NSW DET prepares for SAP roll-out

in brief The NSW Department of Education and Training has started testing its new SAP finance systems in preparation for a March 2010 implementation.

The department decided to start a program in 2006 called the Learning Management and Business Reform to reform its aging Finance, HR/Payroll Systems in TAFEs, schools and department offices. The upgrade is intended to eliminate unnecessary, duplicated manual processes and streamline operations. 2008 saw $170 million in funds allocated to the project and SAP selected as the vendor.

The first system to be implemented will be the finance system, which will find its way into state and regional offices by March 2010, according to a NSW audit report (PDF) released today. Currently, the implementation is in the user acceptance testing stage for those finance systems. Business readiness testing, implementation of a shared service centre, training and data migration still have to be completed before the March roll-out date.

June 2010 should see the systems rolled out to TAFEs, followed by implementation in schools. The program is set for completion in 2011.