Purchase of Corporate Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) Report by the Executive Head of Planning, Regeneration and Wellbeing

Transcription

1 Overview and Scrutiny Committee nd 2 September 2010 th Agenda Item 7 Ward: Purchase of Corporate Electronic Document and Records Management System (EDRMS) Report by the Executive Head of Planning, Regeneration and Wellbeing 1.0 Summary 1.1 The purpose of this report is to update on recent discussions regarding the provision of a Corporate Electronic Document and Records Management System and recommends that Worthing contributes to a new EDRM system to be purchased by Adur District Council for the joint services of Planning (Development Management and Building Control), Technical Services and Legal & Democratic Services Background 2.1. At its meeting on the 18 th November 2009, the Joint Strategic Committee agreed a corporate strategy for the adoption of common EDRMS systems across Adur and Worthing Councils. The report highlighted that there was arguably no such thing as a comprehensively corporate EDRMS solution at the present time but nevertheless there was significant advantage to be gained from a centralised approach to the deployment of EDRM systems. As Adur was already using the Opentext R/KYV EDRM system, developed by the Census Partnership, it was agreed at that stage that Worthing Planning Services should deploy the Census solution pending the expiry of the current contract in As Worthing Revenue and Benefits service has, for many years, used the Anite/Northgate Information at Work (info@work) EDRM system, it was agreed that, ultimately, both Councils should converge upon a common EDRM solution to minimise the likely diseconomies and loss of interconnectivity that would be associated with the proliferation of alternative systems. The Joint Strategic Committee agreed that individual services should only be authorised to introduce entirely new EDRM infrastructures if they could produce a compelling Business Case for doing so Since the Joint Strategic Committee, Officers have been involved in a number of discussions with Census Partners and have continued to look at the various systems on the market, in particular Officers have been comparing the two EDRM systems currently in use across the Census partnership namely info@work (Anite) and R/KYV (Opentext).

2 3.0 Current position 3.1 Whilst, the Joint Strategic Committee originally agreed that it would make sense to extend the Opentext EDRM solution to Worthing s Planning and Building Control service until the end of the current maintenance contract (October 2011), it subsequently became clear that this was not a straightforward interim solution. The original contract was between Horsham and Opentext and only referred to the other Census partners of Mid Sussex and Adur being able to make use of the software product. The alternative would have been to procure a new EDRM system for Worthing Planning and Building Control. This was not an option that would have been appropriate given the desire to reduce the number of EDRM systems and it was clearly appropriate for the provision of the joint Planning and Building Control services to utilise the same system. 3.2 In addition your Officers have been increasingly concerned about the R/KYV system and therefore have been loath to extend the system to Worthing even if it could have been undertaken in accordance with current procurement and legal regulations. 3.3 Census partners are currently reviewing the use of Opentext R/KYV and which EDRM system, currently in use, would be most suitable to extend to other service areas. Although, Census partners will not want to prejudice the outcome of its Board meeting it is apparent that there have been reservations about the extending the Opentext R/KYV solution to other service areas. Whilst, the product was purchased as a corporate system some years ago it has only been introduced for Planning and Building Control and Census has already purchased a different EDRM solution for its Revenues and Benefits service. 3.4 One of the main drawbacks with the R/KYV solution is its lack of functionality. In this respect it is not possible to adapt the system and make refinements without involving Opentext IT staff and this is both costly and time consuming. In contrast the Anite product, info@work has been a far more flexible product to be developed for the Census Revenues and Benefits service and can be refined and altered by the staff within the service. Increasingly a number of technical problems have occurred with R/KYV and Adur Planning staff have started to lose confidence in the system. On occasions this has also affected customer service with access to plans being not possible for certain cases. 3.5 In addition to the concerns regarding the technical aspects of R/KYV EDRMS the product is very expensive compared to info@work not only in terms of initial set up costs but also subsequent maintenance. Having reviewed current EDRM systems being used by Census your Officers are satisfied that info@work would be a better technical and cost efficient option and would meet current and future needs of the service. 3.6 The operational benefits of EDRM to Worthing s Development Management service are significant and the implementation of an EDRM system is an essential requirement for the provision of a joint service. The benefits to Worthing customers are also significant allowing all planning applications to be viewed on

