The State Treasurer's Office announced Friday it has selected Sacramento-based Natoma Technologies to provide implementation services for the Debt Management System.
The State Treasurer's Office is using an alternative approach to procurement and project management for this system modernization. The contract is built around sequential work authorizations so that the state and its contractor can take advantage of contract “offramps” should the situation call for it.
STO officials say it should be more flexible, not as costly and less risky compared to a full waterfall-style system replacement.
The contractor and the STO will create a blended team to work on a series of “optimization initiatives.” The work authorizations will address those optimization initiatives, and the list of priorities could change as STO needs new or different functionality. The team will work together on design and development, as well as analysis activities.
The work authorizations are capped at a total of $9.9 million. The Department of Technology has originally approved a $19 million budget for a full system replacement.
Jan Ross, deputy treasurer for technology and innovation, explained late last year how STO moved toward a different model for the project:
“We learned that the core of the Debt Management System, which is an Oracle platform, is a very viable platform still. And with greater expertise than is currently in house at the State Treasurer's Office, we could actually build in the functionality of the auxiliary systems that are supporting it. If we took that approach of modernizing what we already have, then we could reduce the scope of our requirements,” Ross said.
“This [new procurement] model incorporates the ability to award one contract, at a set term at a set price, but then within that, authorize a work order authorization to pay the vendor for that piece of functionality that’s built on our existing system," Ross said last month. "So the state immediately receives value for that piece of functionality that’s delivered.”
The RFO for this contract opportunity was sent in January to certified TIER 3 vendors on the Department of General Service’s Master Service Agreement (MSA) list. Seven firms submitted bids.
Taborda Solutions of Folsom, Calif., is partnering as a subcontractor with Natoma Technologies on the project.
