Sustainable Public Financial Management

Doug Hadden, VP Products

The Information Week 2012 Enterprise Applications Survey provides some disturbing information. “Changing, upgrading and optimizing existing applications” was found to be the biggest barrier to success and the most time consuming. The full report is well worth downloading [registration required.] There’s good information about performance management and SaaS trends. And, it’s easy to read.

Customization = $$$$

The survey concludes that “customized apps are more difficult to deal with, particularly when you’re upgrading them.” This is a particular problem in government because of the need for legal changes to enable good practices. Change is more frequent in government than the private sector. That’s a disturbing problem for government organizations that use the customization approach employed by Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) vendors. This is just more evidence of the high Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of these approaches.

Is Configuration the Answer?

The survey suggests that “configuration isn’t always the best answer. In some cases, configuration options are getting so numerous and layered that they present challenges of their own.” This is the case when enterprise software attempts to support multiple industries and when the vendor doesn’t have much experience doing configuration.

We’ve found that a parameter approach with adaptable workflow and other techniques significantly reduces this configuration burden. Especially given that the software is designed exclusively for the government domain. This approach significantly reduces the barriers associated with the top 4 barriers to success. This approach enables process change (something we call “progressive activation”)

GE & Urban Green Energy Install Wind-Powered Charging Station; Samsung Partners with FreeBalance; AT&T Promotes No-Texting While Driving Pledge

• Press Release
• Backgrounder
• Implication in Canada

Doug Hadden, VP Products

Social enterprises must be social. Use social media. And, find ways to promote innovation.

Yes, twitter is not a waste of time. I’ve been following Nick Charney on twitter since the Financial Management Institute of Canada conference in Edmonton last year. That’s how I learned about the campaign to raise money to translate NIck’s handbook for Canadian public sector renewal Scheming Virtuously to French so that it could be used within the Federal Government.

Nick wrote:

I was contacted by a Learning Advisor at the Canada School of Public Service who wanted to includeSV in orientation materials for new public servants but couldn’t do so without a French version.

She estimated the cost of translating the document to be approximately $3750 (hence the campaign target).  According to IndieGoGo $4000 less fees should yield about $3720 (I’ll chip in the extra $30).

To be honest, I’ve always wanted to have the document translated but again cost is prohibitive for any one person to take on.

He goes on to mention that he would donate money collected, if collections exceeded the $4,000 threshold to the charity of choice of any “Knight in Shining Armor” prepared to translate the document.

So, we’ve committed to translating to French as part our commitment to public administration knowledge transfer. And, I expect that it will be ready just after Labour Day.

Nick was kind enough to acknowledge this offer. But, hey! We’ve now got another 36 days to raise a little over $3,000 for our charity of choice: SOS Children’s Villages.

That’s right public servants – you aren’t off the hook just yet.

We’re going to publicize this fund-raising to our Government of Canada customers and see about raising money from our new offices in Kanata. (New to us, at least.)

We’ll issue a press release. Tweet. Blog. And, Chatter.

While many of us are in vacation mode, it’s time for reflection – as my former colleague Paul Barter says.

First: the incredible opportunity public servants have to transform government services in the 21st Century – both official languages.

Second: the difference that SOS makes in the lives of children and villages around the world.

Doug Hadden, VP Products

I’ve been “noodling” on this presentation from Nigel Cameron, the President of the Center for Policy and Emerging Technologies at the Gov 2.0 LA conference. Cameron coined the term “exopolitics” in the context of political activity outside the traditional political avenues. (Not the politics of keeping extraterestial information hidden.) Cameron defines it:

Briefly, exo means outside; exopolitics therefore, for our purpose, politics outside politics. Because politics outside politics is emerging as the core phenomenon of American culture. And on the scale at which we are experiencing it it is novel.

Phenomena like the tea party and occupy movement are exopolitics symptoms. Social media, open data and Government 2.0 enables exopolitcs, according to Cameron.

Nigel Cameron at Gov 2.0 L.A. 2012 on “Exopolitics and Changing Dynamics of a System” from Gov20LA on Vimeo.

Technology Enabled Exopolitics

Observers like Evgeny Morozov see technology more as tools of repression than any kind of democratic enablement. And, Morozov questions any concept of technology determinism. Cameron is among the current thinkers like Jeff Jarvis and Clay Shirky who have a broader understanding of the effects of technology on society. (Of course, Harold Innis,  Marshall McLuhan and Friedrich Kittler provide a much better perspective on technology and change covering centuries.)

Technology provides opportunities for organization outside traditional organizations. It’s no surprise that the traditional opposition in Egypt was a surprised as the regime with the Arab Spring. This technology doesn’t immediately have effects. It takes some time for the medium to become the message. So, traditional methods of political interaction will remain dominant while pressure for transparency mounts to a tipping point.

