Gruden secures AU$1.8m contract with Australian government to upgrade AusTender

The Gruden Group (Gruden) has secured a AU$1.8 million contract to upgrade the technology behind the Australian government's tender system, AusTender.

Launched in 2003, AusTender provides a centralised publication of government business opportunities, annual procurement plans, and contracts awarded.

The Australian government originally tasked Gruden to build the AusTender platform back in 2005. The platform now processes around AU$60 billion in government contracts per annum.

The improvements Gruden has been assigned to deliver will not alter the user journey, but will "enhance the scalability and sustainability" of the existing platform, according to Gruden.

The contract awarded to the Australian Securities Exchange-listed technology agency will generate revenues of AU$1.8 million, with AU$835,500 to be paid in fiscal 2017 and the balance in 2018.

In December 2016, Gruden was awarded a three-year, AU$3 million contract to deliver and support a new system for the New South Wales Small Business Commissioner.

The agency was also selected by the Public Records Office of Victoria (PROV) to digitise all the PROV records, making them searchable in the cloud.

The last 12 months has seen an increasing focus on improving the experience of doing business with the Australian government using technology.

The Gov.au Marketplace, inspired by an initiative successfully executed in the UK, was launched in 2016 with the aim of making it easier for the private sector to do business with the government. On the marketplace, the government presents opportunities to collaborate, describing what it is that it's looking to solve and what datasets are available to help come up with a solution.

At the end of 2016, the NSW government launched the NSW Innovation Concierge (NIC), aimed at being the "front door" for entrepreneurs, startups, and SMEs looking to do business with the government. The NIC incorporates a "Shark Tank" process where proposals for the government to be more innovative are judged in consultation with industry experts. The progress of proposals can be tracked via NIC the same way we are able to track parcels.

As part of the innovation strategy, the NSW government is also providing businesses in the state the ability to test out new technologies within sandboxes that are isolated from their regulatory obligations.

Newly appointed New South Wales Minister for Finance, Services and Property Victor Dominello recently announced plans to reward government agencies with an "innovation bonus" if they move away from a silo-ridden approach to IT and service delivery.