The Department of Finance is seeking a company to build an integrated e-estimates system, which will replace the 10-year-old system it is currently using.
The purpose of the e-estimates project is to link up most government departments and agencies via a financial business intelligence application, to monitor and combine expenses from each department and agency.
Currently, the Department of Finance is using Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and an application supported with an Ingres database.
To get the integrated system it is looking for, the department has set out a number of specifications for the centralised data repository, the Request for Tender document states. Among them, the repository must have adequate storage space, management and reporting capabilities to support OLAP (online analytical processing) and online web-based management reporting. It must also support web-based content and be easy to use, with workflow tools linking all departments.
It is intended that the contract agreed with the chosen supplier will have drawdown facilities to allow further deployments within the Department of Finance and other government departments and agencies, if required.
The e-estimates system will initially be introduced on a pilot basis to prove the technology, during which it will be reviewed and if it is deemed a success, it will be fully introduced in phases. The Department of Finance intends that the pilot will run simultaneously with the current system for the budget in December 2004.
The expected cost of the multimillion euro project, which is only now in the early stages of a tendering process, has not been revealed. It is understood, however, that a lot of companies are interested in this lucrative tender, with over 74 downloads of the Request for Tender document already.
The competition deadline is 21 August. It is understood that the Department of Finance will shortlist five or six firms from the list of applicants by mid-September and issue a detailed requirements document. A final decision is expected in January.
By Lisa Deeney
