a $1.57 million budget that allowed for the design, software, licenses and database updates, technical implementation assistance, and training costs.