The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has initiated a three year strategic partnership with the InfoComm Development Authority (iDA) and HP Singapore by ‘best sourcing’ its entire IT application, hardware, software and services to iDA and HP. "The Ministry is not outsourcing its IT function because it is non-core and unimportant to us. For MOM, IT is and will remain a key enabler and support for our business operations, from manpower planning and projections, control and management of the foreign workforce to promotion and management of quality workplaces,” Yong Ying-I, Permanent Secretary, MOM said. “However, with a stand-alone IT team at MOM, it was becoming an increasing challenge to keep up with business and technological changes. So we decided that we could better realise the strategic benefits of IT going forward by bringing in specialist external parties to take charge of certain aspects of the role for us.”
“By strategic partnering, MOM could tap on the huge intellectual capital and flexible resources at iDA and HP to better harness IT and Knowledge Management. This would help to create new value for MOM’s business strategies, while keeping cost lean and user satisfaction high. For MOM’s information systems staff, outsourcing has also created new and better career opportunities for them,” Yong added.
Twenty three MOM staff have joined HP and a further eleven have joined iDA from the beginning of September. The transition exercise started in November last year. The sensitive and effective handling of the staff transition was a top priority for MOM and the transition was carried out smoothly.
HP’s long-term partnership with MOM, its ability to deliver high quality products and services, and its reputation for good HR practices and organisational culture were key reasons for MOM's decision to opt for HP as their outsourcing partner. MOM believes that the staff that join HP will gain from the better career opportunities and a more market-oriented remuneration.
”This new partnership further enhances our 10-year relationship with MOM,” said Tan Choon Seng, Vice President & Managing Director, South East Asia with HP. “We are pleased to be engaged as their trusted business partner. We will bring with us all the experience we’ve gained through our worldwide outsourcing partnerships with firms like Proctor & Gamble and Ericsson”.
Tan added that the team of professional staff from MOM also brings with them relevant experience in MOM’s business, operations and IT systems, which would ensure a smooth transition.
Under this agreement, MOM will be leveraging on HP’s Adaptive Enterprise strategy, which recognises how government agencies require IT support that scales and flexes according to business needs. By combining the best people, processes and technology, MOM forecasts savings of close to S$2 million (US$1.2 million) per year with potential savings of 38 per cent for applications maintenance and 19 per cent for infrastructure management and operations over the next seven years.
MOM’s own IT function will now be refocused on the Chief Information Officer (CIO) role, playing a strategic function in reshaping the strategies and operations of the organisation. As the IT advisors to MOM, the HP team will now support over 1300 users in five locations and service all of MOM’s public-facing applications, as well as internal-facing IT functions such as technical helpdesk and corporate applications. At the infrastructure layer, HP will also provide security services, technology updates, IT service management and asset management.
Quelle: Public Sector Technology & Management, 15.09.2004
