London boroughs agree to implement single Oracle R12 release

Six London boroughs intend to generate £6m savings from a plan to implement the same version of Oracle. The boroughs - Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Lambeth, Lewisham, Havering and Croydon - will implement Oracle Release 12 as part of a plan to support the introduction of HR, finance, payroll, pensions and procurement functionality as part of Project Athena. The project is aimed at implementing and converging IT and business processes across London to generate cost savings. The councils have jointly appointed Capgemini to implement Oracle R12, which is a single online database that manages HR, finance, payroll and procurement functions. Using the database means that employees are able to request leave, pay for services and manage budgets though one database and online reporting tool instead of using several systems or spreadsheets. The procurement exercise, led by Lambeth council and supported by all the partnering authorities, aims to allow the councils to negotiate a better price for the Oracle system including software licences, as well as pay a single price for Capgemini to carry out the implementation, starting this summer. Detailed plans for implementing the Oracle R12 system will take place over the next few months. Each of the six councils is committed to implementing the same version of the standard system, which means there is little need for expensive changes and maintenance. Councillor Paul McGlone, lead member for finance at Lambeth council, said: "This is a common sense solution for councils that have common needs. We all have similar support functions, like HR, finance and procurement and if we have one way of doing them we streamline our processes, save costs and protect our services for residents. "This system not only cuts our running costs but improves our systems, reduces paperwork and makes it easier for our suppliers to do business with us." This article is published by Guardian Professional . Join the Guardian Government Computing Network free to receive regular emails on the issues at the top of the professional agenda.