Representative Democracy and Demigods

Here’s where I differ with Cameron. Cameron suggests that representative democracy should remain the primary vehicle for change. He points to how direct democracy has failed such as the ballot system in California that limits fiscal options or the way in which Napoleon manipulated plebiscites.  This is a pretty thin argument in my opinion. Why? There is always the tendency to think that traditional methods will be used in new eras.

It’s true that various methods of “Government 2.0″ outreach have resulted in support for marijuana legalization. We can’t expect traditional thinking to immediately change thanks to new technology. Look how long it has taken for the obsolete medium known as newspapers to finally see subscription reductions.

My view is that Government 2.0 will open up new “exopolitics” avenues – not so-called “direct democracy” but richer citizen to government interaction because:

• Open data and social media will provide more evidence-based debates (eventually – maybe not in the current US Presidential election)
• Social tools will enable interaction with citizens on important matters, particularly with expert networks at first rather than traditional crowdsourcing
• Instant organization around important subjects will disintermediate traditional power structures such as lobbyists (but not immediately)
• Effects will be seen more in local government where there is a more direct relationship with citizens
• Technology is enabling participatory budgeting and citizen audit - this is just the thin wedge of exopolitics

This will take some time. Governments will continue to struggle open data and culture change. Traditional media will continue to polarize citizens. And, representative democracy will be the main avenue for political change. But, these time are achangin’.

Doug Hadden, VP Products

We were pleased to announce a global alliance with Samsung SDS in August. SDS is the system integration and computer technology company that is part of the Samsung group. SDS has annual revenues exceeding $4B and over 13,000 staff. It’s good news for us because SDS has an ethical commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. And, SDS shares our commitment of bringing good governance to countries around the world.

That’s not to say that FreeBalance is not working with Samsung SDS in more developed countries. We’ve developed a strong working relationship with our Korean colleagues and have been exploring opportunities everywhere. This could involved projects in Canada. This isn’t the most important takeaway from this alliance.

Changing GRP market Landscape

My view is that this partnership is another sign of the “sea change” in automating government financials. Particularly the notion that ERP software, designed for the private sector, is appropriate and effective for public finances. Or, produce value for money. Or, can provide an effective return though shared services type of standardization.

This is something that I’ve been saying for some time: that the “market space” has undergone a transition.

It’s now been validated by Samsung SDS.  SDS provides systems integration for major ERP platforms. The company has significant experience in the government sector including full turnkey solutions.

Why did Samsung SDS seek an alliance with FreeBalance?

My sense from conversations with SDS staff is that some of the motivations were:

• Experiences with major ERP vendor software showed that these applications were not appropriate in government
• Global government ERP failure rates are high, but FreeBalance success rates were high
• Growing the Samsung SDS business internationally requires a proven international solution

What is the meaning of success in Developing Countries to the Government of Canada?

Many of our Government of Canada customers are surprised to learn about our success rates in developing countries. Many are unaware that leading PFM specialists consider FreeBalance one of the top three providers of “Financial Management Information Systems” for government. Or, that FreeBalance enjoys success in the most difficult circumstances.

These Government Resource Planning (GRP) implementations in developing countries demonstrate success in the face of significant pressures – human capacity and political factors should result in a higher failure rate. It’s somewhat of a “con game” for major vendors to blame victims for ERP failures in government.

Conclusion: ERP legacy software is obsolete

Many Canadian public servants think of FreeBalance software as easy to use and implement. Ideal for smaller departments. Yet, in Uganda, we’re be handling payroll for as many FTEs as in the Government of Canada. In Timor-Leste, we’ve enabled government performance management and transparency. We’re handling public finances in some countries for every government entity at every level of government.

Samsung SDS management is interested in these FreeBalance shared services successes that comes from designing software exclusively for government. And, to enable shared services. No proprietary and legacy client/server code here.

It’s time to admit that the ERP model of complex customization and user certification has come to an end. Of forced upgrades. Of proprietary middleware. Of expensive consultants. Of unmet promises.

That’s what the Samsung SDS – FreeBalance alliance means to the Government of Canada.

Lesson Learned on Specializing in Software for Public Financial Management (PFM)

Doug Hadden, VP Products

What is the need for PFM and GRP specialist organizations?

• The quality of public financial management (PFM) systems is a key determinant of government effectiveness. The capacity to direct, manage and track public spending allows governments to pursue their national objectives and account for the use of public resources and donor funds.
• Governments are increasingly adopting Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) software to replace legacy and custom developed software applications for financial, budget, expenditure, tax, treasury and civil service management.
• Government organizations can chose to acquire Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software from large software firms whose software is used in multiple “vertical” markets or Government Resource Planning (GRP) software designed exclusively for governments.
• Research shows that there is significant risk of cost overruns, late delivery, poor Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), payment problems and failure to meet objectives in COTS software for PFM.
• There is a need for organizations that provide PFM products and services to help governments overcome risk factors.

What is the appropriate “business model” for GRP success?

