On Friday 20 April 2001 SITA signed a three-year enterprise licensing and services agreement with Microsoft South Africa. This deal will save the South African Government more than R300 million in licensing fees. Valued at R468 million, the agreement will initiate the deployment of Microsoft software across 100 000 personal computers as well as Microsoft Enterprise servers in various Government departments around the country.
The agreement involves the use of Microsoft's Office Suite of desktop products and Microsoft's Windows 2000 platform including server products such as Microsoft Exchange 2000, Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and Microsoft Internet Technologies. Through Microsoft partners and SITA, the deployment will focus on ensuring the interoperability and the standardisation of information systems across the Government's IT infrastructure.
Minister of Public Service and Administration, Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, said that governments worldwide are under pressure to streamline their information technology (IT) infrastructures to improve their administrative processes, communicate with the private sector and serve communities better. The agreement between SITA and Microsoft SA is one step closer to that reality for the SA Government.
"The agreement with Microsoft was especially attractive due to the return on investment of Government IT expenditure whilst improving Government services," said SITA MD, Colin van Schalkwyk. "The agreement will assist SITA drive its objectives forward as we move towards a digitally inclusive society", he said.
With the guidance of the Department of Public Service and Administration, SITA's primary objective is to leverage IT capabilities across Government departments to accelerate service delivery, promote effective black economic empowerment and reduce costs. Using technology, the Government is able to become more accessible and transparent to citizens.
"Technology's true value lies in being able to empower knowledge workers to share information and streamline administrative processes across departments. This allows for more time and resources to be allocated to areas crucial in fostering growth and quality service delivery. This technology will provide a platform for the deployment of agile solutions, thereby assisting the Government to effectively respond to changing socio-economic situations", Microsoft South Africa's MD Mark Hill said.
As part of Microsoft South Africa's ongoing commitment to bridging the digital divide in South Africa and promoting the use of IT in Government and the community, the agreement includes a R25 million investment by Microsoft over the next three years to promote IT skills and furthering the Digital Villages programme.
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