2002 Press Releases

Objective Approved for NSW State Government

Objective Corporation has been appointed to the newly established NSW Government Selected Application Systems (GSAS) Panel Contract ITS 2323 for the supply of Records and Information Management Systems (RIMS).

Established by NSW Supply, a business unit of the NSW Department of Public Works and Services, the GSAS RIMS contract will continue until 30 June 2006.

The scope of the new period contract for GSAS RIMS has been broadened from the original contract to acknowledge the critical role that electronic information plays in the information management demands placed on government agencies.

Designed to ensure NSW Government agencies comply with the State Records Act, the tender specification incorporated extensive input from NSW government agencies including State Records and other public sector organisations.

Vendors were selected to the panel contract following public tender and exhaustive evaluations. The selection process required vendors to prove that the software solutions satisfied comprehensive records management functionality, as well as demonstrating the ability to extend beyond this traditional functionality to enable agencies to manage electronic information more broadly.

The growing need to manage both electronic and physical records Mr Tony Walls, CEO Asia Pacific, Objective Corporation said, "In a few short years, Records Management has become the responsibility of every single person within the organisation, rather than just a relatively small number of people. This responsibility is now so pervasive throughout government departments that ultimately it also applies up to Ministerial level."

"Every email sent, every document written, every web transaction could become a corporate record that needs to be managed within the records management discipline."

"Not only do solutions need to be comprehensive and flexible in their ability to manage both hardcopy and electronic records, but also intuitive and easy to use for the records specialists and the general business users alike," said Mr Walls.

Objective provides such functionality within a single product and single user interface, enabling organisations to manage both physical and electronic records within the one environment. Organisations benefit from rapid user acceptance and uptake of the new solution together with lower training costs and support overhead.

Preparing for Government Online

The move to Government Online, electronic transactions and electronic service delivery creates further challenges for government recordkeeping. As record and information requirements expand to encompass the entire enterprise and even beyond, solutions need to be deliverable via a web portal and scale infinitely.

"We are fielding numerous requests from NSW agencies wanting to understand the full benefit of browser-based deployment," said Mr Walls, "and the implications of managing the subsequent information and records created in compliance with state, national and international standards."

Over time, Objective has proven itself in its ability to scale to some of the world's largest records and information management solutions with progressive customers such as the Australian Defence Organisation, IP Australia and the Commonwealth Department of Transport and Regional Services.

Implementation process crucial to success

Recognising that deploying records and information management solutions presents a set of unique challenges, one of the key criteria in the selection process was the quality and depth of solution providers' implementation expertise.

"Objective Corporation's proven model of providing both software and implementation services is a key benefit to NSW Government agencies," said Mr Walls.

Objective has more than 10 years' experience in implementing its software in many government and private sector organisations contributing to the development of its proven implementation methodology. This methodology addresses not only technical integration and software training issues, but also the imperative to ensure that a solution implemented meets the long-term business outcomes for an organisation.

"We have the largest team of specialist Records and Information Management business and technical consultants in the country," said Mr Walls.

"Additionally, with our head office and Research and Development centre based in Sydney, NSW Government Agencies have a unique opportunity to take advantage of the easy access to this expertise should they have specialised needs."

Benefits of a Panel Contract for NSW Government Agencies Establishing a panel contract for NSW Government Agencies eliminates the need for individual agencies to conduct tender processes. Vendors selected to the panel have been tested against stringent functionality, delivery capability and financial strength.

"Through our experience on the Commonwealth Office for Government Online (OGO) panel contract, we found that agencies benefited enormously given the freedom and flexibility to work with us directly.

"The time-frame required to implement a new solution can be reduced by months or even up to a year. The cost of conducting a tender process can be eliminated and establishing a closer relationship with us allows agencies to gain the cumulative benefit of our past experience implementing solutions in other organisations," said Mr Walls.

Committed to NSW Government "Given that NSW is our home state, NSW Government is a key market for Objective," said Mr Walls.

Objective also lists private sector organisations such as ResMed, AMBRI, Northparkes Mines and Optus together with utilities, Delta Electricity, Country Energy and the Commonwealth government agency, Australian Broadcasting Authority among its existing customers based in NSW.