• In the book, Discipline of Market Leaders, authors Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema suggest that successful businesses adopt “operational leadership” “product leadership” or “customer intimacy.” Treacy and Wiersema suggest that market leaders can only focus on one of these areas to become a market leader.
• Customer intimacy is defined as “selling the customer a total solution, not just a product or service.”
• In the book, Blue Ocean Strategy, authors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne suggest that businesses should find new strategies that make competitors irrelevant. Traditional business methods should be questioned.
• The emergence of the “social enterprise” model, in the global context, is an opportunity for businesses to create a sustainable business model.
• The increase in open source infrastructure, global connectivity, social media, VoIP and mobile is an opportunity for organizations to rethink traditional business models.
• The traditional business model for technology manufacturers is “product leadership” while many service providers focus on “operational leadership” or “customer intimacy.”  The traditional technology supply chain creates incentives that add risk to GRP implementations.
• A customer intimate and social enterprise approach that avoids the traditional supply chain can make competitors irrelevant. A “solution” focus enables organizations to rethink the business environment by tailoring products and services to meet customer needs.

What is customer-centric product development?

There are many implications for software and technology manufacturers that wish to become customer intimate.

• Product complexity needs to be reduced to make implementations more sustainable.  That’s because rarely can you find a technical assistance related document that does not refer to the need for capacity building in developing countries and the retirement of the baby boom generation in more developed countries. Software designed for GRP needs to be intuitive and designed for PFM. The systems administration burden to manage change and troubleshoot should be reduced. Methods to reduce errors and help users should be added.
• The GRP sustainability challenges, particularly in developing countries, necessitate different product designs. Connectivity is limited so large bandwidth computer applications do not translate well to the developing nation context. Access to electricity is also a serious problem, so there is a focus on low power solutions to make ICT sustainable. The environmental impact to generate electricity exacerbates climate change in fragile ecosystems. Inefficient software design draws hardware resources, power and bandwidth. This is known as software bloat: wasting power in smart phones to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software. It’s also comes from squeezing more unneeded features into software.
• The need to support Green IT is a consideration in more developed countries.
• Customer engagement for product enhancement is critical. Software companies hoping to compete against traditional vendors must enable customers to adapt product roadmaps and release functionality when it is convenient to customers.

What does software architecture have to do with GRP?

• Most application software manufacturers sell the benefits of underlying technology. That technology is often “legacy” or designed for different industries.  Any software architecture design requires compromise.  The software infrastructure designed for the private sector may not meet the “non functional” requirements for PFM.
• Critical non-functional requirements for GRP include adaptability because governments change configurations to suit reform changes, optimal technical footprint and usability.
• GRP software should also be designed to support functional needs.  Modern software design includes techniques to articulate the general scope of a domain like PFM.
• Functional and non-functional software design provides software manufacturers and government customers with potential to meet future needs, known as “extensibility.”

The PFM Component Map was developed for the design of the FreeBalance Accountability Suite

What are some relevant differences between public and private sector “enterprise software”?

How does the technology supply chain impact reform?

• The traditional approach to GRP implementation through 3^rd party systems integration firms with little or no involvement of the software manufacturer increases risk in developing countries.
• Some systems integration firms find incentives to increase costs and reduce financial sustainability. Some software manufacturers form part of “devil’s triangle”
• Standard project management techniques have not overcome difficulties in implementing software in developing or developed countries. GRP implementations require more concentration on capacity, communications and change management.
• GRP solutions that rely on code customization add complexity and cost. This complexity reduces momentum to the point where technology inhibits rather than enables government transformation.
• Software manufacturers who hope to achieve success in GRP must have appropriate governance mechanisms whereby governments drive product enhancements.
• Holistic methods can provide reform roadmaps based on the country context. Lessons learned can be used to improve GRP products.

How does a “solution”  focus change the services approach for software manufacturers?

• Holistic process to integrate product development directly with support and implementation enables customer-centric product development with a solutions rather than product focus. Systems integration firms are engaged to ensure sustainable reform.
• Customer support must be enabled as a key company distinctive competence. This means more than an empowered customer support organization – it means action to bring experts from all parts of the company to solve problems. It also means a linkage to product implementation to address problems before they start and end the “hand-off” culture of most companies.
• Implementation Services need to be directly aligned to product and support. Customer needs must smoothly, without friction, pass into the product development organization. And, professional services processes need to adapt beyond simple Project Management 101 and product expertise to provide holistic solutions. This is a critical factor because many companies, when faced with a customer problem or opportunity, drop the ball because they think it’s outside their business. Customer-facing staff must advocate product and process changes to satisfy customer needs.

What typical industry processes can be improved?

