Centralised Shared Services Environment

1. Centralised Shared Services Environment • Infor FM 2.0 Running in a Centralised Shared Services Environment • Presenters: Mark Chin – Assistant Director Financial Systems • Ché Diggens – Technical Support Consultant • Department of Corporate and Information Services • Northern Territory Government • So many business systems, so many interfaces, so much maintenance!  How does the NT Government (NTG) cope!! • At this session see how the NTG team deal with providing shared services within Infor FM 2.0 in a common vendor and customer environment.  Focus in on data integration across key NTG corporate and agency systems into the Infor FM 2.0 environment using the latest optimum channel for providing banking and reporting information. • From both the financial and business administration end user’s point of view hear about monitoring data flows that produce alerts to reduce maintenance and remediation effort within the shared service infrastructure

2. Presentation Introduction • Presentation Overview • Financial Services Business Function • Government Accounting System (GAS) Universe • Specific Support Issues • NAB Banking Project as Driver • Business Processing Goals • New Standards Direction • Common Business Process • Centralised AR process • Centralised AP process • Building Blocks for the Future • Benefits Delivered

3. Financial Services Business Function • Administration • Provide a centralised financial service and show economies of scale • Robust and timely • Security Standards and compliance • Seek Business interface improvements – do more with less • Data transfer and processing emphasis • Technical support Interface standard • Increased security and greater standardisation • Reduced maintenance complexity and greater visibility • Technical • Support business function within the support unit • The legacy environment support, build and plan for future • Provide service and reporting • Provide usable support maintenance tools • Technically – discuss some building blocks for the future • Standardisation of communication protocols through common data processing • Build yourself out of a job

4. Northern Territory Networking

5. Government Accounting System Universe OBIPS ECMS AMS PIPS Payroll Power Water Gentrack BOXI (Reports) ILIS GAS CIAS TMS ASCRIBE CSHPRO SUPERB TENMGT TSO / Control-D NAB (Banker) QANTUM QANTEL EIMS APEX NT Treasury GAS WIZARDS TRIPS

6. Specific Support Issues • NTG GAS Data Processing Issues • Monitoring of data flows INCOMING • Issues with load processes usually revolve around invalid data left to Gas support to locate, report on and administer remedial action. • Eg The usual process of Admin receiving email from unhappy agency, data not in GAS, admin must isolate the data flow, isolate the point of failure or notify techs, techs investigate, find data validation issue, notify admin of issue, admin to notify client on data to change….start process again. • Monitoring of data flows OUTGOING • GAS support was responsible for the provision of outgoing data in terms of safe arrival.  Often the issue with the send will be at the agency end but rework still required from GAS support • Eg The usual process of Admin receiving email from unhappy agency, data not received, admin must isolate the data flow, isolate the point of failure or notify techs, techs investigate, find hardware issue, notify admin of issue, admin to notify client on environment problem….start data flow again. • Developer Support • New developments required support to provide technical design on validation process and load process • Business knowledge of the process lost in the detail of each development • Eg New Business Application requires up to minute GAS data. Tech support meets, hardware documented, software documented, custom solution planned and much work to provide data to business system (then the above 2 processes begin)

7. NAB Banking Project as Driver • NAB Architecture change from Westpac • New Payable and Receivable Interface/Reporting • Infrastructure upgrade funding • Carriage for change in Agencies • Central Coordination by DCIS

8. Business Processing Goals • Basic goals from outset • Greater visibility of transfer processes • Support staff previously had many processes to Check and often were alerted to issues by agencies as the missing overnight load was obvious in their business system • Pin pointing where an overnight process failed is often time consuming and involves many stakeholders. Data Centre Services (DCS) operations group control the scheduled tasks, another specialist controls banking communications and it is all dependant on the less than reliable NAB processes. • Event Driven not Time based • Make better use of event driven processes with in-built fault tolerance rather than time based processes which assume best case scenario. (A combination of MQ and Control-M will deliver these outcomes for NTG.) • The Optimum Channel • Move to the use of the best practise prescribed technical direction by DCS • More secure, guaranteed transfer of data • Single point for validation data to be used prior to GAS upload (vendor id for example) • Incorporate DCS provided resources (free staff for the build due to charging process) • Building Blocks for Future • Banking project catalyst as most flows were altered for new data process • Chance to clean up and control processing through shared services (area of ultimate responsibility) rather than DCS

