NBN Co nears Oracle ERP deal

NBN Co has confirmed to ZDNet.com.au that it's finalising negotiations to lock in database giant Oracle as its enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendor.

"NBN Co has selected Oracle as its preferred provider of enterprise resource planning software solutions," NBN Co spokesperson Jane Sullivan told ZDNet.com.au today.

Sullivan said that NBN Co was "yet to finalise the detailed negotiations" with Oracle, so a value of the deal could not be revealed.

Oracle's selection is highly likely to proceed, with NBN Co yesterday kicking off a search for several Oracle leads to assist it in migrating from its interim systems.

The company is looking for an Oracle senior platform lead to build its "="" class="c-regularLink" rel="noopener nofollow">supply chain systems (SCM) and project management capabilities under different portfolios (PPM), as well as Oracle leads for its finance, billing and human resources systems.

"In preparation we are advertising for suitably qualified candidates including those experienced with financial and billing systems," said Sullivan.

NBN Co's job advertisements outline that a key responsibility for the successful candidates will be to support the transition from interim platforms to Oracle technologies.

The almost-sealed deal for Oracle could be a major boon for the company, as while it does not represent the entirety of NBN Co's software requirements, it may put it in good stead to take the NBN Co's overall billing and operational support systems deal, which it is currently scoping the market for.

NBN Co last Friday issued a request for a capability statement, calling for IT vendors, developers and integrators that are qualified to build its core billing and operational support systems (BSS/OSS). BSS/OSS covers network operator requirements for line activation, fault detection and alarms, and will form a critical component of its service capability.

Oracle declined to comment when contacted by ZDNet.com.au.