JD Edwards Implementation | REIT Industry

Camden Partners with RSA Corp for Technical Expertise on JD Edwards Implementation

Camden Property Trust decided to consolidate and modernize its business processes in order to keep pace with its dynamic growth. Camden selected the JD Edwards enterprise resource planning (ERP) application for its core financial operations. Camden chose RSA Corp for its technical implementation team. The selection of RSA Corp was based on our responsiveness and ability to create and deliver services tailored to Camden’s requirements.

We provided the technical team responsible for project management, software installation and configuration, data conversion, data migration and integration, reporting capabilities, security implementation and technical documentation. Throughout the project, Camden was accountable to stringent auditing to ensure compliance with all local and federal regulations including Sarbanes-Oxley. We submitted documented processes of all work, especially the data conversion that provided the evidence for the project auditors.

We worked together with Camden’s project team, functional project team and business users. We exceeded Camden’s expectations, going beyond the delivery of expected technical services by:

• Offering specific JD Edwards application experience and knowledge
• Providing complete documentation of all processes including configuration, conversion, integration and operational support<
• Working with Camden’s user-acceptance testing methodology and process, which provided end-users with problem reporting and ensured resolution of all issues
• Documenting all aspects of the data-conversion processes and providing the re-use of the conversion techniques for future mergers and acquisitions
• Developing detailed audit trails for all conversions, migrations and integrations that exceeded compliance requirements
• Working within Camden’s standards to implement appropriate levels of security and compliance throughout the project life cycle
• Developing conversion validation and reconciliation procedures that enabled one person to verify five years of data in a timely manner
• Engaging the end-users in performance and stress testing and helping them gain confidence in the application’s ability to perform according to business demands
• Working within Camden’s guidelines to ensure the required change-management processes for ongoing maintenance, including document management, were followed
• Mentoring the Camden technical support team (who would be responsible for supporting and sustaining the application) by providing on-the-job training and knowledge transfer on all aspects of the application’s configuration and integration processes
• Providing expertise in disaster recovery planning, which was an extension of the original project scope
• Assisting with staff replacement

“RSA Corp brought together a team with excellent JD Edwards expertise and solid technology experience,” says Melinda Culver, director of Business Solutions at Camden. “Their consultants worked well with Camden’s technical and business teams, as well as the project’s functional team, helping us to bring our project in on schedule.”

When Camden’s JD Edwards application went live from its Houston headquarters and 200 nationwide apartment locations, Camden gained a significant improvement in its business operations, timely access to business information, and a reduction in need for manual processes.

“Our goal, as the technical implementation team for Camden, was to provide a sustainable technology base for its financial business applications. Whenever the team determined that we could provide extra value or do more to ensure the JD Edward’s application project would be a success, we took that extra step,” said Joan Kriedle, RSA Corp technical team leader for the project.

Through the efforts of the project team and our consultants, Camden successfully migrated from a highly manual accounting system to a proactive, knowledge-based financial suite. Also, it transferred from using a client-server and DOS technology to a state-of-the-art, Web-based ERP system. As a company, Camden is poised for significant future growth and is confident it has a solid infrastructure in place to support continued success.