The Department of Defence has given existing partner Red Rock the go ahead to conduct a $16 million upgrade of its ailing human resources platform PMKeyS, in the shadow of a much wider overhaul planned for the department’s core enterprise systems.

In May 2007 Red Rock won a $10 million, two-year deal to support PMKeyS, which is the segment of Defence’s IT platform broadly responsible for civilian remuneration (although it also supports the armed forces somewhat).

Today Defence Personnel Minister Alan Griffin revealed Red Rock had picked up a new $16 million deal to “update the technology platform” supporting PMKeyS, noting it would also involve the integration of the Central Reserve Pay System (CENRESPAYII).

CENRESPAYII is the system at the centre of Defence’s remuneration debacle in 2008 which saw some officers receive incorrect payments. A separate system, ADFPay, generates what Defence describes as the “allowance” component of the armed forces remuneration.

In Apri 2009, a KPMG audit of those pay problems found that Defence’s “ageing” computer systems were working well, but nonetheless were experiencing “vendor support issues”.

“The project will address the current technology risks associated with the PMKeyS and CENRESPAYII systems and ensure continuity of the personnel and pay functions,” said Griffin in a statement issued today. It is anticipated that the project will start this month and be completed “in the first half of 2012″. It includes “an early replacement of the outdated Reserve payment system” in July 2011.

But the work UXC subsidiary Red Rock will carry out is but a tiny project in the face of the much larger re-platforming work still to come at Defence, which is expected to cost around half a billion dollars and was publicly committed to by Defence Minister John Faulkner in August 2009.

“The project is a key component in the Integrated Master Plan for the Personnel Systems Modernisation and HR Shared Services Reform, and supports the objectives of the Defence Strategic Reform Program and Pay Remediation Task Force,” said Griffin.

“The project will also provide a modern, stable technology platform, on which to build the longer-term solution for personnel systems, enabling Defence’s business process reform initiatives and supporting reform in the Workforce and Shared Services Stream of Defence’s Strategic Reform Program.”

Image credit: Josep Altarriba, royalty free

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