Servers to boost welfare management systems

By PETER GRIFFIN


The Ministry of Social Development has bought two powerful Unisys servers from IT vendor EDS in a multimillion-dollar deal that boosts capacity for the Government's benefit assessment and debt recovery.

But the long-term status of the systems, which manage thousands of financial transactions and beneficiary records, is still up in the air as the Government weighs up the pros and cons of spending between $87 million and $178 million replacing or upgrading the systems.

Capital funding of $60 million has already been allocated for future development of the two systems known as Social Welfare Information for Tomorrow Today (SWIFTT) and debt recovery system Trace.

But the Government has yet to play its hand, mindful of the large sums of money and the ever-vivid memories of the INCIS police computer debacle.

Replacing its out-dated Clearpath NX5800 mainframes, the ministry is switching to Libra 185 servers, also from Unisys.

But they don't come cheap.

Depending on configuration, each server can carry a price tag of between US$1 million ($1.55 million) and US$20 million.

The ministry would not say how much it paid for the servers, saying the information was "commercially sensitive". The price tag is likely to be at the lower end of the spectrum.

The servers will host the complex SWIFTT/Trace system, which manages all beneficiaries' records and payments - from unemployment benefits through to sickness and superannuation benefits and log debts for recovery.

By moving now to upgrade its hardware, the ministry says it can save money.

"The ministry has struck an excellent deal with EDS to purchase two Unisys Libra 185 mainframes, and by buying now rather than later we have been able to get trade-in discount on our current machines," said chief information officer Christine Stevenson.

The cost savings are the main reason given by the ministry for shelling out on new hardware now, rather than waiting for the upcoming SWIFTT/Trace overhaul, which the ministry estimates will take between three and six years to complete.