IT services and consultancy firm Version 1 Software has revealed that it has won three deals worth over €1m with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Mental Health Commission and the Social Services Inspectorate.
The company also revealed that it has doubled its staff headcount to 60 in the past year and has taken more office space at its Dublin HQ in Temple Bar to accommodate this growth.
In terms of its deal with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Version 1 has been awarded a contract to design and build an e-government system to manage all the processes involved in redundancy payments, including implementation of recent legislation changes. The new system will, for the first time, enable employers to make applications to the Department online. It is expected that the online system will be simpler to use than the current paper system, resulting in a significant percentage of applications being made online. This in turn will facilitate quicker processing of applications within the Department, delivering benefits to all parties involved. The system represents a key element in the ongoing roll-out of eGovernment solutions to business and citizens.
Following a competitive tendering process, the Mental Health Commission selected Version 1 to design, develop and deliver a solution that would register, monitor and facilitate the provision of on-going reviews of patients who are involuntarily detained for treatment in the approved centres throughout Ireland under the Mental Health Act 2001. At present, Version 1 are working closely with a dedicated Tribunals team from the Mental Health Commission to fully test the system named SIAT (System for Involuntary Admission and Tribunals) before its go live date. Version 1 will also provide maintenance and support for the new system, once it has gone live, though its ProWatch Support Group.
Version 1’s third win is with the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI), which conducts inspections into residential childcare services managed by the health boards. The SSI, in association with the Department of Health and Children, chose Version 1 to design, develop and implement a bespoke IT system, which will provide assistance for administrative functions and the generation of statistics relating to Children’s Residential Centres (CRC’s). The proposed system will facilitate and support the inspection process that is central to activities in the SSI.
“We are experiencing phenomenal growth and have doubled employment to cope with new business,” said Justin Keatinge, managing director, Version 1. “In the past year we have won contracts in competitive pitches against larger and more established organisations. These recent contract signings are an added boost and we look forward to the future with confidence.”
By John Kennedy