3 line, reducing the need for the public to visit the offices and improving the efficiency of the service. 3.7 Your Officers have been investigating whether there is scope to utilise the existing contract entered into by Mid-Sussex for the Census Revenues and Benefits service to purchase additional licenses for the joint Planning and Building control services. 3.8 At the present time the imperative is to implement a common system across Planning and Building Control and negotiations have centred around this requirement. However, more recently it is clear that Technical Services has an urgent need to replace its existing electronic document storage for a all of its plans (Council own buildings and projects) and Legal & Democratic Services have identified the need for an EDRMS system. As a result Anite/Northgate has recently provided quotes for Planning, Building Control and Technical Services and it is clear that by purchasing both service requirements at the same time, there is scope for significant savings. Discussions have not yet taken place with regard to the inclusion of Legal & Democratic Services. Option 1 - Worthing & Adur DC & BC Only Cost ( ) 3 rd Party & Conversio Annual Support n Costs Charge ( ) ( ) Information@Work Software, including Modules 52, Implementation Services rd Party Software OpenText Conversion 7650 Total capital & recurring annual revenue cost 97,150 11,674 11,304 Notes to Option 1 All costs and assumptions are as identified in our proposal dated 7/6/10 Above based on Option 1 of Northgate's proposal dated 7/6/10 Option 2 - Technical Services as a separate procurement Cost 3 rd Party & Annual ( ) Conversio n costs (3) Support Charge ( ) Information@Work Software Implementation Services Conversion Total capital & recurring annual revenue cost Notes to Option 2 Based on assumptions in Northgate's proposals dated Based on the option (2) of Worthing assisting with the Conversion

4 Option 3 - Combined Procurement & implementations of Cost 3 rd Party & Annual Option 1 & 2 ( ) Conversio n costs ( ) Support Charge ( ) I@W Software for DC, BC & Technical Services (including modules) BC & CD Implementation Services rd Party Software (DC & BC) BC & DC Conversion (OpenText) 7240 Technical Services Implementation Services Technical Services Conversion 4000 Total capital & recurring annual revenue cost Notes to Option 3 Based on assumptions in Northgate's proposals dated & Based on 'loan' of batch import module for conversion purposes Implementation days & conversion based on a reduced day rate Savings to be enjoyed by a joint procurement (year 1-17,070-5,310-3,440 breakdown) Total savings to be enjoyed by a joint procurement over years 3.9 As Adur is currently tied into a maintenance contract with Opentext until the end of next year ideally any change to the EDRM supplier should be after this date to avoid paying for the maintenance of two systems. However, in view of the operational benefits of implementing a new EDRM system at the same time for the new joint service and the savings in costs by addressing Technical Services requirements it is considered that there is a strong business case for Adur purchasing info@work at this time. The above figures also demonstrate the strong invest to save case in relation to maintenance. Currently Adur is paying 24,000 per annum just for the Planning and Building Control services towards the annual maintenance costs for R/KYV system whilst info@work would have an annual maintenance charge of 11,304 for Planning, Building Control and Technical Services. It is anticipated that the additional costs for Legal & Democratic Services would not be substantial Research by your officers into the current Legal Agreement between Mid Sussex District Council, on behalf of Census Revenues and Benefits, and Northgate/Anite has shown that the contract cannot be extended to services other than Revenues and Benefits, nor can it be extended to Authorities other than Mid Sussex. The current Agreement provides for EDRMS on three sites but not for three Authorities Whilst the Framework Agreement arranged by Buying Solutions from which the current Agreement with Mid Sussex was called-off has ceased, enquiries have shown that there is a current Framework Agreement between Buying Solutions and a number of suppliers, including Northgate/Anite for the provision of EDRMS.