9. New Standards Direction • DCS – Data Centre Services; New standards direction • Provides central technology direction and support to NTG • Purchase of MB/MQ and formation of the MQ operations group to deliver services across government • Corporate view of MB group and DCS complimenting shared service focus of FSS • The building blocks – Message broker, MQ client and MQ server linked in with control-m scheduling and job control across both mainframe and midrange • Banking project providing opportunity - GAS and associated systems given prototype funding for proof of concept within project. This figure shows how two programs, A and B, communicate with each other. We see two queues; one is the "output" queue for A and at the same time the "input" queue for B, while the second queue is used for replies flowing from B to A.

11. Common Business Process COMMON SERVICES SECURITY GENERAL LEDGER ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE ACCOUNTS PAYABLE PURCHASING • Centralised data provision gives opportunity for consolidated data service • Many different business systems need information to use within their native operations to support the financial process. • The Asset Management System, Budget Management system and Internal Billing System all require account information from the GAS general ledger. • Data previously provided through multiple disparate processes prior to shared services moving to a single queue that can be referenced as required. • Account structure • Security – users and profiles • Accounts Payable • Vendor • Purchase orders • Accounts Receivable • Customer • Invoices • Possibility of providing single point, centrally controlled • data service across all agencies through true common • AP/AR business processes.

12. Centralised AR Process WPAC QuickStream (All) Pay Online BPay Phone Invoice Feeds Customer Feeds Payment Feeds LIS (79) RePS (All) Caresys (70) OBIPS (62,66,68) Customer Wizard Caresys (70) Ascribe (70) Qantel (70) NTFAST (16) GASAR CVA (79) Outputs OBIPS (62,66,68) Invoices Land Rates (51) Direct Entry Delinquencies Pastoral Leases (50) Statements Customer Invoice Wizard (All) OBIPS Payments Invoices Aboriginal Interpreter Svc (51)

13. Centralised AR Process • Central AR function allowed for a central online invoice payment service to be offered during banking upgrade instead of individual systems • Consolidation of all receivable information from NAB into a single process for reconciliation within GAS • The consolidated process allowed for • Single communication flow • Single Application for data loading with one set of rules for reconciliation • Simple translation of data for corporate reporting of the banking process

14. Centralised AP Process • VISA Credit card purchase/ Invoice • NAB Account • MB Flow • Gas Reco • Wizard/GAS/ EIMS payment • Reporting through central warehouse

15. Building Blocks for the Future GAS Information Queues are available to any authenticated user…provides a structured connection and ordered, current data on demand. Accounts Receivable Customer Invoice Payments Security Simply plug in as needed! Accounts Payable Vendor Account Bank Warehouse

16. Building Blocks for the Future • Building Blocks • MQ broker • MQ Client • MQ Server • Control M • SQL Server SSIS • Custom .NET • Applications • SFTP • Windows AD and LDAP

17. Benefits Delivered • GAS Data Flow Alerts • Account • Vendor • Customer • Administrative • Email/SMS Negative • Email/SMS Positive • Remedial Action • Admin Control • Remote tools • Automated advice of rectification

18. Benefits Delivered • Solutions • Full visibility & email notifications • Validated data received • Prescribed low maintenance method for data processes • User ability to re-start without technical support • Full visibility for stakeholders • Best practise methodology • Building Blocks for Future • Issues • Monitoring of data flows INCOMING • Monitoring of data flows OUTGOING • Developer support of new interfaces • Lack of visibility of transfer processes • Time based not event driven • Not best practise • Tied to legacy support of processes

20. Questions ? If you have Questions you think of later : Mark ChinAssistant Director Department of Corporate and Information Services email: mark.chin@nt.gov.au Ché DiggensTechnical Support ConsultantDepartment of Corporate and Information Services email: che.diggens@nt.gov.au

21. Thank you!

22. Pay Online Portal

23. Broker Admin Messages

24. Future

25. Services