A Business Case to support Council innovation
When a Queensland Council decided to transition its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system from on-premises to SaaS product, they engaged GWI to develop a Business Case to assess options and determine the best way forward.
The context
GWI previously worked with Council to deliver a Digital Strategy with a three-year roadmap referred to as the Digital Strategy Program (DSP). The DSP was a business-led digital transformation initiative to uplift Councils’ systems, infrastructure, processes, and ways of working.
After TechnologyOne, the current supplier of Councils’ ERP, announced the discontinuation of support for all on-premises, Council decided to transition from the on-premises version to TechOne SaaS ‘OneCouncil’ product.
The method
To inform investment decision-making of delivering in either a three-year or five-year implementation, Council engaged GWI to assess two options against the Base Case for the DSP.
The Base Case was defined as lifting and shifting the existing on-premises solution to a SaaS product offering to maintain supportability. It did not contemplate data cleansing, process improvement, or digital transformation and was only established for comparison purposes.
GWI was engaged to assist Council in the decision to invest in a three or five year implementation timeframe for the DSP.
Key pain points, business needs, and high-level program benefits are identified before assessment. The assessment indicated either poor, good, better, or best, to demonstrate relative comparisons of criteria across each option. The evaluation criterion included:
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- Strategic alignment: how well each option aligns with the principles established in the Digital Strategy and other relevant strategic documents.
- Risk: considering potential risks associated with implementing each option and their impact on the program and Council as a whole.
- Financial analysis: considering the cost implications of each option, including implementation costs and the costs associated with the ongoing maintenance and management of the implemented solutions.
- Benefit: how well each option aligns with the desired outcomes and expected benefits.
- Change impact: assessing the level of disruption and effort needed to successfully implement and adopt the changes associated with each option.
Based on the options assessment conducted, GWI recommended allocating a total budget between the two options to progress over a three-to-five-year implementation period.
The impact
As a result of working with GWI to develop this Business Case, Council has a clear understanding of the business needs for investing in the DSP including the costs, benefits and risks of each option.
The criteria GWI developed provided a thorough analysis of the option that would better support Council’s digital vision and ultimately lead to improved service delivery and community satisfaction in the region.
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We provide pragmatic solutions to help you achieve your business goals. If you’re facing a similar problem, get in touch to find out how we can help.
