Success Story: UNCG Modernizes Ellucian Banner ERP with a Multi-Cloud Architecture (Azure + OCI)
Hancock, MI – July 1, 2023. David Kent Consulting partnered with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) to modernize and migrate Ellucian Banner ERP and its integrated applications to a resilient, cost-efficient multi-cloud environment across Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). In just six months, UNCG gained a scalable, secure foundation ready for AI, analytics, and rapid innovation.
At-a-Glance
| Item | Summary |
| Institution | University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) |
| Workload | Ellucian Banner ERP + integrated apps and data |
| Cloud Strategy | Multi-cloud: Azure + OCI with high-throughput, ultra-low latency links (incl. Internet2) |
| Approach | Infrastructure as Code (IaC), DevOps containerization & orchestration |
| Automation | Azure CI/CD pipeline (Azure Pipelines, YAML) to build, test, and deploy with approvals/gates for consistent, auditable releases |
| Database Move | Transactional + data warehouse to OCI; Banner-adjacent apps to Azure |
| Outcomes | Lower cloud & licensing costs, elastic scalability, high availability, future-ready for AI/IoT/Big Data/GitOps |
| Timeline | ~6 months from design to cutover |
The Challenge
UNCG sought a modernization path that would:
- Reduce operating expenditures by eliminating underutilized compute/storage.
- Improve performance and scalability for Banner ERP workloads.
- Establish a future-ready cloud foundation for AI, analytics, and rapid development.
The Solution
David Kent Consulting designed and executed a multi-cloud architecture that aligns each workload to its best-fit platform:
- Cloud Platforms:
- Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI): Hosts transactional databases and data warehouse for high performance and licensing efficiency.
- Microsoft Azure: Runs tightly integrated Banner and partner applications, leveraging Azure’s app services and ecosystem.
- Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI): Hosts transactional databases and data warehouse for high performance and licensing efficiency.
- Network & Connectivity:
- High-throughput, ultra-low latency interconnects between Azure and OCI, including Internet2 connectivity.
- Built-in redundancy – no single points of failure – and software-driven disaster recovery design.
- High-throughput, ultra-low latency interconnects between Azure and OCI, including Internet2 connectivity.
- Deployment & Operations:
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to version, audit, and replicate environments quickly.
- DevOps containerization/orchestration to accelerate release cycles and improve portability.
- Elastic scaling aligned to real workload demand.
- Infrastructure as Code (IaC) to version, audit, and replicate environments quickly.
Technical Deep Dive: Azure DevOps CI/CD for Multi-Cloud Banner
An Azure CI/CD pipeline is an automated workflow within Azure DevOps that builds, tests, and deploys code to various environments. It automates the process from a developer’s code commit to production, streamlining the development lifecycle by ensuring consistent, rapid, and reliable delivery of high-quality software through stages like Continuous Integration (CI) for building and Continuous Delivery/Deployment (CD) for releasing.
Key Components: (H3)
- Azure Pipelines: The core Azure DevOps service for creating and managing CI/CD pipelines
- Source Control: A central repository, such as Azure Repos or GitHub, where developers commit their code
- Build & Test Stages (CI): The initial phase where code is compiled, unit tests are run, and an executable artifact (like a Docker container) is created
- Deployment Stages (CD): The subsequent phase where the artifact is deployed to intermediate environments (e.g., development, staging) and finally to production. Approvals/gates can control progression
- Environments: Named targets for deployment, such as development, QA, staging, and production – optionally with checks/approvals
- Triggers: Events that initiate the pipeline, most commonly a code commit to the repository
- YAML: The primary method for defining pipelines, allowing for a unified and version-controlled configuration
The Results
- Cost Savings: UNCG now pays only for the resources it uses, reducing overall cloud spend and software licensing costs.
- Agility & Scalability: Compute, storage, and services scale dynamically with enrollment cycles, registration peaks, and reporting windows.
- High Availability: Redundant design across clouds eliminates single points of failure and prepares for automated DR.
- Future-Ready Infrastructure: Positioned for AI, IoT, Big Data, and GitOps—enabling faster experimentation and innovation.
- Innovation Enablement: Research teams can partner with industry more easily on next-gen applications.
“UNCG’s vision of adopting multi-cloud with DevOps and IaC is a game changer, positioning the institution to rapidly deploy fit-for-purpose environments and to pioneer the next generation of internet applications.”
Hank Wojteczko, Practice Manager, Cloud Professional Services, David Kent Consulting
Why It Matters for Higher-Ed IT
- Right-fit workloads: Place databases on OCI for performance/licensing efficiency; apps on Azure for ecosystem flexibility
- Operational excellence: IaC + DevOps reduces risk, speeds change, and standardizes environments. Azure CI/CD pipelines provide repeatable, policy-gated releases
Readiness for AI/analytics: Clean separation of concerns and data gravity supports advanced use cases securely
- Right-fit workloads: Place databases on OCI for performance/licensing efficiency; apps on Azure for ecosystem flexibility
About UNCG
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is a doctoral-granting institution with 20,000+ students, 3,500 graduate students, and 2,500 full-time faculty and staff. UNCG is among the most diverse universities in the UNC System, with a deep commitment to access, equity, diversity, and collaboration.
About David Kent Consulting
David Kent Consulting is a global leader in higher-education technology, specializing in Ellucian Banner ERP, Oracle, and cloud transformation. Our Cloud Team helps institutions design, migrate, and optimize Banner in public and hybrid cloud environments.
Contact
📧 davidkent@davidkentconsulting.com
📞 872-529-5368
Frequently Asked Questions
To align each component to its best-fit platform OCI for Oracle databases/licensing efficiency; Azure for application services and ecosystem while preserving low-latency integration.
It provides high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity tailored for research/education networks, improving throughput between campuses and clouds.
Faster, safer releases; repeatable environments; versioned YAML pipelines with triggers and approvals/gates; reduced configuration drift; easier scaling.
Elastic scaling, right-sized resources, and platform-appropriate licensing, so UNCG pays only for what’s used.
Yes, data and applications are positioned on a modern multi-cloud foundation that supports AI/ML, Big Data pipelines, and GitOps.
It’s Azure DevOps automation that builds, tests, and deploys code via Azure Pipelines with version-controlled YAML, enabling consistent, auditable releases across UNCG’s multi-cloud stack.
Ready to explore your own path to a scalable, secure, and future-ready ERP?
