As part of an ongoing effort to overhaul the many different computer systems in place across various state agencies, the state Department of Administration says it has signed a $58 million contract with Accenture to oversee the work. The high-tech firm will serve as an integrator as the state looks for ways to consolidate dozens of IT systems in use by state agencies, which can often hamper communication and prevent upgrading even payroll systems.
Accenture has a somewhat troubled past with the state, after it failed to deliver on a contract with the state elections agency to develop a statewide voter registration system. The company settled the dispute in 2007, but not before it cost taxpayers millions of dollars for work it failed to deliver on. DOA spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis says the agency was aware of the previous issues with Accenture, but officials believe “the lessons that Accenture has learned in other projects will serve this project well to help avoid any challenges associated with an IT project of this size.”
Marquis says Accenture was one of only two companies to submit a proposal for the project, and it received the best score in an independent review. She also notes that the contract requires the company to assign its best workers to the project, who can only be removed “due to disability or death, at the termination request of the State, or upon completion of the statement of work.”