• Organization structure: eliminate barriers between support, services and product development groups
• Marketing: focus on understanding the GRP domain to develop unique tools to align with government needs and engage with the PFM community at conferences
• Implementation: software vendors should take part in implementations to reduce customer risk while using lessons learned to improve product suites
• Partnerships: Selecting partners based on government experience, skills and commitment to sustainability
• Customer engagement: leverage customer steering committees with strong governance structures rather than user groups
• Troubleshooting: escalate critical problems to company executives and cross functional  SWAT teams
• Performance Management: build company performance structure aligned to customer satisfaction and engagement with customer-centric development, the improvement of internal PFM knowledge and sharing of lessons learned with the PFM community

Conclusions: What are good practices for specializing in GRP and PFM?

1. Adjust organizational structure and processes to address key GRP success factors such as usability, capacity building and adaptability.
2. Adopt a customer intimate, social enterprise strategy and question typical technology practices.
3. Implement methods to ensure that products and processes are aligned with customer needs.
4. Build technology to suit government needs rather than use generic design.
5. Seek partners who add value and are focused on sustainability.
6. Create an internal performance culture aligned with customer needs.

And Government Resource Planning (GRP)

Doug Hadden, VP Products

There has been some recent questioning of the wisdom of reform sequencing.  Yet this approach is considered a good practice, if not best practice, by most in the PFM community.

• Research has shown a statistically relevant link between good governance indicators and development. For example, countries whose governments achieve higher good governance indicators tend to have higher GDP per capita and longer average life expectancy.
• The quality of public financial management (PFM) systems is a key determinant of government effectiveness. The capacity to direct, manage and track public spending allows governments to pursue their national objectives and account for the use of public resources and donor funds.
• There is some consensus that basics matter more than best practice in PFM. Reforms should be sequenced based on the country context because of the complexity of implementing too much change at once. There is a virtue to sequencing. Yet, there remains some concern of the platform approach for sequencing, the notion of  leapfrogging and an over-emphasis on technical PFM.
• Although often thought as consultant-speak, the approach of “small wins” rather than the “big bang” approach is considered a good practice in the PFM community.
• PFM diagnostic tools like Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) provide good insight but are not prescriptive and do not answer the much more difficult question of how to sequence PFM reforms. These assessments tend to be technology neutral.
• It often appears that “country context,” sequencing methods and PFM reform momentum is more of art form than a science.

The “platform” approach to PFM sequencing is designed to suit unique country conditions.

What is the implication of PFM sequencing to GRP?

• Financial Management Information Systems (FMIS) or Government Resource Planning (GRP) are recognized as technology tools to assist in PFM reform. The establishment of an FMIS has consequently become an important benchmark for the country’s budget reform agenda, often regarded as a precondition for achieving effective management of the budgetary resources. Although it is not a panacea, the benefits of an FMIS could be argued to be profound.
• GRP and e-government technology enables PFM, where the real benefit of e-government lies not in the use of technology per se, but in its application to processes of transformation.
• The challenge for GRP technology is to adapt to meet country conditions such as human capacity while enabling future modernization and reform because many reforms have taken up to two centuries to evolve from where many developing countries find themselves today, to where the developed countries are today.

Countries with higher HDI tend to have higher PEFA scores. PFM reform progress results in improved government effectiveness. Capacity building is considered a pre-requisite for PFM reform.

How can sequencing be more of a science?

• The information necessary to understand the country context is more readily available thanks to open data and analysis from International Financial Institutions. And, there has been some work to identify high-level PFM reform sequencing such as the need to implement core functions first such as adopting the Treasury Single Account and focus on budget execution prior to budget preparation.
• Third party ratings from Revenue Watch, Open Budget Partnership, Transparency International, Freedom House and other organizations provide insight into the country context.  It has become easier to identify priorities for reform such as revenue transparency and support for the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in resource-dependent countries or the need for aid transparency and support for the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) in countries with a high percentage of Official Development Assistance (ODA) relative to the government budget.

FreeBalance government customers that have undergone PEFA assessment enjoy better scores than countries with higher HDI who do not use FreeBalance software. FreeBalance customers have been recognized for achievements of substantial reform.

How does technology enable modernization?

• Technology is seen as an enabler for transformation in government.  Technology should use a gradual and flexible process.
• There have been numerous technology failures in developed and developing countries where implementations failed to achieve results, were delivered late, were provided over-budget or were unable to adapt to reform.
• Many implementations of software for GRP needs have not been financially sustainable by governments.
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software that was designed for the private sector across many inhibits reform initiatives. Large-scale public sector ERP implementations additional time is required during the analysis and design phase to focus on the gap between the commercial process and the required process
• ERP and custom-developed GRP solutions can make reform difficult. ERP and custom-developed software requires significant software complex code customization (BPM scripts, call-outs & software development) to meet government requirements that reduces time to results. The ratio of services to software cost in the public sector is estimated to be three time that in the private sector or up to 15 times the cost of software.

Is technology leapfrog possible?

