State Information Technology Agency (SITA): briefing

PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE
12 April 2000
STATE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AGENCY (SITA)

Chairperson: Mr N P Nhleko

• Brief History
• SITA Contribution
• SITA's role
• Governments dilemma
• Direct benefit of SITA

Presidential Review Commission

Recommendations

• Procurement moratorium
• Basic Building Blocks
• National IMST Strategy and Implementation Plan
• Chief Information Officer
• Lead Agency Concept
• Business Process Re-engineering
• Skills Development Plan
• Electronic Government
• Public/Private Risk and Reward Sharing
• Crisis 2000 Project Office

• Department of Communication
• Consolidation of Government Networks and Information Services
• Department of Culture, Arts, Science and Technology
• Department of Justice
• Department of State Expenditure

Integrating Organs of State

• XKM Memani Ruiters & Associates and Bain & Company
• Investing in our People
• Procurement of IT services and products
• Debtors

Corporate Governance

• Non-executive Directors:
• Chairperson: Sello Rasethaba
• Nominee for DPSA: Robinson Ramaite
• Nominee for Finance: Vacant
• Legal Expert: Khomotso Moroko (Ms)
• Expertise: Andile Ngcaba
• Experise: Lindiwe Mthimunye (Ms)
• Expertise: Gavin Pieterse

• Executive Directors:
• Managing Director & CEO: Vacant
• Chief Operating Officer: Makano Mojapelo (Ms)
• Chief Finance Officer: Vacant

• Chairperson's Committee
• Audit Committee
• Capital Expenditure and Financial Committee
• Human Resources and Remuneration Board Committee
• Board/Management Power sharing
• Assessing Board & Management Performance
• The President & International Advisory Committee on IT

• Transfer of the Chief Directorate: Centre for Applied Government Financial Management (CAFM)
• State IT Procurement policy:
• Impose moratorium on IT procurement
• Impose implementation of "The whole Government IT Procurement Policy"
• Determine that all Government IT procurement must be certified by SITA
• List SITA as schedule 2 under the Public Finance Management Act
• Enable SITA to appoint own auditors
• Amend the SITA Act to accommodate changes

Against the flow, A new strategic framework for Business Success

"We believe that there are as many futures as your imagination will allow…by changing the game itself, by creating a discontinuity that you are out on your own, playing a new game according to new rules, you can be a shaper, capable of turning your vision into reality

• Reduce operating cost by 20% plus
• Improve service delivery whilst reducing recurring system and process errors
• Elimination of redundant & over-engineered projects
• Overhauling compensation on HR systems
• Redirecting resources to critical areas
• Achieve alignment with Government goals

About SITA (Pty) Ltd

• SITA was established as a result of the conditions contained in the SITA Act (Act 88 of 1998) and registered with the Registrar of Companies as "State Information Technology Agency (Pty) Ltd" on 29 Jan 1999.
• The Company came into operation on 4 April 1999.

• Our mandate is stipulated as follows in the SITA Act:
• "Provide Information Technology (IT), information systems and related services to, or on behalf of, participating departments and in regard to these services, act as an agent of the South African Government."

Primary Functions

Services

• Data Processing
• Network
• IT/IS Training
• Application Software Development and Maintenance
• Promotion of the effective utilisation of IT to enhance the efficiency at all levels of the public
• Technical support
• Functional and Business Advice and Support
• IT and IS management
• Act as procurement agency in respect of IT requirements;
• Maintain a comprehensive IS Security Environment

Geographical Distribution

• We are well positioned to ensure the delivery of all these services mainly because of our sheer presence countrywide. Our head office is situated in Pretoria and regional offices are operational in all 9 provinces.

Statement of Strategic Direction

Business Drivers

• What we deliver to the RSA Government is driven by:
• Business requirements of Government;
• an intimate knowledge of client's business;
• cultural fit between SITA and Government;
• Government values;
• Government strategy and processes

Statement of Intent

• We are committed to demonstrate that SITA (Pty) Ltd is:
• the vehicle for Government IT in effective and efficient service delivery to the citizens;
• leveraging IT as a strategic resource for Government;
• fostering competitiveness within Industry through best procurement practices;
• establishing the RSA as a global information and communications technology player.

