Alphawest wins South Aust government contract

Perth-headquartered IT services group Alphawest has been awarded a contract with the South Australian government's Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure to implement a business process management platform.

Alphawest will team with HandySoft, a US-based global software group, to supply 1900 licences for HandySoft's BizFlow business process management, automated workflow and collaboration software.

It will be used to improve efficiency and effectiveness across recruitment, vendor management and leave application processes.

Alphawest has provided business analysis, process development and implementation expertise to the South Australian government, and was able to assist DTEI's project team to rapidly develop and deploy the recruitment solution through a 'skills transfer' approach.

Alphawest is a wholly owned subsidiary of Optus Networks Pty Ltd and part of the SingTel Group.

THE FULL MEDIA RELEASE APPEARS BELOW.

Alphawest Wins Key Government Contract


SYDNEY, Australia, 10 May, 2006 - Alphawest has been selected by the South Australian Government's Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (DTEI) to implement a business process management (BPM) tool to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its shared service.

Alphawest and HandySoft supplied DTEI with 1900 licences of BizFlow which will be leveraged across three processes - recruitment, vendor management and leave application.

Alphawest provided business analysis, process development and implementation expertise, and were able to assist DTEI's project team to rapidly develop and deploy the recruitment solution through a 'skills transfer' approach.

The Handysoft tool, BizFlow, will enable DTEI to improve workflow for the 'hire to retire process' including recruitment.

As a result, DTEI is now positioned to use its in-house skills to expand the use of BizFlow and capitalise on its investment.

The shared recruitment process using BizFlow will deliver the following benefits to DTEI:

- Reduce the process from 76 steps to 22 steps
- Introduce consistency and transparency
- Reduce cycle time
- Improve HR services and decrease complaints
- Refocus resources from reactive to proactive service improvement
- Provide valuable Business Activity Monitoring reporting enabling continuous improvement

DTEI's Director of Corporate Services, Chris Oerman, said he was impressed with Alphawest's ability to simplify the process and save his department time and money.

"Alphawest understood our strategy and the integration required to enable a holistic shared service. The collaboration and enthusiasm across the business and IT processes have seen true integration which will deliver cost efficiencies and speed in processing requests.

"The re-usability of the process, interface and integration components will reduce the time, cost and risk of our projects," Mr Oerman said.

Alphawest's Chief Executive Officer, Garry Henley, said the multi-year relationship with DTEI has seen Alphawest deliver a range of IT solutions and services across key lines of business including Hummingbird record and document management and BizFlow.

"This is a true example of our business model in action. Alphawest has a significant understanding of government requirements and has the flexibility to enable new ways of integrating technology," said Mr Henley.

International Director for HandySoft Global Corporation, Linus Chow, said the key to DTEI's success has been its Iterative Development Best Practice Framework.

"With four successful projects it is easy to see that leveraging both BPM technology and proven development methodology can produce outstanding results," Mr Chow said.

BizFlow is integrated with DTEI's corporate Microsoft SharePoint Portal as well as Microsoft Active Directory authentication. It utilises single-sign-on through Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) synchronisation.

Enterprise solutions, such as the recruitment process, have been developed with integration to ASP.NET applications, CHRIS (HR) database on SQL and HRX on Oracle.

About Alphawest
Alphawest Services Pty Ltd is an IT Services business operating across the Australasian region, focusing on three key sectors of the IT Services market: Information Management, Infrastructure Solutions and Business Continuity.
Alphawest excels in aligning IT systems with a company's business goals for the creation of genuine business value and enjoys strong partnerships with leading organisations throughout Australasia.
Alphawest employs staff in offices located in Albany, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth, Bunbury and Singapore.
Alphawest is a wholly owned subsidiary of Optus Networks Pty Ltd and part of the SingTel Group.
www.alphawest.com.au

About HandySoft Global Corporation

HandySoft Global Corporation is the premier provider of configurable software solutions that simplify and automate business processes; capture and enforce best practices; improve productivity and quality while reducing costs; integrate information technology; and foster collaboration among employees, customers, and partners.

The foundation for HandySoft's industry and departmental solutions is BizFlow®, the award-winning platform for business process management, automated workflow, and collaboration. BizFlow offers complete capabilities for building and managing automated business processes, including tools for designing and monitoring the processes, presenting and accessing work, integrating existing IT systems, and administering the platform itself.

As a global solutions provider, HandySoft Global is headquartered in Vienna, VA, USA, with offices in Sydney, Australia, and London, UK, and with strategic partner representation throughout the world. HandySoft has implemented process management solutions at hundreds of sites worldwide.

For more information call +1-703-442-5600, email info@handysoft.com or visit www.handysoft.com/apac

About The Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (DTEI)
The Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (DTEI) has diverse responsibilities in relation to transport system and services, energy policy and regulation, and infrastructure planning for South Australia.

The Infrastructure Division of the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure aims to identify strategic infrastructure priorities for South Australia, coordinate infrastructure planning and development across government and facilitate the timely delivery of key projects that support the economic social and environmental development of the State.