This Afternoon In Snookland...Let Them Eat Software!

ThereAreThingsWeKnowThat
OtherProvincesDon'tVille


Remember that $200 million dollar 'integrated case-management' computer thingy that keeps crashing and appears to be making it impossible for social workers in British Columbia to do their job?

Well....

It turns out that other provinces would have nothing to do with the software package that (is supposed to) power it.

Rob Shaw had the story late last week in the VSun:

...Five provincial governments that developed computer systems since B.C. began its project in 2008 have dismissed B.C.’s software choice as either too costly, not suitable for the job, or not the leading standard for government social-service projects.

Four of those provinces settled on technology that’s the main competitor to the system B.C. chose.

And though some of the provinces have wrestled with budget overruns and glitches common to large-scale computer projects, none appear to have sparked the backlash from front-line workers, repeated technical problems and safety warnings that continue to dog B.C.’s system two years after it first went online...

{snippety doo-dah}

...Instead, B.C. spent $17.9 million on the “Siebel case management software” and used it for the backbone of its $182-million ICM megaproject, the last phase of which will come online later this year.

The Siebel software is primarily used for private businesses to track sales, customer habits and other information.

Curam was designed by social workers specifically for government human services work, according to the Saskatchewan government’s Ministry of Social Services, which picked Curam for its “Linkin” child welfare computer system...


So.

Who helped sell the Oracle/Siebel 'product' that was designed for business, not social work, to us?

More on that later (if NVG doesn't beat me to the punch).


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And, for the record, Curam bid on the project here in B.C. as well......It lost.


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