GovTech and GRP news stories from last week uncovered by the FreeBalance Strategy and Innovation Group.
THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA ERP THAT WENT WRONG: The fallout from the customized PeopleSoft implementation in the Government of Canada persist. The ERP project, named ‘Phoenix Pay System’, has required significant hiring of staff to make adjustments and workarounds. Katie Simpson from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports that one time $4000 payments, higher overtime rates being used to lure qualified employees. The Canadian Press reports that new collective agreements with public servant organizations are adding more stress to the system.
ICT4D AND CIVIC TECH IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES: Civic Tech in the Global South, a new book edited by Tiago Peixoto and Micah Sifrey is freely available from the World Bank. Case studies include the use of SMS, participatory budgeting and complaints management technology.
THE CYBER ENEMY IS YOU? Government employees are the biggest threat to cybersecurity, reports Alison DeNisco in TechRepublic. DeNisco summarized a recent report from Netwrix that concludes that “only 14% of government organizations consider themselves to be well-protected against cyber threats.”
GOVERNMENT SHARED SERVICES TECHNOLOGY ISN’T ALWAYS THE MAGIC BULLET: Many governments have experienced problems consolidating IT resources. The ‘shared services’ tactic can save money through improved economies of scale. Often the consolidation of systems can prove difficult, even with what seems to be a relatively easy domain like e-mail. The consolidated Government of Canada e-mail shared service is almost 3 years overdue, reports Alison Crawford of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. She reports that “after years of email crashes and outages, the RCMP had decided it can’t wait for a new harmonized email system for the entire federal government.”
