Dallas Baptist University Digitizes With New Real-Time Data Integration Software Platform

Dallas Baptist University is the first institution to implement a new data integration software platform for higher education.

The AMSA Connect platform from A.M. Simpkins & Associates is an Integration Data Analytics As-a-Service (I.D.E.A.S.) solution tailored specifically to higher ed institutions. The intent is to help universities integrate data flow seamlessly between third-party applications and ERP/SIS systems.

Local private institution Dallas Baptist University (DBU) said that it chose AMSA Connect to transition from an “outdated flat file data transfer system” to “real time integrations across its enterprise resource planning systems.” After conducting a University Case Study, the team found that AMSA Connect developers can create an automated, real-time data transfer system across DBU’s reporting softwares.

With the tech, DBU can improve application tracking and processing time, track of Coursedog, and Salesforce to Colleague API integrations.

DBU offers more than 80 undergraduate programs, along with online and master’s program courses. According to the institution, it is set to host more than 4,700 students from 60-plus countries this year.

Now, with AMSA Connect’s solutions, DBU is more readily prepared for the future. It hopes to increase new student admissions, better manage courses for this semester, and make more strategic decisions based on real-time analytics.

“We have several systems across our organization that we never dreamed would be able to be effectively integrated via API, not feed files,” Dr. Matt Winn, the CIO at Dallas Baptist, said. “AMSA Connect continues to make our desire to have fully integrated systems a reality. This not only improves our data integrity, but greatly reduces our need to manually participate in data transfer processes.”

Winn is known across DBU for working to digitize and bring the institution forward. His goal is to raise awareness about these processes to potentially help thousands of institutions across the U.S.

Winn worked closely with A.M. Simpkins & Associates to customize the AMSA Connect solution to fit the needs of DBU. Per a news release, DBU and A.M. Simpkins & Associates have formed a “true agile partnership” that allows the university to provide feedback on how AMSA Connect can best meet its needs.

AMSA’s team offered consulting on specific forums and a toolkit for DBU’s IT department. The foundation created lets DBU customize and scale the tech as needed.

A.M. Simpkins & Associates dubs AMSA Connect a one-stop-shop for any system integration solution with its single endpoint. According to the company, such connectivity facilitates a “cerebral perspective” of the massive data and business intelligence flowing together across a campus. And, institutions are able to remain in-sync with campus needs and activities.

The tech comes from former NFL player Maurice Simpkins, who is the founder and chief technology officer of A.M. Simpkins & Associates. He hopes the release of AMSA Connect will bring cutting-edge data integration to higher ed.

“I’ve always been a coder. It was honestly coding that made it possible for me to make one of my dreams come true of making it to the NFL,” Simpkins said in a statement. “I was released from the Green Bay Packers the same year they made it to the Superbowl. My experience in the NFL pushed me to continue with my passion for technological innovation in higher education.”

The release of AMSA Connect coincides with Simpkins’ 10-year anniversary of being signed to the Packers. Though his original dream was playing professional football, Simpkins said that since then he has worked tirelessly to build a second dream of creating a solution that would positively impact the world of higher ed and change the future of integration.

“Matt [Winn] is very innovative and forward-thinking. He believed in me to help him bring his vision of creating a real-time Salesforce integration to Colleague ERP to life. And now we will be building out the pipeline for integrations of Course Dog, ADP, and Terra Dotta,” Simpkins said. “I’ve been able to see ten years of work come to fruition, this moment for me was my own personal Super Bowl. I look forward to helping more institutions step into the future of integration using AMSA Connect.”