Online pitch to Government

By ADAM GIFFORD

Consulting firm Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is encouraging Government departments and agencies to rent financial software online.

Senior partner David Stewart said the planned application service provider (ASP) delivery of Oracle Financials was a spinoff from CGEY's participation in the $7.5 million Goprocure Government electronic project.

"When we put in the e-procurement system we will be establishing back-office systems as well," Stewart said.

"We are prepared to expand that back office to provide full financials configured to conform to Government requirements and made available on a pay-as-you-go basis."

The ASP will involve the same consortium partners as the Goprocure project, with Hewlett Packard providing hardware and Datacom hosting the servers.

The price of Goprocure to the Government is capped at $7.5 million over five years if expected transaction volumes are reached, but that does not include the costs of integrating departments' existing purchasing and general ledger systems.