Modernizing ERP Optimizes Operations

Organization Profile

• Industry: Municipal
• Location: Pembroke Pines, Florida
• Number of Employees: 2,000
• Population: 171,000
• Tyler Client Since: 2018
• Tyler Products/Solutions: Enterprise ERP, Cashiering, Content Manager, Enterprise Asset Management, Enterprise Permitting & Licensing, Enterprise Service Requests, Fire Prevention Mobile, Notify, Time & Attendance

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Located west of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the city of Pembroke Pines has evolved from a bedroom community into a city of 40,000 residences, several hospitals, a wide range of businesses, and well-regarded schools. The city has its own police and fire departments and a water and sewer division.

Recognizing that aged technology was not meeting the needs of its community, the city of Pembroke Pines decided to update its financial, cashiering, HR, payroll, permitting and licensing, and utility billing software to:

• Connect data across departments, improving accuracy, timeliness, and efficiency
• Move to a cloud solution, ensuring system resiliency and eliminating the burden of on-premises server maintenance
• Leverage the benefits of a single-vendor system, providing a single source of vendor support and accountability
• Optimize employee recruitment, streamlining hiring workflows for employees and applicants

“All the old systems, including utilities, finance, payroll, and HR, were separate, unconnected units,” says Bob Aguirra, Pembroke Pines’ ERP manager, who oversaw the city’s implementations. “It was a struggle to get information across the systems. Most applications were developed in-house and had been in place for more than 20 years.”

To modernize the ERP system and other solutions, the city turned to Tyler Technologies.

Increasing Data Accuracy and Timeliness

While Pembroke Pines’ modernization efforts have provided numerous benefits, Aguirra puts the integration of Enterprise ERP with other solutions at the top of the list, explaining the primary advantage of a connected system is the accuracy and timeliness of information.

“It had been a struggle to get information across the systems,” Aguirra says.

Thanks to the connections of Enterprise Permitting & Licensing and Enterprise Utilities, staff can access the ledger in Enterprise ERP and see everything behind the numbers. The result is a single source of truth for data, ensuring accurate information.

“You can access and provide information faster and more reliably,” says Aguirra. “You can’t beat that. I’m providing information to top management that I trust is correct because it all comes from the same place. I’m not depending on somebody to put a spreadsheet together and maybe put a dot in the wrong place. I can now trust the information because I see where it’s coming from and where it’s going.”

Aguirra points to other benefits of connections too.

Connecting Enterprise Asset Management to Payroll

Thanks to the integration of Enterprise Asset Management and Tyler’s payroll software, the city gains valuable insight into the actual cost of the work.

“If the workflow is connected with your payroll, you are getting that information not only to the public works supervisor but to the payroll department,” says Aguirra. “There is a cost associated with a work order. So, you get everything in one place via the integration. We can see the true cost.”

The Value of the Cloud

Tyler’s cloud solutions have been especially valuable to Pembroke Pines because of its resiliency. This is especially important to cities such as Pembroke Pines, which are susceptible to hurricanes.

“We are in a state vulnerable to hurricanes and being in the cloud with Tyler puts me at ease to know that if we have a situation where our city hall is not functional, we can still perform,” says Aguirra.

“We don’t have to worry about upgrading servers, what versions are we on, security patches, and all that,” he says. “We were on-prem before, and I know the cost and time involved and how many professionals you must dedicate to that just to be on top of the technology. Right now, all I need is an internet connection. Our old server room looks just like an empty box.”

A Single-Vendor Solution

Finally, Aguirra notes the benefits of having a single vendor for multiple business and community critical applications, like payroll, permitting, utility billing, service requests, and more. With Tyler, you have a single source of truth you can trust. “I know that Tyler is going to look out for us. Tyler is going to look out because it’s their product. It’s their name, and it’s their reputation,” says Aguirra.