The State IT Agency (SITA) is today holding a clarification session on its controversial Integrated Financial Management Systems (IFMS) software tender.
Although clarification sessions have been held in the past, these are rare, according to industry players. The organisation has again extended the deadline for bids, this time to 30 September.
The tender is for the bespoke development of four separate modules: core financial system, inventory management system, payroll system, and data exchange system.
The procurement module was awarded to ICT Works in 2007, for an amount of R520 000, and the HR module to a SAP consortium, at a value of R800 000. To date, the agency has successfully implemented one live site of the HR module at the Department of Public Service and Administration.
An investigation featured in the current issue of ITWeb's iWeekmagazine calls into question the requirements of the tender. The scope of each tender module requires the bidder provide project management services; full bespoke development of the relevant system and configuration of lead site, the copyright and intellectual property of which will remain with SITA; test support services; software maintenance and support for a period of five years; and a skills transfer programme.
The successful bidders on the first three modules will have nine months to have the application ready for a live installation, while the data exchange system winner will have seven months.
Local industry players have questioned the detail of the tenders, but were reluctant to comment on the record given government's current sensitivity to criticism in the run-up to next year's ANC policy conference.
Commenting in iWeek, Tony Wasserman, professor of Software Management Practice at Carnegie Mellon's Silicon Valley campus, questioned SITA's decision to develop the modules from scratch rather than consider a proprietary or open source solution. Wasserman pointed out that the application domains in question are some of the most developed in the software space.
Additionally, he says the required time to develop the solutions is almost certainly unfeasible.
Attendees at the previous compulsory briefing, on 25 August, received a notice earlier this week that SITA would hold a “clarification session” on the tender today. The briefing, which is scheduled to last three hours, has left industry players confused and bemused.
One industry player, who asked not to be named, said the tender is extensively, if not appropriately, detailed. “SITA has also published three documents answering questions that they have received from various players. What can they require three hours for to 'clarify'?“
If SITA intends to change a material aspect of the tender - such as considering existing applications or extending the development timeframe - it will need to withdraw the current tender and issue a new one. This process is required to ensure all companies are given a fair opportunity to bid on government's requirements.
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