Govt to fork out record $2b for tech projects
Bulk of spending will be for new computer system for public sector
By Grace Chng, Deputy News Editor
Apr 27, 2007
The Straits Times
THE public sector will spend a record $2 billion this year – double the previous high in 2005 – on technology to improve service and security, and protect the environment.
The lion’s share of the spending – up to $1.5 billion – will go towards a new computer system for the public sector.
The new system, called SOE (Standard Operating Environment), will be used by about 60,000 public officers and span almost the entire civil service.
It is the largest-ever IT project outsourced by the Government, and will offer several advantages over current systems – among them, higher efficiency and lower costs.
For instance, officers will not need to go through training when they are transferred from one department to another.
They will also be able to access their work and government resources from virtually anywhere, both here and overseas. And because the same software will be used throughout the civil service, there will be no issues with incompatibility.
At the moment, agencies buy their own PCs and software and sub-contract helpdesk and maintenance work to various vendors. This means each agency has to deal with multiple vendors and contracts.
Ms Pauline Tan, senior director of the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA), said: ‘With one SOE vendor, complexity will be reduced, support costs will drop, while maintenance will become easier and more convenient.’
The first site is expected to go live in mid-2009, with all agencies to be fully switched over by the end of 2010.
The SOE will be installed in all government agencies, except the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) and Defence Science & Technology Agency (DSTA), all Education Ministry schools, polytechnics and Institutes of Technical Education, as well as the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University.
Also yesterday, the IDA announced that a total of 341 tenders worth $730 million will be called by the various government agencies over the next fiscal year, ending March 31 next year.
Topping the list of government buyers is the IDA, with a budget of $255 million. Mindef and the DSTA come next, with a $155 million purse.
But the SOE project, first announced two years ago, is the jewel in the crown, and the IDA yesterday launched its final phase – a tender exercise to select the winning consortium.
Of the six consortia that submitted pre-qualifying proposals last year – including giants like IBM, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and ST Electronics – four will compete for the prize.
They are the iN’spire team led by HP, NexGenea led by NEC, OneMeridien led by EDS and One Team led by local company NCS. Behind each consortium is a cluster of ICT companies like Cisco and Microsoft providing technology and services.
Each has been involved in months of consultations with IDA to get to grips with the demands of the project.
Mr Seah Moon Meng, president of ST Electronics, which is partnering HP, said: ‘The time taken to consider all aspects of this project allowed thorough clarifications on requirements. It also allowed us to address in greater detail certain important aspects of the tender, such as financing and security concerns.’
Final proposals must be submitted by June 7. The contract will be awarded by Oct 10.
JIMMY: IT SECTOR IN SINGAPORE IS GROWING, THERE WILL BE DEMANDS FOR PEOPLE WITH WEB, PROGRAMMING,NETWORKING SKILLS SO FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN THIS SECTOR AT THE MOMENT, CONGRATS !
