IBM – Defence switches on preliminary SAP ERP system functionality – Technique – Software program
The Division of Defence has begun to see the fruits of its large ERP transformation, with the primary main functionality launch underneath the billion-dollar program now underway.
iTnews can reveal that preliminary finance reporting capabilities have been rolled out by way of the SAP-based ERP system final month after 18 months of labor by programs integrator IBM.
“ERP capability release for finance and reporting, which includes near real-time replication of financial data, commenced on schedule in December 2020,” a spokesperson advised iTnews.
It comes 18 months after IBM fought off Accenture to safe a $95.5 million contract to assist Defence transfer to SAP’s Defence Forces and Public Safety resolution and the S/four HANA cloud platform.
The contract has since climbed to $112 million, together with by $14.6 million earlier this month because of a “change in work requirements”.
The spokesperson wouldn’t disclose the character of the change, stating solely that the modification “supports the iterative design process being undertaken to deliver the ERP program”.
“Defence planned to implement new work packages on this contract as the ERP design matured,” the spokesperson added.
The ERP program, which the division first revealed 5 years in the past, is the biggest ERP program underway throughout the federal authorities, in addition to the one of many largest IT packages at Defence.
It should see a single ERP system launched to provide Defence a “close to real-time view of vital data … to raised inform choice making”.
Within the course of, it can shed as many as 500 current programs throughout the division in a bid to align with the One Defence enterprise model known as for within the 2015 First Ideas Assessment.
This contains as much as 90 % of its current ERP functions, in addition to different programs used to handle finance, HR, logistics, procurement, engineering, upkeep and property features.
However with Defence lower than two years into what is predicted to be an eight-year program, the division is but to switch any legacy functions.
“Rationalisation (together with decommissioning) of legacy functions will happen as soon as the ERP absolutely replaces the performance of current functions,” the spokesperson stated.
The division is now turning its consideration to the bigger logistics and upkeep functionality launch, which stays on schedule for its 2022 launch.
“Additional work to be performed this financial year includes both the progression of the design phase for the logistics and maintenance release (which remains on schedule), and planned design work to accommodate the changes included in the latest release of SAP S/4 HANA,” the spokesperson stated.
“The logistics and maintenance capability release rollout to Defence users is planned to commence in the second half of 2022, to be completed by mid-2023.”
Final 12 months, Microsoft revealed that the SAP ERP system could be hosted on protected-level public cloud from Canberra’s Azure area – the primary main Defence workload to have migrated.
“With Azure as its underlying platform for the ERP transformation, Defence will be capable of affordably scale and repeatedly undertake new performance because it turns into accessible,” it stated.
