Civica International has signed $6.3 million deal with the Lake Macquarie City Council to replace the current system, which includes the Oracle eBusiness Suite and other local Government and tailored applications.
A Lake Macquarie City Council spokesperson told ARN that the current software in use was acquired under a joint arrangement with other councils in an integrated solution that became known as Councils Online.
The five-year contract is a step towards the council’s plan to transform into a “smart city”. One of the expected results is a new single portal to address the needs of both staff and customers.
Civica will deploy its local government software, Authority 7, to help the council to run complex business applications. According to the vendor, it will provide web-enabled services, mobile compatibility, improved data quality and integrity, data security. The software also integrates with third-party applications.
The public-sector software vendor’s web-based library management system, Spydus 10, will improve customer engagement, user experience, enhance service delivery and reduce functionality gaps and process complexities.
The Lake Macquarie City Council serves 200,000 people. The council contributes to the enhancement of its coastal, lake and bush environment as well as encouraging the population to take part in sports and recreational activities.
“Increased connectivity, heightened usage of mobile devices and popularity of social networks mean that councils have to work beyond the physical walls and traditional working hours. Hence, our systems need to be robust and agile to help us exceed customer expectations,” Lake Macquarie City Council chief information officer, Brooke Humphries, said.
With the migration to Civica’s software, the council expects to increase the use of serf-serviced processes.
“Mobility and automation are keys to successful digital transformation. We hope to enhance these capabilities to further our digital and customer service aspirations by collaborating with Civica,” Humphries said.
Civica will also be in charge of training the council’s staff and offer ongoing support.
“It [digital transformation] is a must-have for Australian councils as they focus on driving innovation in their business processes while enhancing community engagement. This makes it imperative for them to have agile and flexible systems that reduce IT complexity while improving service delivery,” Civica International managing director, Richard Fiddis, said.
“We are delighted to collaborate with Lake Macquarie City Council on its transformation journey. We look forward to delivering a highly functional solution which encapsulates global best practice,” Fiddis added.
Early this week, reports of a possible acquisition of Civica by NEC surged. NEC could be willing to pay as much as $1.5 billion for the UK software vendor.
Civica recently launched a program aimed at encouraging Australian local government customers to partner and develop solutions that access grant funding from the Federal Government Smart Cities and Suburbs initiative.
In November 2016, the software vendor landed a $103.6 million contract to replace the Victorian government’s legacy system with a custom-built infringements management system named VIEW.