• GRP technology leapfrog is possible in many country contexts particularly in the ability to publish open data.
• Developing countries often do not have entrenched legacy technologies and can bypass stages in development. Although more developed countries took centuries to reform, developing countries can benefit from proven good practices. This gives developing countries the “latecomer” advantage.
• Developing countries are leveraging the convergence of Internet and mobile technology to overcome the “digital divide”. The technology is adapted to the local context – typically at lower costs than legacy technology.
• Nevertheless, a pure technological solution does create reform because technology can maintain or reinforce an accountability gap.

Increasing mobile global penetration is changing the accountability gap dynamic in developing countries.

What are the incentives for government reform?

• Governance reform is highly political and disrupts the traditional power structures in countries. This dynamic reduces reform momentum. And, there are emerging lessons learned about reform incentives.
• Improved access to technology has created organic protest phenomenon like the Arab Spring that assisted in the overthrow of governments. Social media and mobile technology have enabled rapid citizen organization.  Governments can “crowdsource” or be “crowdsourced.”
• Globalization has created an open and competitive environment among countries. Businesses are more prepared to invest in countries with effective governance, which manifests itself in legal predictability, low corruption, and ease of doing business.
• International Finance Institutions use governance scorecards for funding decisions.  This strategy can better align leadership with citizen incentives.
• The relative success in global poverty reduction demonstrates that many government leaders are concerned about good governance and improving development results.

What are the incentives for implementing GRP?

• GRP has a great potential for increasing predictability, participation, transparency, and government accountability.
• GRP technology can improve business and citizen confidence through transparency and government effectiveness. This can lead to increased investment.
• GRP technology increases government efficiency and revenue.  This can result in reducing deficits and providing governments with more fiscal space including reduced cost of borrowing.
• GRP technology aligned with e-government initiatives enables citizen efficacy to improve country stability.

How does the technology supply chain impact reform?

• The traditional approach to GRP implementation through 3^rd party systems integration firms with little or no involvement of the software manufacturer increases risk in developing countries.
• Some systems integration firms find incentives to increase costs and reduce financial sustainability. Some software manufacturers form part of “devil’s triangle”
• Standard project management techniques have not overcome difficulties in implementing software in developing or developed countries. GRP implementations require more concentration on capacity, communications and change management.
• GRP solutions that rely on code customization add complexity and cost. This complexity reduces momentum to the point where technology inhibits rather than enables government transformation.
• Software manufacturers who hope to achieve success in GRP must have appropriate governance mechanisms whereby governments drive product enhancements.
• Holistic methods can provide reform roadmaps based on the country context. Lessons learned can be used to improve GRP products.

What are good practices for PFM and GRP sequencing?

1. There is growing evidence that PFM sequencing is becoming more of a science than an art form. Open data and governance assessments provide material for sequencing roadmaps.
2. Government human capacity determines reform momentum and reform sustainability.
3. The modernization rate is much faster in developing countries than experienced in developed countries. This means that the technology approach and implementation practices need to be aligned to PFM needs to ensure effectiveness.

Socially responsibly-based Government Resource Planning (GRP) partnership laser-focused on financially sustainable governance to improve government effectiveness in emerging economies

Seoul, Republic of Korea (August 16, 2012) FreeBalance and Samsung SDS today announced a global product and services alliance focused on public financial management and e-government in the public sector. The product and services portfolio from the partnership covers the entire spectrum of open government, transparency, public financials, procurement, revenue and human resources management. This includes data centre, cloud computing and shared services infrastructure and deployment on wireless devices. The alliance leverages the Samsung SDS “open innovation” model to uncover new ways to make e-government and public financial management financially sustainable for emerging economy governments. This Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment is core to Samsung SDS corporate citizenship and FreeBalance For Profit Social Enterprise (FOPSE) mandates. Samsung SDS and FreeBalance strive to make the world a better place to live through effective technology.

Good governance through public financial management reform and open government transparency is considered critical to country growth and reducing poverty. “Many government software implementations in emerging economies and developing countries are difficult to adapt to modernization and reform, and are not financially sustainable,” said Manuel Pietra, FreeBalance President and CEO, “The alliance with Samsung SDS provides a proven and effective Government Resource Planning (GRP) alternative to legacy approaches.”

Samsung SDS, based in Seoul Republic of Korea, provides a variety of ICT services, such as ICT convergence services, business innovation services and reliable ICT infrastructure services to improve the clients’ overall competitiveness. Samsung SDS is part of the Samsung Group, one of the most recognizable global brands. “This alliance will help Samsung SDS to achieve this year’s goal of making 30% of its total sales in the global market,” said Andrew Chang, Executive Vice President of the Global Business Division of Samsung SDS. “More importantly, this will provide adaptable and financially sustainable technology and services to governments to enable reform. Governments around the world can learn from the FreeBalance and Samsung SDS expertise to technologically leapfrog and deliver breakthrough governance to citizens.” Recently, SDS overhauled its global organization to boost overseas capabilities and plans to expand its investment in future projects to W260bn to achieve one of its 2012 business targets of increasing the contribution of its overseas sales to 30% of total sales.

