Locally-listed systems integrator Business Connexion (BCX) has secured the second portion of government's controversial Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) software tender; speculated to be worth several billion rand.
A National Treasury initiative, the IFMS project received Cabinet approval in 2005. It is intended to address the financial management flaws in national and provincial departments by replacing the numerous disparate, inadequate and/or outdated systems currently used.
In its final state, the system is expected to encompass supply chain management, financial management, HR management and business intelligence. Its development is being run as a joint initiative with the Department of Public Service and Administration and the State IT Agency (SITA).
Advertised by SITA, in August last year, the contentious software tender called for bespoke development of its four parts: core financial system, inventory management system, payroll system, and data exchange system. The payroll portion of the tender was cancelled and reissued, following the failure of all submissions to meet the mandatory requirements. The core financial system portion was awarded to Accenture last month for an undisclosed sum.
Maintaining its minimalist approach, SITA announced BCX's securing of the data exchange system in the Government Gazette. The value of the five-year deal was not disclosed.
Time constraints
According to the tender specifications, BCX now has a maximum of seven months to create a middleware application that will facilitate the electronic exchange of data between government and its trading partners; as well as establish the business environment and structure required to manage its operation.
The company is required to implement the software “specifically in support of the new IFMS Government Payroll”. At this stage it is unknown when the tender for the bespoke development of the IFMS payroll system will be awarded. The successful bidder will have nine months to develop and prepare the payroll software for implementation.
What's more, BCX must identify those organisations - such as banks, medical aids and insurance companies - currently interacting with government's various payrolls and conclude contracts for the new exchange system. This includes negotiating and securing agreement on all service levels and messaging standards to be applied in the new environment, as well as facilitating any underpinning agreements, including commercial, between government and the trading partners.
SITA warns that commercial agreements must be concluded in accordance with SITA and government procurement practices and procedures, and that sufficient time should be allowed for the various elements of this process, including tender publication, evaluation and contracting.
The tender has been criticised in its entirety for ignoring the cost and functionality benefits of customised over the shelf and/or open source software, as well as insisting on development time frames that international software specialist Tony Wasserman has called “almost certainly unfeasible”.
SITA did not respond to requests for comment. The terms of the tender prevent BCX from commenting. The company is currently trading under a cautionary, while its board considers “various transactions and opportunities which, if successfully concluded, may have a material effect on the price of the company's securities”.
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