The Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (Cipro) will miss the deadline for the final implementation of the first phase of its e-Cipro project.
According to Cipro CEO Keith Sendwe, the operation of the new workflow and document management system has been “slightly delayed” and will not be fully implemented this year.
The system forms part of the office's R153 million project to implement an enterprise content management foundation by using service-oriented architecture (SOA), which will allow the office to use a single e-form to capture data from all its clients.
“As a result of technical constraints - especially as they pertain to the rendering of services by Cipro to the public - it was deemed prudent to postpone the implementation of e-Cipro phase one, the workflow and document management system of the organisation, to March 2010,” says Sendwe.
As part of its turnaround strategy, the office is also implementing a new business strategy and improving its organisational structure, systems and skills. By February 2011, the office will have introduced a digital signature, digitised the 700 million documents it has in its archive, changed its back office to improve workflow and built a contact centre to increase access to its services.
A tender for the consolidation and virtualisation of Cipro's infrastructure has been awarded, and the office will soon issue a tender for the digitisation of its documents in its move to become a true e-government environment.
The office is also merging with the Office of Companies and Intellectual Property Enforcement to become a commission, which will be known as the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission. It will operate under a new law with expanded functions and powers. Administrative functions will no longer be assigned to the minister of trade and industry, but will instead be placed within the jurisdiction of the commission.
Finalising solutions
Sendwe says the postponement of the first phase of the e-Cipro project was a result of the implementation of a number of additional fraud prevention initiatives and an online payment solution for services to the public.
Sendwe says the project will be fully implemented in a controlled, phased approach once the payment solution has been approved. He adds that despite the delay, the development of the e-Cipro solution is advanced, and will replace the current manual registration processes.
Cipro says, when implemented in March 2010, it will be the first in office in government to have implemented an SOA-based government-wide enterprise architecture and public key infrastructure using SAPO's certified authority.
However, this will have to be extensively tested and vetted by the organisation and the office of the auditor-general, before it will be made available for use by the public, says Cipro.
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