SITA Vision

• Our vision is to become a leading and respected public sector IT company in the world that:
• provides relevant products and services to the Government cost-effectively;
• is an employer of choice;
• is an advanced user of information technology;
• delivers value for money to the shareholder.

SITA's values

• Our values are embedded in:
• Client orientation;
• Competency;
• Teamwork;
• Honesty;
• Fairness.

Mission Statement

• Our mission is to continuously:
• increase the speed of delivery of SITA's products and services;
• improve the return on investment on Government IT expenditure;
• improve the quality of the products and service of SITA;
• improve the security environment within which SITA operates;
• innovate with respect to its products and services. And
• support the socio-economic policies of Government

• Our strategic success is dependant upon:
• effective functioning of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) function within Government;
• amendments to the SITA Act to facilitate efficiency of operations;
• liquidation of bad debt;
• continuous alignment of Government's priorities with SITA.

Goals and Initiatives

• Planned outcomes:
• Reduced delivery times;
• Faster and guaranteed access to information required for decision-making;
• Improved business processes;
• Strategic partnerships;
• Interacted approach to IT services between all role players involved in the upstream and downstream processes.

Initiatives

• Implement a standard project management methodology.
• Improve the procurement process.
• Create effective communication/mechanisms with stakeholders.
• Establish accessible knowledge base for strategic IT decision-making.
• Standardise change management.
• Standardise System Development Life Cycle (SDLC) process.

Targets

• On time delivery.
• Reduce the delivery time, from defining the tender specification to publishing the tender by at least 30%.
• Interoperable solutions across common business lines and or technologies.
• Reduce the provision of statistics from time of request to delivery by at least 30%.

Goal:
Improve the Return on Investment (ROI) on Government IT expenditure

• Planned outcomes:
• Visible total cost of ownership (TCO) that can be managed.
• Declining Government IT expenditure.

• Effective utilisation of resources.
• Integrate IT equipment to rationalise deployment, support and maintenance.
• Negotiate better deals/prices with manufacturers and service providers and pass on the benefits to Government.
• Integrate solutions across departments and clusters.

• Reduce operating cost by at least 20%.
• Reduce hardware operating and maintenance cost by at least 10%.
• Reduce expenditure by at least 12% through effective contract management.
• Reduce licence fees by at least 10%.
• Consolidate IT contracts per supplier.

Goal:
Improve the quality of the products and services

• Planned outcomes:
• Improved efficiency in service delivery.
• Reduced rework activities.
• Adherence to international quality standards.
• Implemented quality management system.

• Adherence to international best practices.
• Implement processes which are in keeping with Industry.
• Identify cost reduction programmes based on Audit reports.
• Improve contract management.

• Improve on-time delivery by at least 10%.
• Reduce process cost by at least 15% for supporting processes.
• Defect decrease of at least 50%.
• Service delivery in line with best practices in Industry.
• Reduce outstanding audit report queries by at least 50%.

Goal:
Improve the security environment within which SITA operates

• Planned outcomes:
• Risk management from a security point of view.
• Effective control mechanisms within Government and SITA.
• Best practices adopted regarding security.
• Action plans for managing identified abnormalities.

• Ensure conformance to client's security requirements.
• Establish a SITA information systems security centre of excellence.
• Launch priority projects to address security threats.
• Ensure that all IT decisions address concomitant risks.

• Jointly drafted security policies.
• One major seminar on information systems security matters per annum.
• Eliminate known breaches of information system security.

Goal:
Innovate with respect to products and services

• Planned outcomes:
• Openly demonstrate the accessibility, usefulness and appropriateness of IT advantages for Government together with other role players in the Industry.
• New projects that will demonstrate the use of IT in accelerating Government service delivery.
• Implement for Government eGovernment solutions that will contribute towards effective and efficient public service delivery.

• Continuous bench marking against IT/IS industry standards.
• Encourage innovations and offer appropriate rewards.
• Conduct fundamental research and development in partnership with other research organisations.
• Continuous development of decision enabling systems.

• Enhanced products and services portfolio in line with META/Gartner and Compass.
• Strategic IT direction.
• At least one research publication per quarter.
• Partnerships with organisations such as the CSIR.
• Cost per workstation comparable with international standards.