The FreeBalance and Samsung SDS alliance includes joint business development to governments around the world. Existing FreeBalance and Samsung SDS partners will be used to strengthen the value of the alliance to governments. Samsung SDS will continue to promote proven solutions used by the Government of Korea internationally as part of the alliance. Samsung SDS is leading the way for computerization and advancement of public administration across the world, spreading the Korean e-government model to other markets. FreeBalance software will augment the Samsung SDS product portfolio. The Samsung SDS Smart Answer methodology and focus on smart convergence will be leveraged for effective PFM and e-government in emerging economies. This methodology meets the international process standards (SPEM 2.0) and CMMI.

FreeBalance, based in Ottawa Canada, is a global provider of Government Resource Planning (GRP) software used in Canada, developing countries and emerging economies. The FreeBalance Accountability Suite is distinguished from legacy software such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) through a pure-web design and the use of configuration rather than code customization to enable governments to progressively activate support for PFM reform. FreeBalance is certified for ISO-9001/2008.

About Samsung

Samsung SDS is an enterprise with vast information and communications technology (ICT) business experience accumulated from working with major enterprises and public organizations, domestically and internationally. With over 13,000 employees and annual turnover exceeding US$4B, Samsung SDS is part of the Samsung Group that includes Samsung Electronics. Samsung SDS offers a diverse array of services based on accurate understanding of customers’ needs, and forward looking thought leadership, while paying close attention to providing value to our customers. More information is available at Samsung website.

About FreeBalance

FreeBalance helps governments around the world leverage robust Government Resource Planning (GRP) technology to accelerate country growth. FreeBalance software solutions for public financial and human resource management support reform and modernization to improve governance, transparency and accountability. Good governance is required to improve development results. FreeBalance solutions are active in 19 countries managing more than a quarter trillion ($US) in annual budgets worldwide. For more information, visit FreeBalance website.

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Read the FreeBalance and Samsung SDS Partnership – Backgrounder.

FreeBalance Media Contact:

Matthew Olivier, FreeBalance

Mobile: +1 (613) 301-9653

molivier@FreeBalance.com

www.FreeBalance.com

Un partenariat pour la Planification des ressources gouvernementales (PRG), socialement responsable, orienté vers la gouvernance durable financièrement, pour l’amélioration de l’efficacité gouvernementale des économies émergentes

Séoul, République de Corée (16 août 2012). FreeBalance et Samsung SDS ont annoncé aujourd’hui une alliance globale de produits et services orientée vers la gestion des finances publiques et le gouvernement électronique dans le secteur public. Le portefeuille de produits et services issu du partenariat couvre la gamme complète des services du gouvernement ouvert, de la transparence, des finances publiques, des approvisionnements, des revenus et de la gestion des ressources humaines. Ceci inclut un centre de données, une structure informatique en nuage (« cloud computing ») et de services partagés, ainsi qu’un déploiement sur des dispositifs sans fil. L’alliance tire profit du modèle « d’innovation ouverte » de Samsung SDS afin de dévoiler de nouveaux moyens pour rendre le gouvernement électronique et la gestion des finances publiques durables financièrement pour les gouvernements d’économies émergentes. Cet engagement de responsabilité sociale d’entreprise (RSE) est essentiel aux mandats de citoyenneté d’entreprise de Samsung SDS et d’entreprise sociale à but lucratif (FOPSE) de FreeBalance. Samsung SDS et FreeBalance s’efforcent de rendre le monde meilleur afin d’y vivre grâce à une technologie efficace.

Une bonne gouvernance, par une réforme de la gestion des finances publiques et par la transparence du gouvernement ouvert, est considérée comme vitale à la croissance d’un pays et à la diminution de la pauvreté. « Beaucoup de mises en œuvre de logiciels gouvernementaux dans les économies émergentes et dans les pays en voie de développement sont difficiles à adapter à la modernisation et à la réforme, et ne sont pas durables financièrement, » a déclaré Manuel Pietra, le président-directeur-général de FreeBalance; « L’alliance avec Samsung SDS fournit une alternative prouvée  et efficace pour la planification des ressources gouvernementales (PRG) par rapport aux approches traditionnelles. »

Samsung SDS, basée à Séoul en République de Corée, fournit une variété de services des TIC, tels que des services de convergence des TIC, d’innovation commerciale et d’infrastructure des TIC fiables afin d’améliorer la compétitivité globale des clients. Samsung SDS fait partie du groupe Samsung, une des marques mondiales les plus reconnues. « Cette alliance aidera Samsung SDS à atteindre son objectif d’effectuer 30 % de ses ventes totales dans le marché mondial cette année » a déclaré Andrew Chang, vice-président exécutif de la Global Business Division de Samsung SDS. « De plus, cela fournira une technologie et des services adaptables et durables financièrement, aux gouvernements, pour permettre la réforme. Les gouvernements, à travers le monde peuvent tirer profit de l’expertise de FreeBalance et de Samsung SDS pour progresser technologiquement et faire une percée dans la gouvernance aux citoyens. » SDS a récemment restructuré l’ensemble de son organisation afin d’accélérer ses possibilités à l’étranger et prévoit augmenter, de 260 milliards de won, ses investissements dans de futurs projets afin d’atteindre un de ses objectifs commerciaux, de 2012, d’augmenter la portion de ses ventes à l’étranger de 30 % des ventes totales.

