Local Government software vendor Civica Pty Ltd has acquired Queensland based Practical Computer Services Pty Ltd’s Local Government business.
The acquisition includes Practical’s existing Local Government customer base, intellectual property rights to the company’s Local Government software applications and all associated assets.
Along with a significant increase in market presence, Civica gains 30 qualified IT staff experienced in Local Government solutions. The acquisition positions Civica as the leading supplier of software and services to Local Government with more than 250 local authorities using Civica applications across all States and Provinces of Australia and New Zealand.
Practical’s customer service and development staff bring a wealth of additional Local Government experience to Civica and will continue to provide ongoing support for the Practical applications in line with existing arrangements.
Practical staff will remain in the Toowoomba premises, which will become Civica’s Queensland headquarters. Civica has nine offices throughout Australia and New Zealand, providing customers with a local presence in each of the geographic regions.
“This acquisition is a very exciting strategic development for our Local Government business and is in line with our commitment to continually expanding our presence in the Local Government industry,” said Chief Executive Officer, Civica International, Peter Anderson.
“Practical’s Local Government customers are located predominantly in Queensland and New South Wales and this acquisition provides an excellent opportunity to build our presence in the Queensland Local Government market.
“It clearly establishes Civica as the leading supplier to this sector.”
Yarriambiack benefits from managed service delivery of new systems
Yarriambiack Shire Council, a remote, rural council in North West Victoria has recently implemented a managed services solution, running the Authority Local Government management software suite.
Council’s CEO, Ray Campling, is confident they now have a software solution to match those run by the larger metropolitan councils
“The new technology is enabling us to take a massive step in the right direction,” Ray Campling said.
“Authority gives us 21st century capability in automating workflow and will allow us to offer excellent customer services via the Internet.
“We place a major emphasis on community service and community engagement, and Civica’s e-Services will help us to elevate this to an even higher level.
“Our new system will put us alongside the larger metropolitan councils in Melbourne and Sydney in terms of the levels of efficiency and communications we can provide our customers, both internally and externally.”
He said that having Civica manage Council’s business applications from the company’s data centre in Melbourne eliminates the need for Council to deal with the complexities of IT infrastructure and the challenge of resourcing qualified technical staff. Plus the managed service solution is cost effective.
Council conducted an extensive tender process with responses from six vendors, involving numerous presentations and site visits to other councils.
“The tender process was the most detailed and comprehensive I have been involved in, with Council’s Infrastructure Services Manager, Bernie Naylor playing an integral role in the process,” Ray Campling said. “We were impressed by Civica’s willingness to listen to what we were saying about our needs, rather than just trying to sell us a product. They learned what we required and offered their experience and expertise in explaining what could be achieved.
“What impressed me about Civica’s people was their ability to speak to our executive team in business terms that we could understand.”
*Copy supplied by Civica