Goal:
Support socio-economic policies of Government

• Planned outcome:
• Acknowledgement of SITA as contributing towards the socio-economic policies of Government.
• Utilise IT to:
• empower and uplift the previously disadvantaged;
• transfer skills to the previously disadvantaged.

• Implement mentoring and training programmes.
• Participate in socio-economic programmes.
• Vigorous affirmative action recruitment.

• Increase mentorship programmes by at least 40%.
• Increase apprenticeship schemes by at least 10%.
• SMME empowerment.
• Compliance with affirmative action ratios.
• Strategic partnering with tertiary and research institutions.

Projects

Project:Speed up the Integration of Organs of State

• Through the integration of Organs of State SITA will accomplish:
• the retention, development and recruitment of IT/IS personnel;
• Government receiving value for money through IT procurement;
• effective utilisation of expensive IT resources;
• integrated IT solutions across Government;
• Government can focus on core-business.

Project:Adopt best practices and standards

• Ensure SITA is aligned with world class IT/IS and related service providers, that would:
• benefit the shareholder by ensuring services of exceptional quality;
• reduce operational cost;
• bench marking against business leaders;
• adherence to international standards of excellence.

Project:Consolidate and rationalise

• Rationalise systems, processes, areas where duplication exists as well as non-core activities, that would:
• reduce operating cost by at least 20% over the long term;
• create opportunities for integrated electronic service delivery;
• optimise under utilised operating environments;
• rationalise on disparate IT systems;
• adherence to common standards across all lines of business.

Project:Capacity building through skills and knowledge development

• Enhance both service receiving-end and the service delivery-end, that would:
• attract and retain scarce skilled resources;
• increase effective and efficient use of systems;
• divert skills from redundant systems to newer technologies.

Project:Adopt common applications across Government

• Launch awareness programmes on the advantages of adopting proven applications, that would:
• reduce the costs of development;
• enhance optimal utilisation by at least 20%;
• reduce duplication of mission support systems;
• ensure utilisation of established systems within related environments.

Government priorities

• Focus on the following environments:
• Efficient management within Government;
• Strengthening institutional performance;
• Better quality services (Batho Pele);
• Human resource development;
• Information Technology and Information Management;
• Curbing corruption and mal-administration.

• In consultation with DPSA:
• identify quick win programmes out of a holistic Government perspective;
• prioritise between DPSA, SITA and other role players;
• target as agreed upon and as specified within Service Level Agreements (SLA);
• apply 80/20 principle;
• ensure alignment of quick win projects with Government IT policy, strategy and Master Systems Plan (MSP).

Value proposition

• Intimate knowledge of client environment.
• Enhanced business acumen.
• Cultural diversity with a broader view of finding solutions.
• Attraction of skilled IT personnel.
• Integration of IT initiatives in partnership with Industry.

• Enable Government to operate one-stop-shop services.
• Establish access to Government services through electronic means reducing waiting periods by at least 90% in specific areas of service.
• Enable electronic trading to facilitate quicker processing (turn-around) of Government orders.

• Eliminate efforts in finding business solutions.
• Reduces delivery time, from defining tender specification to publishing the tender by at least 25%.
• Consolidate IT/IS purchasing power.

• Will cost Industry less to do business with the Government as SITA simplifies tendering and contracting procedures.
• Encourage and improve SMME participation in Government IT/IS and related deals.

• Rationalise disparate IT systems, infrastructure, networks, architectures realising a saving of at least 30%.
• Consolidate towards a common network backbone within 5 years.
• Achieve network uptime of:
• 95% for non-critical systems.
• 98% for mission critical systems.

• 100% on-time delivery on average based on the level of risk involved.
• Deliverables as specified by the client.
• Effective project flow management indicating adherence to targets set for cost and resource utilisation.
• Adaptation with consent of the client.

• Attraction of scarce skilled resources.
• Continuous human resource development.
• Accrediting skills attained through experience within the framework of the NQF.
• Partnerships with education and training institutions.

Conclusion

Where there is a will, there is a way!

SITA is NOT an accident

Sello Mokale

Acting MD, SITA (Pty) Ltd

12 April 2000