Ellucian Banner — 20+ System ERP Estate
American University of Sharjah
Challenge
A major university in the UAE ran its entire administrative operation — student, human resources, finance, and advancement — on an Ellucian Banner estate spanning more than 20 interconnected systems. It needed someone to own the architecture of that estate end to end, keep it available, and carry it through two major platform versions without interrupting the academic calendar.
Solution
Led database and platform operations for 10 years as the architectural owner of the estate. Designed the high availability and disaster recovery topology on Oracle RAC and Data Guard, implemented TDE encryption, and coordinated the multi-year Banner 8 to 9 upgrade across every module — while maintaining the integration layer connecting Self-Service, Workflow, Mobile, Recruit, Travel & Expense, Xtender document management, and the Ethos integration platform.
Results
- ✓ 10 years of architectural ownership
- ✓ 20+ integrated systems under one design
- ✓ Banner 8 to 9 upgrade across all modules
- ✓ Oracle RAC + Data Guard high availability
The American University of Sharjah engagement is solution architecture at enterprise scale: a decade spent owning how more than twenty systems fit together, not just keeping a database running.
Banner touches every part of a university’s operation, which means the integration layer is the product. Student records flow to Self-Service, HR and payroll data flows to Travel & Expense, documents flow to Xtender, and Ethos brokers the connections outward. Each of those boundaries is a contract that has to survive an upgrade.
The Banner 8 to 9 migration was a multi-year initiative touching Student, HR, Finance and Advancement, plus every integration point between them — sequenced module by module so the institution never lost a business day. Underneath it, Oracle RAC provided high availability, Data Guard covered disaster recovery, and TDE protected data at rest.