Accenture beat out a number of bidders for the contract by obtaining the highest total on the aggregate price and quality-weighted score, according to Leung. "The successful bid was competitive and provided a comprehensive solution to meeting EMSD's needs," he said.

Government first

The CCS was designed and built under an 18-month contract with Accenture and consists of multiple modules of the SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software suites, combined with add-on systems such as PDAs, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Computer Telephony Integration (CTI), and Interactive Voice Response Systems (IVRS).

The CCS also interfaces with a number of external systems as well as with the Hong Kong Treasury. The ERP forms the core software platform for the whole CCS and "through this powerful software, we will be able to deliver more reliable, professional and efficient services," Leung said.

Total investment in the systems and implementation amounted to around HK$45 millions, according to Leung. He added that this large-scale, integrated computer system-the first of its kind for a government department in Hong Kong SAR-is designed to enhance the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of EMSD's service delivery to other government departments and public bodies.