Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Media Contact:
RON JENKINS
Office of State Finance Public Information Officer
(405) 521-3267
ron.jenkins@osf.ok.gov
OKLAHOMA CITY--The implementation of new software for the procurement process will save Oklahoma taxpayers $137,000, the Oklahoma Office of State Finance's Information Services Division announced Wednesday.
The new software, eProcurement (also known as ePro), is a new module in the agency's financial system (PeopleSoft) and will improve the use of technology in state government and reduce the cost associated with information technology (IT) procurement processes.
"This program is the latest example of our efforts to 'right-size' government. Not only will this new system save taxpayers $137,000, it will provide efficiencies that will save time and money in the procurement process for state agencies," Governor Mary Fallin said. "I applaud Chief Information Officer Alex Pettit and his team for their great work on this project."
Chief Information Officer (CIO) Alex Pettit said the new software is the latest effort to find cost savings in the state’s IT infrastructure.
"Governor Fallin has made it a priority to modernize and streamline the state's IT infrastructure in order to save taxpayer dollars and improve the delivery of government services," Pettit said. "The ePro system will help us accomplish that goal and make the procurement process more efficient across the entire state government by reducing paper usage and decreasing the time and effort needed to process transactions."
Additionally, ePro will make it easier to locate documents by deploying the capability of storing all procurement documents electronically including electronic signature approval process.
The ePro system was piloted with several state agencies, which provided feedback to the CIO's procurement team. The ePro system will be available to all state agencies and the Information Services Division anticipates ePro training across all state agencies to be completed by the end of August. Full application of the module, in accordance with information technology procurement requirements, is anticipated by October.
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