Tasmania’s Clarence City Council is the first in Australasia to implement an innovative set of software solutions in partnership with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, using the ‘best of breed’ philosophy.
“We required systems to meet our growing need for flexibility and reliability in both business practices and management information, with the added capacity to meet Council’s strategic needs into the future,” said General Manager, Roger Howlett. “We explored single vendor solutions, but found the ‘best of breed’ approach better met our needs.”
The solution provided by PriceWaterhouseCoopers is with a consortium of leading software providers. Products include Oracle Financials, Pathway property and rating, Remus payroll and human resources management, and Maximo asset management.
The document management system Objective is to be implemented as a second phase. PriceWaterhouseCoopers partner Mark Buirski is delighted with the end result.
“We saw an opportunity for leading products in a variety of fields to form a far reaching solution to Local Government business needs and resolved the issues associated with linking diverse products as a coherent solution,” he said.
“Being the first Council to fully implement the solution set, Clarence has led the way in the Australasian theatre and many other Councils are now following in their footsteps.”
In a long term agreement, PriceWaterhouseCoopers will continue to take an active role in the systems, providing full support services to the site including data base and systems administration, help desk facilities, and providing the primary server on a rental basis.
“Council is a heavy user of information technology, but does not see it as a core function,” Roger Howlett said. “At the same time, our systems are critical to our operations and we need absolute confidence in our service providers.
“We have undertaken a major shift in our information systems and associated business practices and are already well ahead of where we were prior to the implementation. “Our focus is now firmly on the future. We intend to take full advantage of the technology we have installed.
“Routine processing and meeting statutory obligations are no longer the prime objectives of our systems. This should happen as a matter of course. The real role of information systems is to allow us to make informed strategic business decisions.”
For further information contact Roger Howlett, telephone (03) 6245 8650.