L’alliance FreeBalance et Samsung SDS comprend le développement d’opérations commerciales conjointes auprès de gouvernements mondiaux. Les partenaires existants de FreeBalance et de Samsung SDS seront utilisés afin de renforcer la valeur de cette alliance, pour les gouvernements. Dans le cadre de celle-ci, Samsung SDS continuera de promouvoir les solutions prouvées, utilisées par le gouvernement de la Corée, sur le plan international. Samsung SDS ouvre la voie de l’informatisation et de l’avancement de l’administration publique à travers le monde, étendant le modèle du gouvernement électronique coréen à d’autres marchés.

Le logiciel de FreeBalance augmentera le portefeuille de produits de Samsung SDS. La méthodologie et l’orientation de Smart Answer de Samsung SDS sur la convergence intelligente seront mises à profit pour une GFP et un gouvernement électronique efficaces dans les économies émergentes. Cette méthodologie répond aux normes de traitement internationales (SPEM 2.0) et CMMI.

FreeBalance, basée à Ottawa au Canada, est un fournisseur mondial de logiciels de planification des ressources gouvernementales (PRG) utilisés au Canada, dans les pays en voie de développement et dans les économies émergentes. L’Accountability Suite de FreeBalance se distingue des logiciels traditionnels tels que la planification des ressources de l’entreprise (PRE) par une conception purement web  et par l’utilisation de la configuration plutôt que la personnalisation de code, afin de permettre aux gouvernements d’activer progressivement la prise en charge de la réforme de la GFP. FreeBalance est certifiée ISO-9001/2008.

À propos de Samsung

Samsung SDS est une entreprise disposant d’une vaste expérience commerciale des technologies de l’information et des communications (TIC) acquise par le travail auprès d’entreprises majeures et d’organisations publiques, nationales et internationales. Avec plus de 13 000 employés et un chiffre d’affaires annuel de plus de 4 milliards de dollars, Samsung SDS fait partie du groupe Samsung qui comprend Samsung Electronics. Samsung SDS offre une gamme variée de services basés sur la compréhension précise des besoins des clients, ainsi qu’une vision par l’entremise de la direction, tout en s’efforçant de fournir une valeur aux clients. Pour de plus amples informations, veuillez consulter le site web de Samsung.

À propos de FreeBalance

FreeBalance aide les gouvernements mondiaux à tirer profit d’une technologie solide de planification des ressources gouvernementales (PRG) afin d’accélérer la croissance du pays. Les solutions logicielles de FreeBalance pour la gestion des finances publiques et des ressources humaines prennent en charge  la réforme et la modernisation afin d’améliorer la gouvernance, la transparence et la responsabilité. La bonne gouvernance est nécessaire à l’amélioration des résultats de développement. Les solutions de FreeBalance sont opérationnelles dans 19 pays, gérant plus d’un quart de trillion (US $) en budgets annuels à travers le monde. Pour de plus amples informations, veuillez consulter le site web de FreeBalance.

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Veuillez consulter le document de référence – Le partenariat de FreeBalance et Samsung SDS.

Personne contacte pour les medias, de FreeBalance :

Matthew Olivier, FreeBalance

Portable: +1 (613) 301-9653

molivier@freebalance.com

www.FreeBalance.com

La sociedad, basada en una Planeación de Recursos de Gobierno (GRP) socialmente responsable, se enfoca en gobernabilidad financieramente sostenible para mejorar la efectividad del gobierno en economías emergentes

Seúl, República de Corea (Agosto 16 de 2012) FreeBalance y Samsung SDS anunciaron hoy una alianza global de productos y servicios centrados en la administración pública financiera y gobierno electrónico (e-government) para el sector público. El portafolio de productos y servicios de la sociedad cubre el espectro completo de gobierno abierto: transparencia, finanzas públicas, adquisiciones, ingresos y administración del capital humano. Esto incluye infraestructuras de centro de datos, computación en la nube y servicios compartidos, y la implementación de dispositivos inalámbricos. La alianza aprovecha el modelo de “innovación abierta” de Samsung SDS para descubrir nuevas formas de ejecutar e-government y la administración financiera pública de forma financieramente sostenible para las economías emergentes. Este compromiso de Responsabilidad Social Corporativa (CSR*) es fundamental para los mandatos de ciudadanía corporativa de Samsung SDS y de empresa social con ánimo de lucro (FOPSE*) de FreeBalance. Samsung SDS y FreeBalance luchan para hacer un mundo mejor y vivir a través de una tecnología efectiva.

