A Scottish local authority has struck a £527,000 deal with outsourcing giant Capita to move its on-premises financial management system to a cloud-based platform.
Dumfries and Galloway council will migrate to the Integra Centros software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution to better manage its general and purchase ledgers, job billing and costing functions, and asset management.
Integra Centros will underpin the council’s finance operations by providing access to its core finance team. It will also enable other employees who are involved in requesting, purchasing, receiving, paying for and accounting for goods and services, to use the system. This will support the council’s wider service delivery to the community.
Capita’s SaaS applications are built into Microsoft Azure, a secure public cloud service. Once the data is migrated to the new cloud system, any upgrades and fixes will be able to be done remotely and out of hours. Additionally, moving to the cloud means that the council will be able to avoid costly IT equipment replacements for the on-premise system as well as maintenance of its data centre.
The cloud solution supports secure home and remote working by enabling employees based in any location to securely support the financial function of the council.
Integra Centros will help create a more seamless interface with other third-party software solutions to increase operational efficiency. It will also enable the council to take advantage of emerging solutions such as robotics and automation.
Andy Hamlyn, managing director, Capita One, said: “This contract with Dumfries and Galloway is based on our digital expertise and software capabilities, but it also shows our strength in supporting local government. We look forward to working closely with the council’s team and being part of their digital transformation journey.”
James Pocock, business solutions manager, Dumfries and Galloway Council, said: “We are constantly looking at new and innovative ways on how we can improve our services to our communities. Moving our financial management services to the cloud will enable our digital services and administrative colleagues to focus on value-added tasks and help the council operate more efficiently.”