Top ICT tenders: DHA targets PMO for digital transformation

The Department of Home Affairs wants to establish a dedicated ICT portfolio management office to oversee its digital transformation. (Image source: iStock)

---

Last week’s Local Government Elections saw advertisement volumes on National Treasury’s eTenders Portal take a direct hit as ordinary public sector workers enjoyed the additional day off, while senior leaders focused on political ramifications.

While most of the country has been focused on who will govern South Africa’s local, district and metropolitan municipalities, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has been considering the governance of its technology initiatives.

Citing fragmented planning, overlapping initiatives and inconsistent project delivery practices, the department is advertising a tender to establish a dedicated ICT portfolio management office (PMO) to oversee its digital transformation programme.

In the notice, the department says it is seeking a service provider to establish and operate the PMO for an initial 36-month period, with an option to extend the contract by a further 24 months, subject to “performance and funding availability”.

While the procurement centres on project governance and portfolio management, the tender offers a glimpse into the growing complexity of the DHA’s technology modernisation agenda.

According to the bid document, the department is advancing several strategic digital initiatives, including the National Identity System (NIS), electronic travel authorisation, secure border management technologies and automated immigration systems – programmes which require stronger centralised governance and portfolio oversight, it argues.

“Historically, the DHA’s digital initiatives have been implemented through disparate projects spread across different branches and functions. While many of these initiatives have delivered value, the absence of a centrally-governed PMO has resulted in several systemic challenges,” it says.

The challenges listed by the DHA include fragmented planning and prioritisation; duplication of effort; inconsistent project delivery practices; limited visibility of full ICT investment landscape across the organisation; difficulty scaling digital services; heightened cyber security and data privacy risks; and increasing citizen demand for digital, seamless and accessible services.

The governance drive is notable given Home Affairs’ long history of challenges with technology-related projects. Against this backdrop, the DHA says the office will serve as the strategic governance and execution engine for its digital portfolio, ensuring alignment between technology investments and departmental objectives, while improving visibility of project outcomes, benefits and risks.

Rather than introducing a standalone management platform, the DHA intends to build the capability using technology it already owns. The successful bidder will be required to configure and customise Microsoft 365, Microsoft Project, Planner, Power Apps, Power Automate, Power BI, SharePoint and Teams to create an integrated portfolio management environment within the department’s existing Microsoft estate. Third-party PMO systems will not be accepted.

The scope extends beyond technology implementation. The successful bidder will be expected to develop governance frameworks, establish portfolio processes, implement reporting and analytics capabilities, migrate existing information, provide training and change management services, and supply specialist resources to operate the PMO while transferring skills to DHA officials.

Among the outcomes sought by the department are improved demand management, benefits tracking, project prioritisation, financial oversight, portfolio reporting and executive dashboards aligned to its digital transformation strategy.

The department will hold a non-compulsory briefing session over Microsoft Teams on 13 November, with bid submissions closing at 11am on 27 November.

Tenders that make this week’s top 10:

• The Department of Home Affairs is looking for a service provider from SITA RFB1183 for the establishment of a Microsoft-based ICT portfolio management office (PMO) to deliver the digital transformation strategy for 36 months, with a possibility to renew for 24 months, subject to satisfactory performance of the service provider and the availability of funds. The department explains its digital initiatives have historically been implemented through disparate projects spread across different branches and functions. While many of these initiatives have delivered value, the absence of a centrally-governed PMO has resulted in several systemic challenges.

• The department is also looking for a service provider from SITA RFB2003 for the procurement of backup storage with maintenance and support. The DHA notes it has several backend environments, in which backup storage devices play a critical part. These backup storage systems are crucial for data protection, ensuring data recovery in case of loss or corruption; as well as providing a safety net against various threats like hardware failure, cyber attacks, and human error, minimising downtime and preventing significant business disruptions.

• The State Information Technology Agency is inviting bids for the provision of comprehensive hardware and software maintenance and support services for its core SDN network infrastructure. The required services include the provision of Huawei Co-Care Standard support for the underlying Huawei infrastructure, alongside equivalent multi-vendor maintenance and support services for the custom Cignera CATS OSS/BSS and Multi-Vendor SDN controller platform.

• National Treasury is advertising for the supply, delivery, installation, configuration, commissioning and support of an enterprise backup and recovery solution, including the provision of all required hardware, software licences, maintenance and technical support services. The successful bidder will be required to enter a five-year service level agreement with the department for ongoing maintenance, support, software updates and operational assistance to ensure the continued availability, reliability, security and performance of the backup solution.

• The National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) is looking for a service provider to provide a fully managed, Cisco-based SD-WAN solution. This will connect NHLS sites using secure and resilient SD-WAN technology, expand the current NHLS Cisco Viptela SD-WAN deployment into a managed service model, provide last-mile access links for sites in scope, reuse NHLS-owned Cisco ISR 4431 routers where technically feasible and supportable, and deliver measurable service levels, operational reporting, service governance and proactive incident management.

• The National Credit Regulator (NCR) wishes to appoint a suitably qualified service provider to supply, configure, implement, integrate, migrate, train, support and maintain an integrated regulatory information management system (IRIS). The NCR says it requires reliable, consistent and auditable information to administer registrations, payments, complaints, investigations, decisions and public verification of regulated entities. However, current processes rely, to varying degrees, on manual activities, spreadsheets and/or legacy systems. This creates administrative burden, fragmented information, inconsistent turnaround times, limited end-to-end visibility and difficulty providing timely self-service to applicants, registrants and members of the public, it says.

• The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) is seeking a contractor for the design, supply, installation and maintenance of the intelligent operations centre (IOC) and AI platform for PRASA.The scope of the IOC will include data visualisation for train tracking, business operations, and digital infrastructure management, the company says, while the AI platform will include an external passenger-facing customer service chatbot, as well as an AI-assisted coding platform and related resources for PRASA staff.

• The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) is calling for the provision, implementation, configuration, maintenance and support of a compliance management system. The envisioned system will enable the IDC to proactively identify, assess, monitor and report on compliance obligations, ensuring it maintains the highest standards of integrity and regulatory adherence across all its operations and investment activities.

• The Road Accident Fund requires a comprehensive operational diagnostic assessment, business process re-engineering exercise, operating model redesign and external capacitation for specified areas. The departments identified for the project include its legal, claims, supply chain management unit, and technology and digital environment.

• The Rustenburg Local Municipality in the North West province wishes to appoint a service provider for the provision, maintenance and administrative support of an on-site integrated financial management and internal control solution. The municipality notes it requires a fully-integrated financial management system. Where third-party applications are proposed, the bidder shall remain solely responsible for the licensing, integration, maintenance, support, performance and compliance of such applications throughout the contract period.