12 May 2022
Jack Hulls
[FYI request #18944 email]
Tēnā koe Jack Hulls,
On 21 March 2022, you emailed the Ministry of Social Development (the
Ministry) requesting, under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act), the
following information in regard:
•
I am looking for further details on a news story from last week.
https://www.reseller.co.nz/article/696242/msd-wrestles-ict-legacy-
outlines-multi-million-dollar-investments/
1. The story mentions a system, “one system reaches its third decade.” -
What is the system called and what is it used for?
2. The story has a paragraph about, “cyber security risks” - How well is the
current cyber security team staffed? How is this compared to the last 5
years? Permanent staff vs contractors?
3. Later in the article it says, “improving the way MSD manages and
supports its IT assets.” - what is the oldest IT asset on the network?
4. The article goes on with, “An identity management project for clients
partners and staff was budgeted at $8.7 million.” - I understand work was
done on the about 5 years ago, can you please release a copy of the
business case for this work?
5. Last of all the articles mentions, “financial management system
replacement expected to cost $31.4 million and a payroll system
replacement” - what is the selected solution / vendor for both systems?
The article you are referring to was developed independently of the Ministry by
Reseller News. The Ministry was not approached formally by Reseller News for
any content within the article. Our understanding is that the information within
the article was sourced from content provided to select committees and other
forums.
For the sake of clarity, I will address your questions in turn.
1. The story mentions a system, “one system reaches its third decade.” -
What is the system called and what is it used for?
The system in question is the Ministry’s Social Welfare Information for Tomorrow
Today (SWIFTT) payment system. Whilst the origins of this platform date back
approximately 30 years, this system has been re-platformed and is fully
maintained and supported by our vendor partners.
2. The story has a paragraph about, “cyber security risks” - How well is the
current cyber security team staffed? How is this compared to the last 5
years? Permanent staff vs contractors?
The Ministry currently has the following staff numbers in our security portfolio:
• 18 full-time staff members
• One temporary part-time intern
Out of these 18 full-time staff members, 12 are permanent staff and six are
contractors. One additional permanent staff member is in recruitment.
The Ministry currently have the following staff numbers in our Chief Information
Security Office:
• One Information Security Manager
• Nine Information Security Senior Advisors; and within this number:
o One Lead Advisor
o One Information Security Assurance Advisor
Out of these ten staff members, one is permanent and nine are contractors.
The Ministry does not hold data of staff to compare to five years ago, as such,
this part of the request has been refused under section 18(g)(i) of the Act, as
the information requested is not held by the Ministry and I have no grounds to
believe that the information is held by another department or interdepartmental
Venture or Minister of the Crown or organisation, or by a local authority.
3. Later in the article it says, “improving the way MSD manages and
supports its IT assets.” - what is the oldest IT asset on the network?
The oldest IT assets that the Ministry hold are software components of our
SWIFTT payment system dating back to 1998.
4. The article goes on with, “An identity management project for clients
partners and staff was budgeted at $8.7 million.” - I understand work was
done on the about 5 years ago, can you please release a copy of the
business case for this work?
In 2019, the Ministry developed a technology business case for several
initiatives, one of these being a case for replacing our Identity and Access
Management Platform. The identity component of the case was budgeted at
$19.9M over four years.
Page 2 of 3
Please find enclosed the document
Technology Business Case developed during
2019.
You will note that the information regarding some individuals has been withheld
under section 9(2)(a) of the Act in order to protect the privacy of natural
persons. The need to protect the privacy of these individuals outweighs any
public interest in this information.
5. Last of all the articles mentions, “financial management system
replacement expected to cost $31.4 million and a payroll system
replacement” - what is the selected solution / vendor for both systems?
The Financial Management Information system (FMIS) being implemented is
Oracle FMIS, the Payroll system being implemented is SAP success factors. Both
systems are being implemented by Accenture.
The principles and purposes of the Official Information Act 1982 under which you
made your request are:
• to create greater openness and transparency about the plans, work and
activities of the Government,
• to increase the ability of the public to participate in the making and
administration of our laws and policies and
• to lead to greater accountability in the conduct of public affairs.
This Ministry fully supports those principles and purposes. The Ministry therefore
intends to make the information contained in this letter and any attached
documents available to the wider public. The Ministry will do this by publishing
this letter and attachment
on the Ministry of Social Development’s website. Your
personal details will be deleted, and the Ministry will not publish any information
that would identify you as the person who requested the information.
If you wish to discuss this response with us, please feel free to contact
[MSD request email].
If you are not satisfied with this response regarding the Ministry’s cyber security,
you have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman.
Information
about
how
to
make
a
complaint
is
available
at
www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi nui
Tracy Voice
Group General Manager
Improvement Systems and Technology
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