Unit4 continues to win public sector clients in Canada. It has announced that the City of Nanaimo, Canada, has selected Unit4 ERP and Talent Management. The announcement follows the replacement of its budgeting software with Unit4 FP&A in 2020. It replaced its previous solution, BPC. Like BPC, its existing SAP ERP solution, installed in 2002, is going end of life. Their SAP implementation will no longer be supported after 2027. In addition to the ERP solution, the city will also implement the Unit4 Talent Management solution. All three solutions closely integrate, and after the success of Unit4 FP&A, the organisation is looking forward to using a single platform.
This was a competitive process, with over fifty organisations registering an interest in the RFP (Request for Pricing), including Oracle, SAP, and Workday. It is unknown who competed for what was originally slated as having a budget of just over CA$3 million. The project was awarded to Unit4 in March 2023, with its partner Agilyx assisting with the implementation. Agilyx has previously implemented Unit4 at public sector organisations in the UK and Australia. It has its North American headquarters in Canada. Timescales for the project were not announced.
Kerry Ing, Director, IT / CIO, City of Nanaimo, comented, “Our priority is to support our already thriving community by providing them with the services they need on a daily basis. Working with Unit4 and Agilyx will allow us to effectively plan for the future by implementing the right IT infrastructure, which will support us as we evolve. Increased transparency, predictability, and accountability will not only make us more agile, but also strengthen our frontline services for our citizens.”
The objectives
The City of Nanaimo was founded in 1874 and is located on Vancouver Island. It has a busy port, and it now has over 100,000 people living on the traditional territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nations. The city has been a coal town, a timber town, a mill town and a tourist destination. Today, its leading sectors are healthcare, technology and construction.
The Unit4 solutions will help to transform and modernise its business processes benefitting residents and employees. With a single solution, it will look to reduce manual data re-entry and manual processes, improving efficiency across the city. The advantage of a single solution is that it will also offer the City a holistic view of its data, enabling accurate and reliable reporting to enable evidence-based decision-making across finance and HR.
Other advantages that the Unit4 solution will deliver are:
- Develop and enhance secure self-service capabilities such as reporting, employee requisitions, timesheets, expense claims, reimbursements, and reconciliations
- Collect information from employees to enable managers to define, measure and understand engagement levels throughout the organisation
- Support new business activities within the organization, such as monitoring and ensuring compliance with requirements and obligations imposed on data requestors
- A flexible solution that can grow with the organization’s needs
Anticipation and Excitement
Johan Reventberg, Chief Revenue Officer, Unit4, commented, “We’re pleased to be working with the City of Nanaimo, which has a rich history and vibrant economy. We have years of experience of working with public sector organizations across North America. We not only understand their priorities but also the need to make better use of resources and respond to changing citizen requirements, now more than ever.”
In a LinkedIn post, Agilyx also expressed its excitement over the project. “It is a true privilege to be working with the City of Nanaimo! This is a beautiful Harbour City in British Columbia known for its technological innovation.
“We were thrilled to visit this incredible City and kick-off the City of Nanaimo’s ERP project 🎉 We know that this partnership between our team and the great people at the City will set a new benchmark for local government innovation and excellence in the Province.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
While this is a relatively small public sector organisation, it is a significant win for Unit4 in what looks to have been a competitive tender. It has displaced SAP, despite SAP’s interest in rebidding. Unit4 no doubt benefitted from the success of its FP&A solution. It will no doubt have helped that Vancouver Island University and Metro Vancouver are already using Unit4 solutions.
What is missing from this announcement is how the City of Nanaimo will deploy Unit4, one assumes in the cloud, but this is unclear in the release.
