Australian software vendor calls for end to whole of government ICT purchasing

Stephen Withers
Wednesday, 18 June 2008 11:17

IT Industry - Strategy

One of Australia's largest enterprise software vendors has called on the new Rudd government to level the playing field for local companies and end the practice of whole of government purchasing. The vendor wants a return to the panel system of technology acquisition.

TechnologyOne provides software and services to more than 40 federal government departments and agencies.

In a submission to the Gershon review of government ICT use, TechnologyOne founder and executive chairmanAdrian Di Marco made three recommendations.

Perhaps the biggest change would be the removal of controversial whole of government contracts that favour the largest, foreign-owned suppliers leaving local companies to pick up the crumbs on a subscontract basis.

Instead, Di Marco wants to see the restoration of the panel system that prequalifies a shortlist of suppliers in various functional areas, leading to ongoing competition.

“History has shown that it is important to ensure a competitive environment is maintained, so that tax payers can be assured of the best possible price,” he said.

“A panel of solutions will also create a level playing field and allow Australian companies to effectively bid for government contracts, something that is not possible where the whole-of-government approach is taken.

"History has shown time and time again that when whole-of-government contracts are issued, local Australian vendors are not successful and business is secured by multinational companies, even though, in the vast majority of cases, Australian vendors can provide software solutions much more competitively than multinationals," said Di Marco.

What else does Di Marco advise? Please read on .