Wellington City Council narrows list of suppliers for core IT platform

The Odyssey project, as it is known, will provide a single platform for core applications. There are currently more than 120 systems.

Wellington City Council has narrowed down a long list of eight vendors to just three to supply a new core IT platform. CIO Channa Jayasinha expects a decision by the end of October.

The council had delayed the release of the tender because other councils in the region were interested in the project.

The Odyssey project, as it is known, will provide a single platform for core applications. There are currently more than 120 systems.

Jayasinha says those vendors which did not make the short list are not necessarily excluded. They could be brought back in if those on the short list can't fulfill the requirements.

The council is seeking to cut the cost of IT per user from $13,600 to between $4000 and $6000.

Four of the six councils in the region will take part in Odyssey. They are Wellington, the Greater Wellington Regional Council, Porirua and Upper Hutt. The other two, Hutt and Kapiti, are keeping a watching brief on the project, Jayasinha says. The four will all contibute to the cost.

“When the requirements gathering began, the other councils came back to us with very little change,” he says. 'They were very close to our needs.”

After gathering the information, Wellington council decided an integrated system across customer relationships and service management, regulatory management, land and property management, asset management, human resources management and financial management was the way to go.

The council has adopted a three-pronged approach to improving its IT. It is in the process of digitising all its content, using Open Text, supported by Atos. So far, 450 out of 1500 users have been converted. Jaysinha says the project should be completed by December.

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The third leg is shared services, encompassing such things as data storage, a communications network and a single IT help desk.

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Tags channa jayasinhawellington city councilgreater wellington regional councilPoriruaUpper HuttOdyssey project

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