La buena gobernabilidad a través de la reforma de la administración pública financiera y transparencia de gobierno abierto se considera crítico para el crecimiento del país y la reducción de la pobreza. “Muchas implementaciones de software para el gobierno para las economías emergentes y países en desarrollo son difíciles de adaptar a la modernización y a la reforma y no son financieramente sostenibles”, dice Manuel Pietra, Presidente y CEO de FreeBalance. “La alianza con Samsung SDS proporciona una alternativa de Planeación de Recursos de Gobierno (GRP) para aproximaciones de sistemas heredados”, agrega.

Samsung SDS, con base en Seúl, República de Corea, proporciona una serie de servicios ICT, tales como servicios de convergencia ICT, servicios de innovación empresariales y servicios de infraestructura ICT confiables para mejorar la competitividad global de sus clientes. Samsung SDS es parte del Samsung Group, una de las más reconocidas marcas mundiales. “Esta alianza ayuda que Samsung SDS logre sus objetivos de este año de realizar 30% de sus ventas totales en el mercado internacional” dijo Andrew Chang, Vicepresidente Ejecutivo de la División de Negocios Globales de Samsung SDS. “Y de mayor importancia aún, esto proporcionará una tecnología y servicios financieramente sostenibles a los gobiernos que permitirán las reformas. Los gobiernos del mundo pueden asimilar la experticia de FreeBalance y Samsung SDS para poder dar el salto tecnológico y proporcionar innovación en gobernabilidad para sus ciudadanos”. Recientemente SDS reacondicionó su organización mundial para impulsar sus capacidades internacionales y planea ampliar su inversión en proyectos futuros a W260bn con el fin de lograr sus objetivos empresariales del 2012 de aumentar la contribución de sus ventas internacionales a 30% de sus ventas totales.

La alianza de FreeBalance y Samsung SDS incluye desarrollo empresarial conjunto para los gobiernos de alrededor del mundo. Los socios de FreeBalance y Samsung SDS existentes serán de utilidad para fortalecer el valor de la alianza para los gobiernos. Samsung SDS continuará promocionando soluciones comprobadas y utilizada por el Gobierno de Corea internacionalmente como parte de la alianza. Samsung SDS está liderando el camino para la automatización y avance de la administración pública alrededor del mundo, extendiendo el modelo de gobierno electrónico de Corea a otros mercados. El software de FreeBalance aumentará el portafolio de productos de software de Samsung SDS. La metodología de Smart Answer de Samsung SDS y su enfoque en convergencia inteligente será de utilidad para una PFM efectiva y un gobierno electrónico en economías emergentes. Esta metodología cumple con los estándares de procesos internacionales (SPEM 2.0) y CMMI.

FreeBalance, con sede en Ottawa Canadá, es un proveedor mundial de software de Planeación de Recursos de Gobierno (GRP*) utilizado en Canadá, los países desarrollados y economías emergentes. El FreeBalance Accountability Suite se distingue de los software heredados como los de Administración de Recursos Empresariales (ERP*) por su diseño puro de web y por el uso de configuración en lugar de customización de código a fin de permitir que los gobiernos a que progresivamente activen sus reformas del PFM. FreeBalance posee la certificación ISO-9001/2008.

Acerca de Samsung

Samsung SDS en una compañía con amplia experiencia empresarial en tecnología de la información y comunicaciones (ICT*) recogida de trabajar con grandes empresas y organizaciones públicas, tanto a nivel nacional como internacional. Samsung tiene más de 13.000 empleados, con ventas anuales de más de US$4B. Samsung SDS forma parte del Samsung Group el cual incluye Samsung Electronics. Samsung SDS ofrece una variedad de servicios basados en la comprensión precisa de las necesidades de nuestros clientes y nuestro liderazgo que mira hacia el futuro, mientras que propendemos por proporcionar valor para nuestros clientes. Para mayor información, visite la página web de Samsung.

Acerca de FreeBalance

FreeBalance asiste a los gobiernos del mundo a utilizar la tecnología de Planeación de Recursos Gubernamentales (GRP*) para acelerar el crecimiento de país. Las soluciones de software de FreeBalance para la administración financiera pública y recursos humanos apoyan la reforma y la modernización a fin de mejorar la gobernabilidad, la transparencia y la responsabilización. Se requiere buena gobernabilidad para mejorar los resultados de desarrollo. Las soluciones de FreeBalance están actualmente implementadas en 19 países y administran más de un cuarto de trillón de dólares (US$) en presupuestos anuales a nivel mundial. Para mayor información, visite la página web de FreeBalance.

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Lea los antecedentes de la Sociedad de FreeBalance y Samsung SDS aquí.

Contacto en FreeBalance

Matthew Olivier, FreeBalance

Móbile: +1 (613) 301-9653

molivier@freebalance.com

www.FreeBalance.com