5 The details of the lot are provides document and records management solutions which may include solution identification, design, development, implementation, data take-on, migration, integration and security; user training, maintenance and support as part of a wider solution. It may also cover the prototyping, configuring or tailoring of existing products and also include some goods and services as part of a wider solution and it, therefore, appears that the Council can, subject to the provision of a valid business case to show that Northgate/Anite is the appropriate supplier to approach, call-off a contract from this Framework Agreement with Northgate/Anite. 4.0 Legal Implications 4.1. EU Procurement Regulations which have been adopted in the Public Contract Regulations 2006 provide that where one or more Local Authority seeks to procure goods or services to a value exceeding 156,442 over the life of a contract, they must comply with the Regulations. If the Councils were required to comply fully with the Regulations, this would add several months on to the procurement process The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has sought to assist the Local Authorities and other public bodies by advertising and entering into Framework Agreements in accordance with EU Regulations which allow Local Authorities to either carry out mini competitions with three or four suppliers within the Framework Agreement or, if a suitable business case is made by the Local Authority, allow the Local Authority to call-off from the frameworker contract with a single supplier Buying Solutions has set up software application solutions which is a Framework Agreement aimed at providing UK public sector customers with a means of acquiring information and communications technology solutions from best of breed suppliers, to enable them to address specific ICT business objectives and targets. The services under the framework have been broken down and include: Lot 3 Document and Management Solutions Provides document and records management solutions which may include solution identification, design, development, implementation, data take-on, migration, integration and security; user training, maintenance and support as part of a wider solution. It may also cover the prototyping, configuring or tailoring of existing products and also include some goods and services as part of a wider solution. The framework is legally compliant with the new EU Procurement Directives as well as UK Procurement Regulations. 4.4 Under the Framework Agreement, the Councils may order directly from the online catalogue, without having to invite tenders, if they can satisfy the following criteria: (a) They are selecting suppliers solely on the basis of the information provided in the online catalogue, and that information enables them (and anyone

6 else reviewing your decision) to clearly identify the supplier that offers you best value for money; and (b) The Councils do not need to either supplement or refine the existing terms and conditions. Therefore, provided the Councils can produce a strong business case for Anite/Northgate, they can go directly to that company. A robust business case has been now prepared which would justify an approach to this supplier. 4.5 The Councils may, under Section 111 of the Local Government Act 1972, do anything (whether or not involving the expenditure, borrowing or lending of money or the acquisition or disposal of any new property or rights) which is calculated to facilitate or is conductive, or incidental to, the discharge of any of their functions. 4.6 The Local Government (Contracts) Act 1997 confers power on Local Authorities to enter into contract with other persons with the provision or making available of assets or services, or both, (whether or not together with goods) for the purposes of, or in connection with, the discharge of the functions of the Local Authorities. 5.0 Finance Implications 5.1. In view of the importance of EDRM deployment to Planning Services, 190,000 of Planning Delivery Grant was allocated by Worthing Borough Council for the provision of EDRM systems in Worthing and the overall capital budget currently available in Worthing, is 340,000. The capital provision is therefore sufficient to make the appropriate contribution to Adur District Council to purchase info@work for Planning Building Control and Technical Services. In line with the division of other costs between the partnership, the capital costs would need to be split 60/40 (Worthing/Adur) The revenue costs of EDRM deployment would have to be met from existing resources but it should be noted that there are already significant revenue costs associated with the Opentext R/KYV solution for Planning Services in Adur. As mentioned previously Adur is already tied into a maintenance contract for the Opentext R/KYV solution and this does not expire until October It is likely therefore that this cost ( 24,000 per annum) would have to be met until the expiry of the contract. However, the benefits of providing EDRMS outweigh this concern particularly given the significant reduction in maintenance costs for the future and the operational benefits for the joint services of Planning and Technical Services. 6.0 Recommendation 6.1. That Worthing agrees to purchase an EDRM system for Planning, Building Control and Technical Services from Anite/Northgate out of the existing EDRMS Capital Programme.

