NEC ‘near completion’ of WA water management platform

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news Technology giant NEC Australia has announced it is nearing the completion of a new IT system that is aimed at improving the sustainable management of Western Australia’s water resources.

Water Online, the integrated platform being delivered by NEC Australia, is replacing the WA Department of Water’s legacy water management and information systems. These were designed in an era when water was in relative abundance, NEC said, and are ill-suited to managing water effectively as demand grows and water supplies decline.

According to a statement from the firm, the program is on track for completion by Q3 of 2016 and will introduce new water demand management capabilities to ensure more sustainable water usage.

For example, NEC explained that the Department of Water will be able to accurately monitor projected development needs to identify gaps between supply and demand, and where necessary, address any shortfall through water supply controls.

As part of the Water Online program, the department has launched a new online portal which allows customers to access licensing information, submit applications and meter readings, and apply to renew or transfer a license.

Requests for planning advice can also be lodged and tracked online, providing a “faster and more efficient” service, that NEC said is consistent with the WA Government’s reform agenda to reduce red tape and regulatory burden.

Furthermore, Water Online is hoped to deliver improvements to information reliability and process efficiency, as well as opening up key data analytics for the department.

Since the program started in 2014, NEC Australia has provided program management services and a team of analysts, developers and testers to implement a core set of Microsoft technologies based on .Net, Dynamics CRM 2015 (a customer relationship management package) and the Business Intelligence reporting stack.

NEC Australia’s State Manager for WA, Tim Hurst, said: “Everyone involved in this program is making a valuable contribution, knowing that this will help the Department of Water protect a vital resource for the state’s long term future.”

NEC Australia is a technology company that provides ICT solutions and services to large enterprise, small business and government organisations. The firm specialises in information and communications technology solutions and services in multi-vendor environments.

Image credit: dechatorn, public domain