7 Local Government Act 1972 Background Papers: Buying Solutions Framework Agreement Contact Officer: James Appleton, Head of Planning, Regeneration and Wellbeing Ext 1333

8 Schedule of other matters (To be completed on all reports. If no issues are identified under a heading then it should read "Matter considered and no issues identified." ) 1.0 Council Priority 1.1 To protect and improve priority services 2.0 Specific Action Plans 2.1. Adur and Worthing Partnership Blueprint 3.0 Sustainability Issues 3.1 Reduction in use of paper based materials 4.0 Equality Issues 4.1 Matter considered and no issues identified. 5.0 Community Safety issues (Section 17) 5.1 Matter considered and no issues identified. 6.0 Human Rights Issues 6.1 Matter considered and no issues identified. 7.0 Reputation 7.1 Improved services will enhance the reputation of the Councils. 8.0 Consultations 8.1 Matter considered and no issues identified 9.0 Risk assessment 9.1 Not implementing a new EDRMS for Technical Services would lead to a diminution in service when current system fails Use of incorrect procurement method. Likelihood Medium Consequences serious Amelioration follow advice and use new procurement Health & Safety Issues 10.1 Matter considered and no issues identified Procurement Strategy

9 11.1 The report deals with procurement issues Partnership working The report relates to partnership working across Adur DC and Worthing BC as well as wider issues relating to the CenSus Partnership. The proposals will enhance joint working in Planning Services.

10 : 20 th September 2010 Agenda Item 7 Ward: N/A Purchase of Corporate Electronic Document Records and Management System (EDRMS) Report by the Executive Head of Planning, Regeneration and Wellbeing 1.0 Update ADDENDUM 1.1 Since the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, further negotiations with Anite/Northgate have continued around the scope for entering into an Enterprise Licence Agreement which would enable all services across Adur and Worthing and other Census partners to make use of the info@work software As Anite/Northgate can see significant benefits with its product being rolled out across a number of different service areas it has offered a very competitive price for an enterprise licence on the basis that the Council purchases the Planning/Technical Service modules and software to assist Environmental Health deal with address matching requirements necessary to form a joint service. The table below sets out the current costs and conditions (one of which is that contracts are signed by the 31 st October 2010). Description Capital Annual Service & Maintenance Enterprise licence for Adur, Worthing, Horsham & Mid Sussex 105,000 21,000 Less DC & BC agreement -26,250 Less address matching & DFT Software -7,500 Offer Price 71,250 14,250 Notes Enterprise licence is based on up to 1200 users Includes the corporate upgrade usage of modules already purchased This is based on the assumption that the DC & BC contract is signed This offer is also based on the assumption that the DFT & address matching software is contracted for Based on signed contracts by the 31st October 2010 All Existing CenSus and Worthing Revs/Bens annual charges remain 20 Septembe 2010 Agenda item: 7 Addendum to Report

11 1.3 As the above table demonstrates by entering into an Enterprise Licence Agreement with Anite/Northgate, the company is offering a reduction in the cost of the Planning and Building Control modules of 26,000 and 7,500 for the Environmental Health Software. In addition, Anite/Northgate is offering free upgrades to the Planning modules and the ability for Mid-Sussex and Horsham to utilise the Planning and Building Control modules if it decides to move away from Opentext in the future. If this happens there would be scope to recover some of these initial costs from our Census partners Your Officers have also received a draft contract for the provision of info@work for Planning, Building Control and Technical Services and the updated costs vary slightly from the agenda report with the total capital costs being 133,574 (previously 127,164) and the annual maintenance charge slightly less 10,500 (previously 11,304). 2.0 Revised Recommendation 2.1. That Worthing agrees to purchase info@work EDRM system from Anite/Northgate for the Planning, Building Control and Technical Services groups as well as an Enterprise Licence out of the existing EDRMS capital programme. Local Government Act 1972 Background Papers: Buying Solutions Framework Agreement Contact Officer: James Appleton, Head of Planning, Regeneration and Wellbeing Ext 1333 James.appleton@worthing 20 Septembe 2010 Agenda item: 7 Addendum to Report